Kansas City Royals: Alcides Escobar era needs to end
The Kansas City Royals got a lot of good years out of shortstop Alcides Escobar, but we’re past those days. It’s time to move on from Escobar and give Adalberto Mondesi a chance to play at shortstop.
When the Kansas City Royals re-signed Alcides Escobar during the offseason, it brought on a lot of mixed feelings for the fans. On the one hand, this guy was with the Royals during their two runs to the World Series and had some key moments in both years.
On the other hand, Escobar isn’t the same hitter he once was. Not only that, but he’s currently blocking Adalberto Mondesi from making a major league appearance. The Royals want Escobar to keep up his consecutive starts record, but he’s not part of the future plans and it’s time to give Mondesi some of those starts.
As of Saturday evening, Esky is slashing .222/.272/.317 with three home runs and 17 RBI. Mondesi is slashing .270/.315/.550 with five home runs and 19 RBI in the minor leagues and deserves to get a call-up and play at shortstop over Escobar.
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Escobar playing every day doesn’t make sense anymore other than to keep his streak of consecutive starts going. He’s not hitting well and while his defense is fine, he’s 31 years old and the Royals need to be focusing on giving their young players at bats this year.
Mondesi played at second base in both 2016 and 2017, so that could be another option to bringing him up to the majors. This would definitely be a stronger option should Whit Merrifield be traded, but shortstop is Mondesi’s preferred position and it’s one where the team likely sees him slotted in at long-term.
The Royals aren’t contending for anything this year, so that means it’s time to give the younger guys opportunities. Instead, Escobar is blocking Mondesi from making it to the big leagues, and he’s not even proving he deserves to keep his spot in the lineup. It’d be one thing if Escobar was batting .270, but he’s at .222 and one of the worst hitters on the team.
Royals fans appreciate Alcides Escobar and what he did for this franchise during their good years, but the time has come for the organization to move on from him. He doesn’t have to be designated for assignment or anything drastic like that, but it’s okay to break his starting streak and let someone else start at shortstop.
At this point, we’ll still be seeing Escobar play shortstop by the time the team is ready to contend again. Ned Yost appears to love the guy that much.