Kansas City Royals: Signing Billy Hamilton is unnecessary
By John McCarty
The Kansas City Royals’ decision to sign the speedy Billy Hamilton, who can play defense but can’t hit, shows a continued lack of direction within the organization.
When the Kansas City Royals traded long time third baseman Mike Moustakas this past season, a big part of the return was outfielder Brett Phillips. Speedy, good defense with an ability to both hit a home run and not get on base, Phillips was the apple of Dayton Moore’s eye.
He joined a crowded group in the outfield that included World Series hero Alex Gordon, Jorge Bonifacio, the oft-injured Jorge Soler, Brian Goodwin, Rosell Herrera, and the jack of all trades Whit Merrifield.
So it makes sense, with so much turnover in the bullpen and a team that finished the 2018 season as the second worst team in the league, to sign an outfielder that can really run and could really be a weapon as long as the league allows him to start on first. They don’t though.
It’s hard to defend or explain why the signing of Hamilton makes much of any sense. He doesn’t get on base (career OBP 298) and he doesn’t hit for any kind of power (career SLG 333) with 21 home runs for his career. Yes, for his SIX YEAR career. Needless to say, he can do very little other than run really fast.