These Royals won’t be returning to Kansas City for the 2021 season after the shortened 2020 season hurt their resumé.
While the Kansas City Royals have looked better over the past week, it’s too late for these 3 Royals to salvage their careers and they should plan on either playing elsewhere next season or calling it a career all together.
Let’s take a look at the 3 Royals in question.
3. Glenn Sparkman
The Royals tried to turn Glenn Sparkman into something, but it’s not working out and it’s time to move on from the 28-year-old right-handed pitcher.
Sparkman first broke onto the scene for the Royals in 2018 and he’s remained a part of their early rebuild teams, but has never really impressed. His best ERA came in that 2018 season when he had a 4.46 ERA through 38.1 innings thrown.
The 2019 season was when Sparkman got the most opportunities to shine, pitching 136 innings. He started 23 games and appeared in 31 total and despite the versatility to pitch in the rotation and the bullpen, was never great in either role.
Sparkman’s 2020 campaign was cut short due to injury after he threw just 5 innings and had an ugly ERA of 5.40. The Royals have plenty of pitching talent who either have performed better than Sparkman or who are still unknowns. That means it’s time to move on from Sparkman after this year.
2. Alex Gordon
This one should come as no surprise, as Alex Gordon is long past his glory days. The former second overall pick signed the largest contract in franchise history after the team won the World Series, which tied him to Kansas City through the end of the 2019 season.
Gordon slogged his way through the first 3 years of that deal and especially struggled in those first 2 seasons, batting .220 in 2016 and .208 in 2017. It was pretty tough to watch, but the Royals continued to give Gordon starts due to his defensive skills and the fact that they were paying him $18 million a year.
Gordon’s 2019 campaign was enough for the Royals to merit bringing him back on a 1-year deal and he hasn’t been good. As of this writing, he’s hitting just .226 and it’s clear that he’s past his prime.
Bringing Gordon back for the 2020 season was a nice thought, especially after he had a nice comeback season last year, but there’s no reason for the team to re-sign him for 2021. It’s time for Alex Gordon to retire and for the Kansas City Royals to find their next left fielder of the future.
1. Ian Kennedy
The Royals tried to shore up their rotation after winning the World Series in 2015 with the signing of free agent Ian Kennedy, who was known for being an innings eater. The organization most definitely overpaid Kennedy and everyone knew it at the time and hey – That still is the case today!
Kennedy might have pitched his last game for the Royals a few weeks ago, as he landed on the injured list where he still remains. Kennedy was moved to the bullpen last year and had a dominant season as a closer and the team missed their chance to trade him while he was still of some value.
This year did not go well for Kennedy. It felt like Kennedy coughed up a homer or at least surrendered multiple runs every time he’d enter the game and knowing that the Royals were paying him $16 million to be a lackluster reliever was painful. This signing didn’t work out for the Royals, but at least that eyesore of a contract will be off the books at season’s end.
It’s very likely that the 35-year-old pitcher has pitched his way out of a roster spot for any team moving forward, but it’s possible he could sign a minor league contract somewhere in 2021, it just won’t be with the Royals.
These 3 Royals will be on their way out of Kansas City when the shortened 2020 season comes to an end in less than 2 weeks.
After winning the World Series in 2015, the Royals were doing everything they could to ensure that they’d still be a contender in 2016. That led to them giving Alex Gordon the largest contract in franchise history and inking newcomer Ian Kennedy to the second largest contract in team history.
Spoiler alert: Neither worked out.
Gordon did return after his contract expired, but that’s only because he played well in 2019 and he was willing to come back and mentor some of the younger guys. That was also before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, shortening the 2020 MLB season.
Kennedy had his moments, but for the most part, was a great disappointment. He was moved to the bullpen last season and it looked like the Royals had finally found a good role for him, but they made the critical mistake of not trading him and, well – Look where they’re at regarding Kennedy now.
Sparkman isn’t in the same boat with these two, as no one really expected much out of him, but for whatever reason, he’s still hanging around. Hopefully his 3 lackluster seasons are evidence enough that he’s not going to be a suitable piece for this rebuild.
The Royals are in the midst of what looks to be a long rebuild and if they want to improve moving forward, these 3 players need to be left in the dust when the 2020 season wraps up.