KC Royals: Core four officially no more in Kansas City
The KC Royals will officially be without Lorenzo Cain next season. The “core four” of the Royals from their two World Series runs is now broken up for good.
Not many Kansas City Royals fans were surprised at Lorenzo Cain signing with another team, but that doesn’t make the moment any less painful. Cain joined the Royals back in 2010 when he and Alcides Escobar were traded to Kansas City from Milwaukee for Zack Greinke.
When Cain first got to town, there wasn’t really a place for him on the team so he spent the first year in the minor leagues. Escobar had a spot on the team, but boy did he stink at the plate. Esky had to take those at bats though and Ned Yost was wise to stick with him during his down times because we saw when the big moments came, Escobar was ready.
The other two members of the “core four” were Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas and they’re still on the free agent market too. Nobody expected Hosmer and Moose to still be available, and it took until January 25th for Cain to finally ink a deal somewhere.
Related Story: Lorenzo Cain agrees to massive deal with Brewers
What these four did for the Kansas City Royals organization is unforgettable. They provided stability at both their positions and at the plate and were all key parts in winning the World Series in 2015. Escobar won the ALCS MVP in 2014 and Cain won it in 2015.
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At the time, fans were jokingly thanking Zack Greinke on Twitter for giving the team two of their best players at the time. Him leaving and the Royals getting two members of the core four was the changing moment for this franchise.
While Hosmer, and Moustakas are still unsigned, Escobar re-signed with the Royals, so at least one guy is back.
Spring training is getting closer and the two remaining guys still have plenty in the tank. Hosmer will likely get the biggest deal (yes, even bigger than Cain’s whopping $80 million haul from the Brewers) and maybe it’ll be with the Royals, and maybe it won’t be.
When the ink dries on all of these guys’ future contracts, I hope fans can look back on the run with these players and think fondly of those days. It’ll be a few years before the KC Royals sniff the postseason again, but the memories of 2014 and 2015 will last a lifetime.
Good luck in Milwaukee, Lorenzo Cain!