KC Royals: Candidates to Replace Alex Gordon

Jul 27, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Colorado Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon (19) makes a catch during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

Charlie Blackmon

One time All-Star Charlie Blackmon is another Colorado outfielder, who primarily played center in 2015. At 29-years-0ld, Blackmon is a left-handed hitter who will be first time arbitration eligible in 2016. In short, that makes him pretty cheap with three-years of team control remaining.

That’s the good.

The bad is that Charlie Blackmon is a Colorado outfielder with a strong home/away split.  For his career, he hit a solid .334/386/.501 at home, and a terrible .241/.283/.370 on the road. You have to wonder what Charlie Blackmon will produce away from Coors Field on a regular basis.

Defensively, Blackmon doesn’t really have the range you want in center with a -11.1 career UZR. However, he’s a much more acceptable 6.0 in 574.0 innings in left and 8.1 in 955.0 career innings in right. He also notched nine outfield assists in 2015. He should be fine as a corner outfielder, but he lacks the defensive excellence of Alex Gordon.

Given those reasonable doubts about Blackmon’s bat, and his status as a late-bloomer, the KC Royals might get him for a fairly cheap price in prospects. Obviously, he’s not going to command anything like the package that Carlos Gonzalez would require—which means the Kansas City Royals wouldn’t have to give up top tier talents like Raul Mondesi or Miguel Almonte.

I wouldn’t get excited about a Charlie Blackmon deal, but I wouldn’t pitch a fit. To me, Blackmon is fallback position in case the KC Royals can’t get what they really want on the corner outfield market.

A legitimate playoff contender like Kansas City should do better than Charlie Blackmon. The only way I would be pleased with such a deal is if Dayton Moore landed a good rotation piece like Scott Kazmir, which forced him to accept a cheap corner outfield solution.

Next: Corey Dickerson