KC Royals: Carlos Gonzalez Would Look Good in Right Field

Carlos Gonzalez has not been connected to any KC Royals rumors yet, but he would be a great fit for the World Champions.

There is a place on this Kansas City Royals roster for a player like Carlos Gonzalez. The trouble is the Royals seem disinclined to make a big move this offseason.

Maybe it is wishful thinking. Is it just a pipe dream the Royals will make a big splash after winning their first championship in thirty years?

Or will the front office just let this team slowly fall apart and be satisfied with the accomplishments of the last two seasons. How many are worried it will be the latter?

Ben Zobrist, Ryan Madson, Greg Holland, and Jeremy Guthrie are all gone. Alex Rios isn’t coming back, and it is looking more and more likely that Alex Gordon will sign elsewhere.

The KC Royals have people to replace some of these players, but no one to fill the shoes of Gordon and Rios. The cost of signing one, let alone two corner outfielders must be daunting. General manager Dayton Moore is already preparing fans for the worst case scenario.

More from KC Kingdom

Earlier this week, Moore hinted that Jarrod Dyson may be given the shot to play in the outfield every day. We all love Dyson, but he is what he is – a solid, versatile reserve outfielder and pinch runner. Nothing in his numbers indicates he should be an everyday player.

Dyson’s slash line is not brutally bad – .255/.320/.343/.664. His average is…well…average. His On Base Percentage is decent but not great. He has no power at all, but he has plenty of speed. In 1,066 At Bats, Dyson has just 61 extra base hits. Of course, with him, sometimes a single is as good as a double.

According to Fangraphs, last season, Dyson bunted 16 times, but only two went for a hit. While his career bunt stats are better than that (30 bunt hits in 87 tries), Dyson would have to be much better in this area than in 2015 as an everyday player. He would have to find ways to get on base more effectively so he can better use his speed.

Dyson also strikes out 18.3 percent of the time in his career and walks only 8.3 percent of his plate appearances. Those numbers are both poor for a hitter with no power.

If Dyson is indeed going to get the chance to start at one of the corner outfield spots, the KC Royals must have a much bigger offensive threat at the other position. This brings us to Carlos Gonzalez.

There are two big impediments to acquiring the Rockies star – his salary and his health history. Gonzalez played in 153 games in 2015, the most in his career. Since arriving in the Majors with Oakland in 2008, he has played more than 135 games just one other time – 145 games in 2010.