Kansas City Royals: Ramon Torres will be utility guy in 2018
When looking at the Kansas City Royals active roster, it’s easy to forget about Ramon Torres. The guy should be an effective utility man in 2018 though.
Not many people had heard of Ramon Torres until last season, but he could play an integral part in the Kansas City Royals‘ rebuilding process. Torres, who recently turned 25 years old, has spent time at second base, third base, and at shortstop with the Royals.
Last season, Torres started 11 games at second base and six games at third while playing shortstop three total times. While it’s doubtful that Torres will become an every day starter (at least not this year), he could become a similar player to what Christian Colon was, but hopefully more effective.
The Royals already have Whit Merrifield at second base (unless he gets traded), they recently re-signed Alcides Escobar to man shortstop, and Cheslor Cuthbert should be the next guy to takeover at third base. That leaves Torres to be a backup for all of those positions, which he should be able to handle.
Last season, Torres was okay at the plate for a rookie, slashing .243/.291/.284 with four RBI in 74 at bats. Baseball Reference projects him to slash .259/.326/.403 with six home runs and 25 RBI in 216 at bats this upcoming season, which Royals fans would gladly take for a utility player.
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Had the Royals not re-signed Escobar to a one-year deal, Raul Mondesi likely would have won the shortstop job, but it’s very likely that he and Torres would have been trading off playing time. Now, Torres will see time at the three positions and depending on who gets signed for first, perhaps he spends some time over on that side of the field too.
The Royals are rebuilding and that means the fans are going to see a lot of guys like Ramon Torres these next few years. We’re not real sure where Torres will ultimately wind up, but for now, he’s a backup player and could eventually work his way into a starting job should the cards fall that way.
If Merrifield is traded at any point, Torres could make a strong case to get a decent amount of playing time there. He’s not a superstar, but the Royals are building their way back up to what they were from 2013-2015. That takes young players like Torres making mistakes and learning from them in order to contribute in the coming years.
There’s no better season than 2018 to let Ramon Torres see the field and give him a fair shot to improve as a ball player. The Royals aren’t going anywhere this season and that means it’s time to rebuild the right way and let players develop and grow.