Kansas City Royals: Jarrod Dyson Is Expendable
The Kansas City Royals have seen their fair share of disappointments throughout the 2016 season, but they made a move during the trade deadline that proved to be rather interesting.
The KC Royals won the World Series in 2015, but have sorely disappointed in 2016. A lot of the problems have arose from injuries and younger guys having to step in and make plays.
An interesting move that the Royals made, however, was trading for Athletics outfielder Billy Burns for their own outfielder in Brett Eibner. Eibner had just been called up this season and proved to be a popular young name around Kansas City, but the Royals must have seen something promising in Burns to make this trade happen.
Something that many considered was that bringing in yet another outfielder could spell doom for the future of Jarrod Dyson in Kansas City.
The KC Royals should look to trade Dyson, but I’m not sure how much they’d get in return for a career .255 hitter and a guy who typically doesn’t start every day.
John Viril of Kings of Kauffman wrote that the Royals should consider trading Dyson after this season,
"Dyson turns 32-years-old in 2017 and will hit free agency that winter. While unquestionably valuable as a bench player, Dyson has enjoyed multiple opportunities since Alex Gordon‘s 2014 hamstring injury to take a full-time role. Every time, he’s shown that his bat gets exposed in a full-time role."
I don’t disagree with Viril’s assessment there. Dyson is a great bench player and has made some nice defensive plays in the outfield, but from the look of Burns’ career so far, he’s pretty speedy himself and is several years younger than Dyson.
More from KC Kingdom
- Win $650 GUARANTEED Plus $100 Off NFL Sunday Ticket With Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!
- This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
- How to Bet on the Chiefs vs. Cardinals in NFL Preseason Week 2
- The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
- The 3 Most Intriguing Games on the Chiefs’ Schedule
Burns is the type of guy who can go out and start and be put in the lineup every day. Dyson is a nice defensive piece, but his offense isn’t good enough for him to be an every day starter.
Burns started 125 games just a season ago and ended his season with a slash line of .294/.334/.392 in 555 plate appearances. To compare, Dyson started 90 games and slashed .250/.311/.380 in 225 plate appearances. They both stole 26 bases in 2015.
Obviously this sucks to have to think about, as Dyson has been with the Kansas City Royals for his entire career, but he’s aging. He’ll be 32 on August 15th and Burns will be 27 at the end of the month. Burns is essentially the same player and is younger, so why have both guys on the team?
Next: All-Time Leaders in Triples
The KC Royals should look to trade Dyson, but I’m not sure how much they’d get in return for a career .255 hitter and a guy who typically doesn’t start every day. Perhaps a team needing some speed to come off the bench could use Dyson though, and would be willing to give up something useful for that type of player.
What do you think, Royals fans? Is it time to part ways with Jarrod Dyson or should the Royals keep him for the 2017 season?