Kansas City Royals: Players to watch that no one is talking about
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There aren’t many Kansas City Royals left from the World Series regime and new players have been brought in to compete for a roster spot in 2018. Who are some to keep an eye on that no one is discussing?
This is going to be a very different spring training that years past. There will be a lot more new faces and a lot of “Who is that guy? When did we get him?” going around among the fans when the Kansas City Royals take the diamond for spring training.
Obviously we all know who Salvador Perez, Whit Merrifield, and Danny Duffy are, but what about some of the lower key signings? Guys who are fighting to earn a roster spot this season or guys who might already be on the 40-man roster and are looking to build a good reputation.
Well, that’s why I’ve gathered you all here today. We’re going to take a look at some of those “lesser known” names on the Royals roster (and fighting to be on the roster) at the moment.
Starting with…
PLAYERS TO WATCH THAT NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT – WILY PERALTA
This is about the only somewhat decent “big” signing the Royals had this winter and that’s pretty sad. For what it’s worth, the Royals made it abundantly clear that they wouldn’t be huge participants in free agency so we shouldn’t be all that surprised.
Anyway, let’s talk about Wily Peralta! He’s currently on the 40-man roster and will be fighting for a spot in the rotation, just like a lot of other guys. Peralta has not had a good season in awhile, coming off a rough 7.85 ERA campaign in 2017 with the Brewers.
That rough season was enough for Milwaukee to designate Peralta for assignment and he opted to hit free agency. The Royals inked him to a one-year deal back in December and it wasn’t a deal that I knocked too hard at the time.
Peralta has the ability to be an innings eater as a starter, but obviously he can only do that if he’s having success on the mound. He only started nine games last year for the Brewers and appeared in nine others as a reliever.
With the amount of talent the Royals have for their rotation, I don’t see Peralta winning a starting job. More than likely he’ll win a job in the bullpen, but he has experience and that’s what should keep him around assuming he has a decent showing in spring training.