Royals Rumors: Alcides Escobar re-signing is not a great move
By Joel Wagler
Some Royals rumors turn out to be a reality. It appears Alcides Escobar is going to re-sign with the Kansas City Royals.
Finally, there is some real action with Royals rumors. Apparently, the Kansas City Royals have reached an agreement to re-sign long-time shortstop Alcides Escobar.
This may not be the first player most people hoped the Royals would re-sign but it may be the only one Kansas City can afford.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported the talks this morning.
alcides escobar and the royals are working toward an agreement to bring him back to KC
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 26, 2018
Then, Robert Murray, also of FanRag, tweeted the deal is in place, once the team doctors have signed off on Escobar’s health. No terms are available yet.
Source: #Royals, Alcides Escobar have a deal, pending physical.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 26, 2018
One has to question what the Royals are thinking here. Are they convinced Raul Mondesi will be a bust and never hit Major League pitching? Is Escobar merely a backup plan in case Mondesi does indeed tank?
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Or, worse, are the Royals planning on trading one of their few productive hitter left on the roster in Whit Merrifield?
The problem with having Escobar on the roster is that Ned Yost will play him – probably every day. Yost has been blind to Escobar’s numerous hitting warts over the years, often batting the shortstop leadoff, despite an awful On-Base Percentage.
Of all active players, Escobar has the 11th worst OBP (.293) since 2011, and of the ten that are worse, only oft-injured J.J. Hardy has anywhere close to as many plate appearances as Escobar (4,481 for Esky, 3,636 for Hardy).
For the record, recent Royals signee Ryan Goins is much worse with a .275 career OBP.
This move makes little sense for the Royals, whatever the cost. Escobar was awful in 2017 with a slash of .250/.272/.357/.629. His best attribute over the years was his speed but even it disappeared completely last year as he stole only four bases on 11 attempts.
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According to Fangraphs, his fielding has slipped too. Over the last two seasons, he has a minus ten in Defensive Runs Scored and only an accumulative Ultimate Zone Rating of 2.7 over the last two years after earning a UZR of 7.1 in 2015.
His OBP was the second worse in the Majors last year and his Wins Above Replacement the 20th worst in the league.
The Royals had seemingly moved on. They appeared ready to let Mondesi take over at shortstop, signed Ryan Goins as an emergency option if Mondesi failed, and traded for Erick Mejia as a possible candidate.
Now, fans have to fear Dayton Moore plans on trading Whit Merrifield, one of the few fan favorites left on the roster. There just doesn’t seem to be any other explanation that makes sense, and that will be a tough pill to swallow for fans who know the Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain, who signed a big contract with Milwaukee on Thursday, are not coming back.
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Alcides Escobar was a key component in the two World Series appearances and the Royals fans love him for it, but this is one of those Royals rumors most would have preferred to stay a rumor.