Kansas City Royals dealing with crowded outfield in 2019

The Kansas City Royals have a plethora of outfielders heading into the 2019 season. How will they get all of these guys playing time, or will they all get playing time?

When the Kansas City Royals signed Billy Hamilton last week, it was surprising on a few levels. For one, he’s not a great offensive player. Secondly, the Royals already have tons of options in their outfield next year and beyond.

Hamilton is one of the many outfielders, but the options don’t stop there. They also have Alex Gordon, Jorge Bonifacio, Jorge Soler, Brian Goodwin, and Brett Phillips. There’s also some minor league names to keep an eye on this year too, but with all of that major league depth, those guys might have to wait a few more years before even getting a crack in the big leagues.

When looking at these names, it appears that Gordon, Hamilton, and Soler would probably be the main starters. Bonifacio could potentially split time in right field with Soler and the other one could be the designated hitter on certain days as well.

The Royals might have added Hamilton because they don’t think Phillips is ready to be an every day contributor yet, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him spend at least the first half of the season in the minors.

As for Goodwin, where do the Royals put him? He batted .266 last year in 101 plate appearances and has mostly been a center fielder throughout his career. If Phillips goes to Omaha to start the year, perhaps Hamilton and Goodwin tag team it in center field.

I have failed to mention that Whit Merrifield is yet another outfield option for the Kansas City Royals, but more than likely, his outfield appearances will be limited in 2019 due to the depth. Also, there’s really not a decent second base option behind Merrifield unless the Royals decided to call Nicky Lopez up and have him get some starts there.