KC Royals: Position Battles Heat Up With First Cuts

The KC Royals position battles are becoming a little more clear after the first round of cuts. Kyle Zimmer and Brett Eibner are among first-round of cuts.

The KC Royals have taken a good long look at a lot of their minor league players so far this off-season. What has resulted is a poor Spring Training record which, to be honest, doesn’t really mean much of anything. The Royals have issued a press release that details the players that were cut.

Spring Training is a time for players to get loose and work out all the kinks created by the off-season. That’s meant a lot of playing time for players that had no real shot at making the team. By sharing time among a lot of players, it allows the regulars to get some reps while slowly gearing up for the grind of a full season.

Other players have gotten a lot of reps as they’ve tried to make a push to earn an opening day roster spot. While anything can happen over the course of the next three weeks, it’s unlikely that any of the players that were cut today will make that opening day squad.

Here’s a list of the players that were cut, their positions, and their assignments:

Assigned to Minor League Camp:

• Christian Binford – P
• Jonathan Dziedzic – P
• Aroni Nina – P
• Brooks Pounders – P
• Sam Selman – P
• Hunter Dozier – IF
• Balbino Fuenmayor – IF
• Zane Evans – C
• Cam Gallagher – C

Optioned to Triple-A Omaha:

• Miguel Almonte – P
• Kyle Zimmer – P
• Brett Eibner – OF
• Jose Martinez – OF

Optioned to Double-A Northwest Arkansas:

• Alec Mills – P
• Ramon Torres – IF
• Jorge Bonifacio – OF
• Bubba Starling – OF

None of the players who were assigned to Minor League camp were serious contenders for a roster spot in 2016. Balbino Fuenmayor may have a shot as a September call-up if he can continue to progress at the plate. He’ll be a nice piece to have at designated hitter if Kendrys Morales departs following this season.

While Bubba Starling and Jorge Bonifacio were both considered dark-horse candidates to earn a spot as the fifth outfielder, their demotions aren’t surprising at all. While Starling did have his best year in 2015, he’s still got some work to do. Ned Yost has already said they won’t promote him until they need him to play every day. He’ll get reps in the Minor Leagues until his number get’s called.

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The two most surprising demotions are two Brett Eibner and Jose Martinez. Eibner hasn’t had a great camp so far, but Jose Martinez was putting together some solid play in his at-bats. Time may be running out for either of those players to make an impact for the Royals and this could be a sign that they’ll never be more than fringe MLB players at best.

Both Kyle Zimmer and Miguel Almonte had solid Spring Training innings, but both would benefit from more work. While Almonte spent some time at Triple-A last season, this will be Zimmer’s first foray into the Triple-A level. Both could make an impact for the Royals sooner rather than later.

That leaves 46 players remaining in Major League camp. 14 of those players were non-roster invitees like Dillon Gee, Clint Barmes, Cody Decker, Whit Merrifield, and Travis Snider to name a few.

While there are still more cuts to be made, this does help paint a clearer picture in some of the positional races. With Zimmer and Almonte out of the way, perhaps Dillon Gee does have a shot at being the team’s fifth starter.

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Christian Colon and Omar Infante are a combined 2-30 at the plate making it unclear who has the edge on the second base job. Meanwhile, Minor League super-utility player Whit Merrifield is 6-13 with two doubles, two triples, and six runs scored. Veteran infielder Clint Barmes is also outperforming Colon and Infante for a potential second base job. Prospect Raul Mondesi could be the name to watch here and could make a surprise run at the starting job.

In right, Paulo Orlando would seem to have the opening day start locked up but Reymond Fuentes and Travis Snider would appear to be battling for the platoon position in Jarrod Dyson‘s absence. Merrifield is a capable right fielder also so his versatility could give him an edge. Fuentes is also having a strong camp with 7 hits. Two of those hits are doubles and he has a home run.

Next: Spring Training Overreactions

Things are starting to become a little more clear for the KC Royals as Spring Training becomes more realistic. The position players will start to get more and more reps and the pitchers will get more innings under their belts. They’ll continue to hone their skills as Spring Training progresses and get ready to defend the crown.

What do you think KC Royals’ fans? Are you surprised that Brett Eibner isn’t getting a shot? Who are you pulling for to take the final positions this spring? Let me know your thoughts in the comments’ section below.