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Kansas City Royals: Time to give Jorge Soler another shot

By Leigh Oleszczak

May 10, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Jorge Soler (12) hits a RBI double during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Kansas City Royals 12-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Jorge Soler (12) hits a RBI double during the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Kansas City Royals 12-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Kansas City Royals have been playing much better baseball over the last two weeks, but one glaring weakness on the team is at the designated hitter position. Is it time to bring Jorge Soler up from Triple-A to fill that role?

Over the offseason, the Kansas City Royals made a huge decision in trading closer Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs for Jorge Soler. Soler struggled to stay healthy and to get playing time while with the Cubs, but Kansas City thought they had a role for him.

Soler had a lousy spring training and eventually landed on the disabled list. When he was finally called up to the majors in the beginning of May, rookie Jorge Bonifacio was impressing everyone in the outfield and at the plate.

Despite that, Soler received playing time and did not look good at all. In 55 at bats, Soler managed a slash line of .164/.292/.273 with nine hits, three doubles, three RBI, and one home run.

Soler might have struggled before, but he’s not going to gain much more from Triple-A.

Not only was Soler’s offense bad, but he nearly cost the Royals a game with his horrendous defense. He decided it was a good idea to dive for a ball in the outfield not once, but TWICE. He was not helping the team at all and was finally sent to the minor leagues a few weeks ago.

Sending Soler to the minors was the right move. It didn’t make sense to pull Bonifacio from the lineup, as he’s having an incredible rookie campaign, and Soler needed to get at bats somewhere. Turns out – He’s looking good at the plate over in Omaha, Nebraska.

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Soler is flat out crushing it for the Stormchasers right now, sporting a beautiful .291 batting average and ten home runs in 86 at bats. It might be time to bring Soler back up to the big leagues and have him replace Brandon Moss in the lineup.

Moss, who the Royals acquired this past offseason, has one of the worst batting averages on the team and his only job is to hit the baseball. His .180 batting average is an eye sore and his nine home runs are good, but not great considering what he’s capable of.

The problem is that the Kansas City Royals have Moss under contract for next season too, so if he’s replaced in the lineup then that’s a lot of money down the drain. Perhaps the team could opt to rotate the two guys so that they’re not completely wasting money.

The way I see it is that this team is finally starting to contend this season and Moss is one of the biggest black holes in the lineup. Soler might have struggled before, but he’s not going to gain much more from Triple-A. It’s time to bring him back to Kansas City and slot him in as the starting designated hitter.

What do you think Royals fans? Do you agree that it’s time to give Jorge Soler another shot or should the Royals continue sticking with Brandon Moss?

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