Kansas City Royals: Perfect lineup for 2021 season

Last season, the Royals primarily used Bubba Starling in center. He played 29 games out there as compared to Merrifield’s 23. Overall, in his 35 games played, Starling slashed a woeful .169/.219/.237 for an OPS that was 75% below league average. He totaled -0.7 WAR.

Yikes.

Still, the Royals re-signed him in December. Thankfully, they brought in his replacement, too, in the form of Michael A. Taylor, formerly of the Washington Nationals, with whom Taylor won a World Series in 2019.

In 2020, through 38 games, Taylor was worth -0.4 WAR. He hit .196/.253./424 for an OPS that was only 24% below league average. For his career, Taylor sports a .686 OPS, which is 20% below the league average.

Comparatively, Starling’s career OPS is 142 points lower.

Looks like if it’s between Starling and Taylor for the center field job, it’s a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t type of situation.

The best remaining free-agent batter just so happens to be a centerfielder, Jackie Bradley Jr. But there’s a reason Bradley Jr. hasn’t signed anywhere yet this offseason–he wants too long of a deal and too much money. By signing him, the Royals would instantly upgrade their centerfield situation, but the upgrade wouldn’t match the price it would take to sign Bradley Jr.

The last option would be Whit Merrifield who, again, played 23 games in centerfield last season. But center isn’t Whit’s best position nor is it even his second-best position. Plugging him into center would most likely mean that the young Edward Olivares starts in right field.

Over 31 games split between the Friars and Royals in 2020, Olivares actually posted the worst WAR of this motley crew: -0.8.

And so it appears that the starting center field gig will go to Taylor. That’s not ideal, but it’s far from the worst outcome.

Now, let’s get back to Merrifield because a lot more than center field hinges on him.