Kansas City Royals: Second Base Competition for 2017

CHESLOR CUTHBERT

This one might come as a shock if you haven’t been reading up on the Royals since the season ended. It was indeed reported that typical third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert was going to be spending time learning to play second base, according to Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star.

Out of all of the guys on this list, Cuthbert is the guy that I would least likely predict to be the starting second baseman on Opening Day.

Honestly this isn’t a surprising move, as Mike Moustakas should be returning to action in 2017, fresh off an injury throughout the 2016 season.

Moose will be back at his third base position, meaning that Cuthbert’s bat would be missing from the lineup.

While Cuthbert is an option for second base for sure, it almost seems like Dayton Moore would prefer to stick him in the rotating designated hitter role. I could see Moore and Ned Yost having Cuthbert and new Royal Jorge Soler take turns at the DH spot. Maybe throw Salvador Perez in there from time to time as well.

Cuthbert only spent time at third base in 2016 and didn’t fare the best, but hey… He was a rookie who had a tough task by filling in for an All-Star and fan favorite.

Out of all of the guys on this list, Cuthbert is the guy that I would least likely predict to be the starting second baseman on Opening Day. I’d be okay with him learning to play other positions, but there are three other guys who could fare better at second base on a regular basis.