Kansas City Royals: What will designated hitter position look like in future
The Kansas City Royals haven’t had a true designated hitter this season. Will that change in the future or will it continue to be a rotating position?
For years, the Kansas City Royals had Billy Butler as their daily designated hitter. Butler filled that role through the 2014 season and then departed for Oakland with a hefty new contract.
The Royals then signed Kendrys Morales to replace him and helped revitalize his career. Morales signed a deal with the Blue Jays after the 2016 season wrapped up and that left the DH spot wide open once again.
The thought initially in 2017 was that the position would be a rotation between different guys. Whether it came to Salvador Perez or Eric Hosmer needing a day off, or maybe just whatever guy was swinging the bat well at that moment in time, that would help Ned Yost decide who the designated hitter was going to be.
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Well, instead, the Royals brought in Brandon Moss to be the DH and that went about as poorly as it could have gone. Moss was signed to a two-year deal, but was traded before the 2018 season even began.
The Royals had also traded for Jorge Soler prior to the 2017 season and it looked like he could emerge as their main DH, but Soler struggled that year. When he finally got more playing time in 2018, Soler was blowing the cover off the ball, but has been injured since June and we likely won’t see him again this year.
So, moving forward, what will the Kansas City Royals decide to do at the DH position? They have several options.
Obviously Soler, who I just mentioned, is a possibility. The former Cub was slashing .265/.354/.466 with nine home runs and 28 RBI in 257 plate appearances. That was a HUGE upgrade from his lousy .144/.245/.258 slash line in 2017.
Soler has been a little bit better defensively this year, but at times, yes, he can be a liability. That’s what makes him the perfect DH candidate.
At the same time, however, Ryan O’Hearn is putting himself in that designated hitter category. The 25-year old rookie is slashing .263/.358/.611 with nine home runs and 23 RBI in 109 plate appearances. O’Hearn is listed as a first baseman (and has played 17 games there so far), but with Nick Pratto heating up in the minor leagues, the likelihood that O’Hearn is the first baseman of the future isn’t strong.
The Royals could also opt to use the rotating designated hitter, which is what they’ve done this year. Salvador Perez (22), O’Hearn (10), Soler (9), Hunter Dozier (7), and Jorge Bonifacio (5) are just a few of the names who have had at bats as the DH this year. Could the Royals just use it as a day to give guys a break from playing defense?
With the young talent still forming in the minor leagues, it’ll be interesting to see how the Royals utilize the designated hitter spot moving forward .