Kansas City Royals: Outside free agents to avoid signing this offseason

There are plenty of potential free agents the Kansas City Royals could end up chasing this offseason. Here are a few players the team should stay away from.

Depending on which, if any, internal free agents the Kansas City Royals decide to bring back, the team could be looking at dozens of possible outside targets this winter. That being said, there are a few positions the team looks set to target regardless of how the offseason unfolds.

The team will undoubtedly attempt to sign a first baseman — be it Eric Hosmer or one of several cheaper alternatives. Conversely, the Royals seem unlikely to pursue an outside third baseman should Mike Moustakas decide to leave. Center field seems like a position where a stopgap could be needed until a prospect steps up. Other than that, the most likely place Dayton Moore will look to add players will be in the bullpen or the back-end of the rotation.

With plenty of free agents at those positions, the Kansas City Royals will have options galore for hired help. But not all free agents are created equal. Some are high-profile players primed to be overpaid. A few people would argue the top Royals free agents fall into this category.

However, we’ve decided to look at a different brand of candidate. These players would be deemed buy-low or bargain players. But we’re going to call them what they are: Players the team should pass on this offseason.

Yonder Alonso

If the Kansas City Royals fail to retain Hosmer, the obvious replacement would be Logan Morrison. The Kansas City native has expressed interest in joining the franchise. That said, he will still be moderately expensive off a nice bounce-back season.

With Hosmer, in this scenario, seeking a new challenge, the Royals could decide to do a full-blown rebuild. Even in that spot, Moore and Co. could decide to bring in outside help at first base. However, the team would likely look for options cheaper than Morrison. Enter the possibility of the front office pursuing Yonder Alonso.

The left-handed hitter got off a great start in 2017. He earned an All-Star nomination following a stellar first half with the Oakland Athletics. In his 100 games with the A’s, Alonso put up 22 home runs and 49 RBI with an OPS+ of 140.

Then came a complete collapse following a trade to Seattle. Over 42 games, he had six home runs and 18 RBI as his OPS+ fell to 114. While his batting average and on-base percentage didn’t drop off considerably after joining the Mariners, Alonso’s slugging percentage fell almost 100 points from .527 to .439.

Besides the drop off in production following the trade, Alonso should be avoided for the sheer fact he had never hit double-digit home runs until last season. In fact, his 28 dingers were more than his previous four years combined. Not exactly a stellar track record. With Alonso preparing to turn 31 years old in April, he doesn’t seem likely to suddenly hit 30-plus homers at Kauffman Stadium.

Brett Anderson

One of the top offseason goals of any franchise — no matter how set the pitching rotation — is surveying the buy-low pitching candidates. There’s nothing wrong with offering some wayward hurlers a minor league deal and a spring training invite. Most don’t work out, but it only needs to work once to make the practice worth it.

Even still, Brett Anderson isn’t a buy-low candidate worth spending a dime on. If the left-hander offers to work for free or pay the Kansas City Royals, then we’ll talk. But until then, the team should steer clear. In theory, the rotation could use another quality lefty to eat innings with Jason Vargas likely on the way out. Anderson, though, doesn’t fit that profile.

Only twice in his nine-year career has Anderson thrown more than 113 innings. In those two campaigns, he performed pretty well. The first occurrence came his rookie season with Oakland. That year, Anderson tossed 175 1/3 innings with an 11-11 record and a 4.06 ERA. In 2015, he managed a 10-9 mark and 3.69 ERA over 180 1/3 innings for the Dodgers.

That’s not the Anderson the Royals would likely sign this offseason. They would probably get the Anderson who threw just 55 1/3 innings in 2017. In that time, which came for the Cubs and Blue Jays, he posted a 6.34 ERA and 1.70 WHIP. His strikeout-to-walk rate of 1.81 wasn’t much better. Anderson should be given the chance for a bounce-back season. It just shouldn’t come from the Royals.

Carlos Gomez

To be clear, the Kansas City Royals haven’t outright been rumored to be interested in any of the players on this list. They all just happen to fit the profile of guys the team could target should things fall a certain way this winter. Carlos Gomez represents the only one of these players who has been predicted to join the team in articles we’ve come across.

MLB Trade Rumors predicted the Royals would sign Gomez to replace Lorenzo Cain. He would seem to make sense if the team re-signs Hosmer and hopes to stay somewhat competitive over the next couple of seasons. However, Gomez’s name has more cachet from his on-field antics than his actual numbers. Gomez had some great seasons in Milwaukee, but he’s struggled mightily since jumping to the American League, failing to play more than 118 games each of the past three seasons. He will also demand a larger contract than other worthy center field candidates.

Granted, Gomez does produce more offensively than many of them. Although, the Royals should view their next center fielder — if he comes via free agency — as a stopgap. Hopefully, in the not-so-distant future the franchise will develop a true heir in center. If the front office doesn’t believe the team has any great center field prospects, then the organization would be wise to target one via trade. Ideally one in a position to step directly into center for a rebuilding team or, at worst, a player who needs just one more year at the minor-league level.

Either way, there shouldn’t be a scenario where handing Gomez a two-year contract is a sensible decision.

Francisco Liriano

There was talk at the trade deadline about Francisco Liriano joining the Kansas City Royals. It didn’t happen, as the veteran left-hander instead went to Houston from Toronto. Liriano couldn’t be happier with the move since it netted him a first World Series ring. Hopefully, the Royals don’t view the deadline as a missed opportunity.

For almost the entirety of his career, Liriano has been a starting pitcher. Prior to 2017, he had made a grand total of 29 relief appearances. After his trade to the Astros, he made 20 appearances — all out of the bullpen. Liriano made an additional five relief appearances in the postseason. With a 4.41 ERA over 14 1/3 innings pitched in the regular season, the decision for Houston to bring him in didn’t go as planned.

Liriano’s struggles are one reason the Astros appear to be targeting left-handed reliever options, including Mike Minor. It’s possible the Kansas City Royals could see the same thing — or rather opposite thing. Given the team’s recent track record with turning starters into effective relievers, the organization could see Liriano as another quality reclamation project of sorts.

He doesn’t exactly fit the profile, though. For one thing, Liriano just turned 34 years old. Hardly an ideal time to teach an old dog new tricks. Plus, his 2017 splits show he can no longer effectively get right-handed hitters out. At best, Liriano would be a specialist. And while the Royals are set to lose Minor, the team still has at least one solid left-handed option in Scott Alexander.

The other worry with signing Liriano is that Moore could see him as a Vargas replacement in the back-end of the rotation. Neither move is a particularly smart one.