Kansas City Royals: Non-tendered bargain free agent targets for 2020
By Cody Rickman
Who should the Royals target from the 2019 non-tendered free agent list?
I’d love to say the Kansas City Royals should be in the market for signing the “big-name” former All-Stars such as Addison Russell, Blake Treinen, and Aaron Sanchez, but I won’t.
The market for Russell should be quite competitive as he is capable of bouncing back from his off the field woes with the Cubs. Russell’s free agent value may exceed $6 million per year.
Blake Treinen was receiving some trade interest from the New York Yankees prior to the Oakland A’s non-tendering him. I believe Treinen to be one of the best relievers available in the free agent market and he should be able to rebound from his injury riddled season in 2019. His market may exceed $8 million per year.
Aaron Sanchez is coming off of a shoulder injury which required surgery and will not be expected to pitch in the 2020 season. Sanchez appears to be the perfect the buy-low candidate and could collect a 2 to 3-year contract worth $8-9 million per year.
Shoulder injuries typically don’t have the same recovery success track record UCL repairs (Tommy John Surgery). Each injury is different and the recovery timetables vary. Sanchez will be likely to miss 12-14 months and I don’t think the Royals can participate in this kind of investment.