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Royals Rumors: Matt Holliday Could Be Intriguing Option

By Leigh Oleszczak

Jul 5, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (7) hits a one run single off of Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Steven Brault (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 5, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday (7) hits a one run single off of Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Steven Brault (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Royals rumors won’t be as big as they were this time last year, but fans can still speculate as to who would be good fits for the team. Matt Holliday is an option that the Royals should consider adding.

Fresh off an 81-81 season, the Kansas City Royals are looking to get themselves right back into the postseason in 2017. That task might be even more difficult now with the team’s best hitter departing this offseason.

Yes, Kendrys Morales left for greener pastures not too long ago, and now the KC Royals are without a designated hitter. The talks of doing a rotating designated hitter have been floating around, but that just doesn’t seem like a good idea for a team that struggled to score runs last season.

A free agent name floating around out there that could help the Royals is Matt Holliday. Holliday has spent 13 years in the major leagues, and his last eight years have been with the other baseball team in the state of Missouri.

Holliday dropped off a bit in 2016 for the Cardinals. He slashed .246/.322/.461 with 20 home runs in 110 games last season, but still showed that there was some power there.

Holliday’s main position is in the outfield, but considering he’s spent all but one season in the National League, he’s better suited for a designated hitting job. That’s where he’d be of good use to the Kansas City Royals, as their designated hitter just left for Canada on a new deal.

Not only could Holliday be of assistance at the DH spot, but he has experience in the outfield as well. He could occasionally fill in for Alex Gordon in left field (his preferred outfield spot), and could maybe even jump in at right from time to time as well.

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While there hasn’t been any official linking of these two sides, Jason Reed of Call to the Pen listed the Royals as one of the best fits for Matt Holliday. Reed touched on how the Royals lost Morales this offseason and compared the two in his article. Reed said,

"Morales and Holliday are actually very similar statistically. Kendrys hit for a bit more average, .263 to Holliday’s .246, but Holliday can put up similar if not better numbers as a DH. Production-wise, they are similar as well. Morales had 10 more home runs, 17 more runs, and 31 more runs batted in. However, Morales had 192 more plate appearances than Holliday."

As much as adding Matt Holliday would make sense, given he’s only three and a half hours from Kansas City at the moment and would fit in well with an American League team, I don’t see the Royals inking the guy.

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The other two teams that Reed listed – Baltimore and Houston – both have the money to drop on the free agents, and them signing Holliday would be a more realistic scenario.

If, however, the Kansas City Royals could sign Holliday to even just a one-year deal, I think most fans would be willing to give the guy a chance as the team’s every day designated hitter.

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