Kansas City Royals: Three Bold Offseason Predictions

It seems everyone has an opinion on what the Kansas City Royals should do this offseason. Some are a little more out there than others, including these three.

The upcoming offseason is, above all else, an uncertain one for the Kansas City Royals. The team is coming off of two disappointing seasons and the championship core is hitting free agency. Dayton Moore has a huge decision to make: try to stay competitive or go through with a rebuild.

Regardless of which path he chooses, there will be shocking moves that will lead to a lot of opinions and emotions being thrown around. Everyone has their own idea about what should happen over the next three months. Most of those ideas seem crazy, blasphemous or over-the-top. All of them have some merit — except for trading Whit Merrifield. (Cough, cough, Alex.)

Some predictions are clearly more likely than others. For example, it’s not exactly earth-shattering to suggest the Kansas City Royals won’t retain all of their Core Four free agents. On the other hand, it would be considered ridiculous to claim the franchise will re-sign all of them.

That being said, the time is now for realistic speculation about the offseason. At this point, the possibilities are wide-ranging. Once the winter dominoes begin to fall, there will be fewer and fewer chances for the organization to go big. And if there was ever a time for Moore and Co. to go big, now is that time.

So here is a list of three bold moves that I believe the Kansas City Royals will make this offseason.

1.) Royals Re-Sign Eric Hosmer

This should almost be a no-brainer goal for the Kansas City Royals. Eric Hosmer has become the face of this franchise. He is coming off the best year of his career, during which he hit .318/.385/.498 with 25 home runs. He will be in the midst of his prime next season at 28 years old. A leader both on and off the field, Hosmer offers so much more to Kansas City than to any other team who may want him.

What’s more, the presumed bidding war that the team will have to enter into with the Yankees and Red Sox may never materialize. With New York looking to get under the luxury tax, the Yankees will likely stand pat and let Greg Bird man first base in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox should be in the bidding for Giancarlo Stanton this offseason. Dave Dombrowski loves nothing more than trading away prospects. If he gets that trade done, it is unlikely that Boston would have much money left to spend after taking on what’s left of Stanton’s massive contract.

With the two AL East behemoths out of the picture, Hosmer will be Kansas City’s for the taking. Moore will make the right move and sign Hoz to the largest contract in Royals history. He will return to the team next year with some of his best years in front of him. His steady glove work at first base will take much of the pressure off his new young infield teammates.

In the end, Hosmer will serve the role Alex Gordon recently held as a steady veteran presence leading the next great Royals team through the playoffs.

3. Alcides Escobar Returns, Raul Mondesi Moves to Center Field

Esky Magic is not dead yet. Kansas City Royals fans everywhere will let out a collective groan when Alcides Escobar is brought back on a two-year contract. Fans will call Moore crazy, among other adjectives. But there is a method to his madness here.

More from Kings of Kauffman

• KC Royals Rumors: Is a monster move in the cards?
• KC Royals Free Agent Hunt: 3 Tampa Bay pitchers
• Grading the 2022 KC Royals: The $25 million man
• KC Royals Winter Meetings Tracker: Expectations met
• KC Royals Winter Meetings Tracker: Day 3 update

The Kansas City Royals are short on center field prospects. They do have another shortstop prospect — Nicky Lopez — who is a few years off from being major league ready. The front office is very high on Lopez and sees him as a potential top-of-the-order bat with a fantastic glove at short.

The solution here is to transition Raul Mondesi to the outfield, where he will have a few seasons to adjust. His athleticism translates to center field and new roving instructor Rusty Kuntz could help Mondesi’s transition. Kuntz has had success converting infielders into Platinum Glove outfielders (see: Alex Gordon). He is more than capable of doing the same with Mondesi.

This clears a path for Lopez to eventually join the team. In the meantime, Escobar will play 324 more games in a Royals uniform. He won’t be very good, but he won’t have to be. Esky is just here to keep the seat warm for Lopez. So whenever Escobar gets up to bat, just go watch the video of his inside-the-park home run to start off Game 1 of the 2015 World Series.

Next: Top Pitching Seasons in Royals History

So what do you think? Do you consider these predictions more boneheaded than bold? Do you have any hot takes of your own? Let us know in the comments.