KC Royals: Sorting Through Some Possible Roster Moves

The KC Royals have had a handful of roster moves occur so far this season. With a lot to keep track off, I’ll break down every possible upcoming move.

The KC Royals have had a lot going on with their player personal so far. With Jorge Soler going to the DL, the team not deciding what to do with speedster Terrence Gore, the team needing bullpen help, etc., all this can be hard to keep track of.

Jorge Soler Coming off the 10 Day DL

Newly acquired outfielder Jorge Soler has had quite the theme to his career. Visiting the DL. With the Chicago Cubs, Soler only played 187 games over a two-year span, dealing with various injuries.

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Soler was ready to go in Spring Training this year though. Though coming into the season fully healthy, Soler had his struggles during spring training. This shouldn’t be too concerning though, as this is common for many other players, including him. It  was at the end of Spring Training though when Soler tweaked his oblique. This caused the KC Royals to use their first ever 10 day DL move.

Since the injury, the replacement, Paulo Orlando has been subpar, posting an OPS+ of -14. Even with a big sample size. Orlando still isn’t impressive, as he is below 12% league average offensively. Solar is 7% above league average.

Possible Moves

When Soler comes of the DL, which should be sometime next week, the KC Royals will have to remove someone off the big league roster. Here’s what could happen in order of likelihood.

1. Jorge Soler removed from DL, Whit Merrifield to AAA
2. Jorge Soler removed from DL, Raul Mondesi to AAA
3. Jorge Soler removed from DL, Christian Colon DFA’d

Brian Flynn Coming of the 60 Day DL

We all remember the interesting story regarding lefty reliever Brian Flynn and his barn. Last year, right before spring training, Flynn fell off the roof of his barn, giving him a fractured rib, putting him on the 60 Day DL. This sparked the KC Royals to sign left-handed veteran Travis Wood.

Flynn provided some serviceable innings for the club last year, posting the 18th lowest ERA among relievers with at least 50 innings last year. Though this did come with some luck, as he had the 4th lowest BABIP among the same group of relievers.

Flynn still needs a decent amount of time before he can start rehabbing. But when a roster move needs to be made, Flynn might not have a spot on the big league roster, having one option left.

Next: Bullpen Option

This means the most likely scenario is he starts out in the Omaha bullpen and is stashed for bullpen depth.

Possible Moves

With someone needing to come of the 40 man roster, here are the possible moves that could happen when Brian Flynn comes back.

1. Billy Burns DFA’d
2. Christian Colon DFA’d
3. Kevin McCarthy DFA’d

Hunter Dozier Coming of the 60 Day DL

A move that came out of the blue was Hunter Dozier being placed on the 60 Day DL right before the season started with what the KC Royals called a nasty oblique strain.

This partly had to do with the injury and partly had to do with a roster crunch the KC Royals had.

Nonetheless, the KC Royals top hitting prospect is still a couple of weeks from playing some games.

When Dozier comes back, he’s heading to Omaha. It might not be long after that until he’s getting at-bats in the majors.

Possible Moves

Like Flynn, when Dozier comes of off the 40 man, someone well have to be removed

1. Billy Burns DFA’d
2. Ramon Torres DFA’d
3. Christian Colon DFA’d

Of course, an injury or transaction could change all of this. Roster moves are a hard thing to predict, as we’ve seen before with this team.