KC Royals: Projecting 2016 Opening Day Roster
By Scott Dillon
Second Base Job
When Spring Training began it was known that Omar Infante and Christian Colon were going to be vying for position in the second base battle. Infante always seemed to have the edge because his contract is pretty expensive to put on the bench.
Infante missed the first few games of Spring Training as he continued his recovery for an off-season surgery. That seemed to give Colon a window of time to establish himself, but some poorly placed gloves may have hurt his chances.
Christian Colon is 0-22 so far this spring, but he has had a few loud outs. It’s too bad there isn’t a runner on third in a playoff game for all of his at-bats or he may be 22-22.
Christian Colon is 0-22 so far this spring, but he has had a few loud outs. It’s too bad there isn’t a runner on third in a playoff game for all of his at-bats or he may be 22-22.
Omar Infante started his Spring Training by going 0-9 but has since shown a little life with the bat. He’s 5-7 over his last seven at-bats and has two doubles and two RBIs in that time. His slash line is .313/.389/.438. He tore the cover off the ball last Spring Training also so don’t get too excited just yet.
There are a couple other names to watch at that position though.
Raul Mondesi is the Royals’ top prospect and has put together a decent Spring Training. He’s batting .294 so far, and survived the first-round of cuts. He could have an outside shot as a bench player, but would likely benefit from everyday reps in the Minor Leagues.
Clint Barmes is a veteran infielder who has played mostly shortstop and second base in his career. His veteran presence and plus glove may be desirable to a team that values leadership and defense. He’s batting .294 also and has three doubles so far. He also had great things to say about the organization in this interview.
One name that has emerged as a good candidate to make the team is Whit Merrifield. He’s a super utility player who’s logged over 1,800 innings at second base and over 3,000 innings in the outfield during his Minor League career. He’s batting .400 this spring with two doubles, two triples, and a stolen base. He also has seven runs scored.
Bottom line: The Royals have options and it’s still anyone’s game.
Next: Right Hand Man