Royals Rumors: Brett Lawrie On Trade Block
Despite winning the World Series last season, the KC Royals still are in the market at certain positions. That’s why one of the most recent Royals rumors involves a former rival.
It was reported on Wednesday by Oakland Athletics beat writer Susan Slusser that the A’s are considering trading Brett Lawrie. Now before you puff your chest out with Royals pride and completely nix the idea, let’s hear the facts first.
"Lawrie is coming off his first 600 plate appearance season. He hit the most home runs in his career this past season, however, all production wasn’t rosy. Lawrie actually hit below the league average according to wRC+ and posted his worst season in wins above replacement. Similarly, he was shifted over to second base and may be relegated to that position permanently moving forward.-Courtesy of Michael Bradburn of MLB Daily Dish"
The biggest thing to take away from that segment above is that Lawrie would be a second baseman heading into 2016. As of now, the Royals would have Omar Infante starting at second base, as Ben Zobrist is not a sure thing to return next year.
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Of course, fans won’t like the idea of Lawrie being a Royal, and they have their reasons. Back in early April and within the first two weeks of the season, Lawrie slid into second base and tried to break up a double play. In doing so, Lawrie slid hard into second, digging his cleat right into Alcides Escobar, and starting a battle that felt like it went on FOREVER.
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The next day, Yordano Ventura beaned Lawrie with a pitch and was ejected from the 5-0 game as a result. The following day, Kelvin Herrera threw a 100 MPH fastball behind Lawrie’s head.
Lawrie was constantly booed at Kauffman Stadium last year due to his dirty slide, and he bashed the fans of Kansas City during the series. It’d be difficult to support Lawrie coming here, but the need for a second baseman is prominent. Infante isn’t good and there’s no guarantee that Zobrist even comes back.
Lawrie has been a bit of a hot head during his career, and isn’t really the type of guy I’d want to see the Kansas City Royals sign. They’re coming off a World Series win and a guy like Lawrie could completely ruin every type of chemistry this team had.
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"Once a highly-touted prospect and only going into his age 26 season, Lawrie could still blossom into a good hitter; it just might take the right environment.-Bradburn"
Last year Lawrie appeared in 149 games and had a .260 batting average with 16 home runs and 60 RBI. He only spent one year in Oakland, but it looks like he might be with another team in 2016.
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While I don’t see the KC Royals actually going after Lawrie due to the drama he had with the team last year, he can play both second and third base and could be the type of utility player that the Royals need next year.