KC Royals: Projecting 2016 Opening Day Roster

6 of 6

Royals – Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

So who is going to make up the final 25 spots on April 3rd?

There is also the matter of who is going to play backup to Salvador Perez. The Royals already had Drew Butera but added Tony Cruz via trade with the Cardinals this off-season. Both are not very good with the bat, but both are good defensively.

Cruz has just one hit this Spring Training while Butera has collected four hits across 16 at-bats. He’s also got two home runs. One of those home runs was due to some sloppy outfield play that probably should’ve been a double.

With all of the position battles addressed, it’s time to reveal the projected opening day 25-man roster:

Catchers (2) – Salvador Perez, Drew Butera
Infielders (5) – Eric Hosmer, Omar Infante, Christian Colon, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar
Designated Hitter (1) – Kendrys Morales
Utility Player (1) – Whit Merrifield
Outfield (4) – Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Paulo Orlando, Reymond Fuentes
Starting Pitchers (5) – Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, Ian Kennedy, Kris Medlen, Dillon Gee
Relief Pitchers (7) – Wade Davis, Luke Hochevar, Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria, Chris Young, Danny Duffy, Brian Flynn
15-Day DL (2) – Jarrod Dyson, Tim Collins

Merrifield’s versatility and ability to play anywhere in the field should give him an edge. The Royals carried only five infielders last year if you don’t count Kendrys Morales as a first baseman. Merrifield qualifies as not only an emergency infielder but as the fifth outfielder as well.

More from KC Kingdom

Reymond Fuentes is having a great spring training and his left-handed bat would pair nicely with Orlando in right field. Both play great defense, have above average speed, and offer enough with the bat to be effective. If nothing else, Fuentes gets a two-week audition until Dyson is back in action.

The Royals can swap Medlen, Young, and Gee in and out of the rotation if they need to. All of them may benefit from extra rest so using a platoon at the back-end of the rotation may not be a bad thing. The Royals have a plethora of options in the bullpen but a left-handed pitcher makes the most sense.

Alexander probably isn’t ready. Duensing seems like more of a specialist, but the Royals haven’t employed that strategy much in the past. John Lannan and Brian Flynn make the most sense because they can both go multiple innings. The Royals were very impressed with Flynn last season and one bad outing isn’t likely to spoil that.

Next: Spring Training Overreactions

Again, all of this speculation is nothing more than one person’s opinion of the situation. The good news is, there really aren’t that many questions to answer. The bulk of the roster that won the World Series in 2015 is coming back and they’ll look to repeat. If you’re not already psyched for the start of this season, this video should help.

So what do you think KC Royals’ fans? Who are your picks to make the opening day 25-man roster? Who from my list do you love? Who do you hate? Let me know your thoughts in the comments’ section below.

Home/Kansas City Royals