Kansas City Royals need to move on from Paulo Orlando

The Kansas City Royals are in for a fairly boring offseason, but one of the moves they need to make is to part ways with Paulo Orlando.

The Kansas City Royals won’t be making a ton of moves this offseason due to them being in the midst of a rebuild, but one thing is for sure: It’s time for them to move on from some of their older players. One such player is outfielder Paulo Orlando.

Orlando will be 33 years old when the 2019 season gets underway and that’s not working in his favor for the rebuild. It also doesn’t help that Orlando saw just 90 at bats last year and slashed just .167/.194/.200 with just five RBI.

Between injuries and simply not having a steady role available, Paulo Orlando didn’t have many opportunities to see the field last year. The Royals have a plethora of outfielders and that wasn’t the case in 2015 when he was called up to the majors at the age of 29.

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Now, however, the Royals have plenty of outfielders and most of them are young guys, who will be a part of this rebuild all the way through. Alex Gordon is the exception to the rule, but he’s heading into his final year and is still a Gold Glove caliber player. Plus, he’s making a lot of money, so Gordon will obviously remain with the team.

Brett Phillips is likely the center field option moving forward. He wasn’t great offensively during his few months with the Royals, but the guy made some insane grabs in the outfield defensively. The Royals love defensive driven players, so that works in Phillips’ favor.

Jorge Bonifacio is probably going to continue being the man in right field. Sure, Bonifacio didn’t have a great 2018 season, but we all saw his potential as a rookie in 2017. Bonifacio is also just 25 years old and has displayed some power in his young career.

Paulo Orlando was a special player in 2015 and 2016, but even when he’s healthy (which hasn’t been much over the past two seasons), it’s clear that he’s no longer a fit for the Royals. Orlando isn’t a free agent until 2022, but at his age and the fact that he’s not eating up a lot of salary, the Royals can afford to part ways with him.

It’d be great if a team was interested in trading for him, but that’s not the likeliest of scenarios due to his age and lack of production recently. Perhaps the Royals DFA Orlando (which means he could end up returning), non-tender him and/or not go to arbitration with him, which would make Orlando a free agent.

Orlando wouldn’t be a hot name on the free agent market, but a team MIGHT be willing to bring him in on a cheap one-year deal. That team can’t be the Royals though, as they need to get younger and go all in on this rebuilding process.

Whatever they decide to do, Paulo Orlando isn’t going to be a part of the rebuild and it’s easier for the Royals to come to terms with that now.

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