Kansas City Royals News: Jorge Bonifacio and not tanking in 2018
Kansas City Royals news consists of Jorge Bonifacio getting popped with an 80-game suspension and despite that, the team might not be as bad this season as we once thought.
Most Kansas City Royals fans thought for sure that their favorite baseball team was tanking in 2018. After all, they were losing a lot of key free agents and none of the minor league guys looked ready to take over and help this team compete.
Had the Royals stuck to their guns and gone with the “tanking” method, they wouldn’t have even made an effort to re-sign Eric Hosmer. They also wouldn’t have signed any free agents and they’ve brought in several! The most notable ones are Lucas Duda, Jon Jay, and of course, Mike Moustakas.
With those signings, it showed that Dayton Moore isn’t the most confident in the organization’s “next wave” of prospects. Maybe that next wave isn’t here yet and Moore is buying a little more time before the names like Nick Pratto and company get their major league call-ups.
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Re-signing all of those guys proved to be vital too, especially Jon Jay, after Jorge Bonifacio got smacked right in the face with an 80-game suspension. Bonifacio had a nice rookie season last year, slashing .255/.320/.432 with 17 home runs and 40 RBI in 384 at bats.
Perhaps Jon Jay was signed for this very reason, but now it looks like a good move. It’s a bummer that Bonifacio will miss nearly half the season because that’s going to be cost him time developing with the team.
Here’s what’s trending in Kansas City Royals news throughout FanSided.
Jorge Bonifacio suspension could lead to another signing [KC Kingdom]
"This isn’t the worst thing to ever happen, no, but it certainly puts a damper on the Royals’ parade. Bonifacio hit 17 dingers last year and played decent right field."
Kansas City Royals: So… what should we expect now? [Jordan Foote, Kings of Kauffman]
"If everything falls into place this season, (literally everything), the Royals could win 85 games. I just cannot see this team competing for first place in the AL Central despite the recent moves made."
Kansas City Royals might not be that bad in 2018 after all [KC Kingdom]
"Maybe that “next wave” of Royals players to help lead this group back to the promise land aren’t in the system yet."
Check out some other Kansas City Royals news from around the rest of the web.
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Are the Royals better than they were last year? [Max Rieper, Royals Review]
Royals first round 2018 spring training roster cuts [Maria Torres, Kansas City Star]
There were many of us (like myself) who felt like if the KC Royals were going to rebuild, then they should just rebuild. After they signed Duda and Jay, I was confused. Once Moustakas joined the team, however, I started to think maybe this team could make some noise after all.
Are the Kansas City Royals going to win the World Series this year? No. Are they going to make the postseason? Probably not. Will they have a winning record? That one all depends on the starting rotation and how the bullpen turns out, but it’s not out of the question anymore.
Not having Jorge Bonifacio will hurt, but the Royals have other options. Bonifacio probably would have been a starter, but there were no guarantees that he’d replicate his rookie numbers. It sucks, but it’s not the end of the world for the Kansas City Royals this year.
So, Royals fans, is this team capable of going .500 or better? What do you think?