Kansas City Royals: Filling the void left by Mike Moustakas

The Kansas City Royals parted ways with Mike Moustakas on Friday, trading him to the Milwaukee Brewers. For the rest of the 2018 season, the Royals are going to have to shift players to fill the gap losing Moustakas left behind at the hot corner.

With Mike Moustakas no longer a member of the Kansas City Royals, third base is vacant. The question then becomes, who will fill his role?

According to Ned Yost, third base will be run by a committee of guys. Hunter Dozier is listed as the primary third baseman in their depth chart, which is a no-brainer. But, as was seen in Sunday’s match up against the New York Yankees, Dozier will not be the only player taking some of the time at third base.

Third Base Options

This season, Dozier has started six games at third. Alcides Escobar has started five. As Adalberto Mondesi continues to accustom himself to playing shortstop at the Major League level, it actually is a benefit to him that Moustakas is gone. Though it’s highly unlikely that Escobar will find consistent playing time this season at third, it will help to give Mondesi more in-game reps.

Another face that will be showing up at third is Rosell Herrera. Herrera, not Escobar, is actually listed as the backup third baseman on the official Kansas City Royals depth chart. So far in 2018, Herrera has not played an inning at third.

Plus, if worst comes to worst, it isn’t like they don’t have a farm system chock full of young hopefuls waiting for their opportunity to make it to The Show. And, because the 2018 season is sort of shot for the Kansas City Royals, it wouldn’t be terrible if they had to shift other players in to play some innings in the hot corner as well.