Kansas City Royals: What you see should be what you get

As the 2018 season came to an end for the Kansas City Royals plenty of questions came to mind. Questions about roster depth and offseason moves are slowly coming to the surface. Well, I’m here to advocate for starting the 2019 season the way 2018 ended.

The Kansas City Royals were relatively active last year during the offseason. No, they didn’t sign any big named players but made a couple significant trades. They did, however, sign a few veterans to flip for prospects.

While some of the trades worked and benefited the Royals, others seemingly backfired and/or blocked a player. Therefore, in order to continue the developmental process and rebuild for the 2020/2021 season, I’m advocating that the Royals should keep the roster similar to what they ended the year with.

The current situation

That means the Royals aren’t digging around the veteran piles to try and find someone to flip. That means the Royals roll with what they currently have and allow for the players to develop.

Some positions are overflowing with players. The outfield is extremely packed with Alex Gordon, Jorge Bonifacio, Jorge Soler, Brett Phillips, Brian Goodwin, and Rosell Herrera. When looking at this, no team is going to roll with six outfielders, which means someone is going to be moved.

When looking at the infield, things aren’t much better when it comes to being overcrowded. With Hunter Dozier, Adalberto Mondesi, Whit Merrifield, Ryan O’Hearn, and Salvador Perez currently running as the starters, they still run into a crowded situation. Players like Cheslor Cuthbert, Nicky Lopez, Herrera, Cam Gallagher, and Meibrys Viloria still need to be taken into consideration.

The pitching situation is an interesting one as well. As it stands Danny Duffy, Brad Keller, Ian Kennedy, and Jake Junis are firmly set as starters for next year. However, the fifth spot is still up for grabs between Heath Fillmyer, Jorge Lopez, Eric Skoglund, and basically anyone in the minor leagues that is potentially ready to make the jump (Trevor Oaks, Brady Singer, , Jackson Kowar, and Daniel Lynch being a few).

The bullpen, for the most part, can stay the same. Having Brian Flynn, Jake Newberry, Tim Hill, Ben Lively, Kevin McCarthy, Jerry Vasto, and Brandon Maurer will most likely be the bullpen if things stay the same. Yes, Maurer doesn’t really seem to be going anywhere.

What it could look like

If I were asked to help set up a lineup, it would be a pretty simple choice.

The starting lineup would be:

• Catcher – Perez
• First Base – O’Hearn
• Second Base – Merrifield
• Third Base – Dozier
• Shortstop – Mondesi
• Left Field – Gordon
• Center Field – Phillips
• Right Field – Bonifacio
• Designated Hitter – Soler

The bench players would be:

• Outfield – Goodwin
• Super Utility – Herrera
• Catcher – Gallagher
• Power hitter – Frank Schwindel

Starting Rotation:

• Keller
• Duffy
• Kennedy
• Junis
• Skoglund

Bullpen

• Hill
• Newberry
• McCarthy
• Flynn
• Lovelady
• Lopez
• Fillmyer

Final Thoughts

If I’m the Royals, I start the process of moving on from Paulo Orlando and Cuthbert. I also do everything in my power to trade Maurer and if I can’t then I would release him.

Also, to free up some money and position, releasing Jason Hammel and Peralta are towards the top of the offseason to-do list. While Peralta wasn’t awful, it’s time to bring in the new blood.

All-in-all, I don’t find it necessary for the Royals to go out and spend money on veterans. In fact, the Royals actually started playing better towards the end of the year when they were playing all of the young blood players.

The 2019 season is thought to be similar to 2018, and personally, I know that I will be more willing to watch if I get the chance to see what the future could be. If the Royals continue with the rebuilding process and move onto the next phase, bringing in the younger players, fans will be more understanding.

Therefore, the Royals should roll into 2019 the way they ended 2018. It may not be pretty, but it will be more entertaining to watch younger future players than veterans who are at the end of their careers.

What do you think Royals fans? Should they try and sign and flip players as they did in 2018? Should they keep moving into 2019 the way they ended 2018? Let us know below!