Kansas City Royals: Franchy Cordero looks to be favorite in left field
The Kansas City Royals won’t have Alex Gordon in left field next year and it looks like Franchy Cordero will be tasked with replacing him.
Alex Gordon called it a career and the Kansas City Royals have to figure out who will be patrolling left field now that he’s off to retirement. According to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com and his mailbag, Franchy Cordero is currently leading the pack as far as the left field race goes.
"Yes, it sure seems from conversations with manager Mike Matheny and general manager Dayton Moore that Franchy Cordero will get the first shot in left field to replace Alex Gordon. But, to me, the whole outfield situation will be perhaps the most curious area to watch in Spring Training."
Flanagan isn’t lying about the outfield situation as a whole. The Royals have a ton of different options there, including Cordero, Edward Olivares, Whit Merrifield, Bubba Starling, Nick Heath, Khalil Lee, and Kyle Isbel, all of whom Flanagan mentioned in his mailbag. He also noted that the Royals certainly aren’t afraid to call up any of their promising prospects, which is why Lee and Isbel are grouped in here.
Cordero was acquired prior to the 2020 season from the Padres. The Royals sent relief pitcher Tim Hill to San Diego in exchange for Cordero and he finished his first season as a Royal with a slash line of .211/.286/.447 while belting two home runs and plating seven RBI. Cordero spent the majority of his time in right field, but that’s because Gordon was predominantly in left this season.
It’ll be interesting to see someone new in left field because Royals fans have grown accustom to seeing Gordon out there for a decade now. He was tremendous in left field and making dazzling defensive plays during his time in the outfield. While Cordero probably doesn’t end up being quite the web gem master that Gordon was, the organization traded for him for a reason and it was to have him eventually be Gordon’s successor in the outfield.
Next. What We Learned About the Royals in Shortened Season. dark
Again though, the Royals have a lot of options to consider from now until Opening Day of the 2021 season as far as their entire outfield situation goes. Assuming Merrifield is still with the team, he’s a lock to be in one of those three positions with the other two being up for grabs. If Franchy Cordero performs well in Spring Training, however, left field should be his job to lose.