Kansas City Royals: Alcides Escobar’s Day Off

Alcides Escobar’s streak finally came to an end. Manager Ned Yost informed Escobar he would not be starting for the Kansas City Royals in Sunday’s game.

Alcides Escobar held a streak of 421 games started in a row. There was talk about Escobar being held out of the Kansas City Royals lineup for a while, in light of the rebuild. In order to give Adalberto Mondesi more opportunities at shortstop, Escobar may have to take more than just the one day off.

Escobar’s streak began in 2015 on September 26. According to an article by Jeffrey Flanagan, Escobar was okay with the streak ending, and he was in a good mood before Sunday’s game.

Why Sunday?

Ned Yost said this regarding his choice of game:

"“Because I decided today was the day. I just decided today was it. I don’t have a ‘scientifical’ equation where I went out and looked at nineteen different factors and looked at how the stars lined up with the moon.”"

Escobar’s streak has survived through him shifting positions. According to Yost, Alcides Escobar doesn’t have much of a shot of becoming a starting shortstop for another team. He will have to take on a utility role in order to find himself some playing time, wherever he lands.

The rest of 2018

As for the rest of his season with the Kansas City Royals, it is unknown. If the organization is truly serious about helping Mondesi transition into the role of starting shortstop, Escobar will play there less and less. The more big league reps he gets, the better off he will be.

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Escobar will most likely continue to jump around positions. He has played some third and some center, and who knows where else he will be thrown into. One thing is for certain, though. He will continue to take away opportunities from Adalberto Mondesi, which is detrimental to the Kansas City Royals.