Kansas City Royals: What is to be expected of Alex Gordon in 2019?

Sunday marked the 35th birthday of Alex Gordon. The Kansas City Royals outfielder has just one year left on his contract, so what should we expect from him in 2019?

Alex Gordon has been with the Kansas City Royals for a while, and his multi-year contract is set to expire at the end of the 2019 season. In August, there were talks of him potentially retiring at the end of 2019.

"“Obviously, I’m getting up there in age in terms of not many years left of me playing,” Gordon said. “I think I dealt with this mentally the last time I signed a contract. It depends on how I feel in one year and two months. Who knows? I may want to play longer. Or I may just want to be with my family. It’s the family decision that I think about most.[Retirement] crosses your mind.”"

He was quoted saying that in an article by MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan in early August. It’s unclear if anything has changed since, but Dayton Moore and Ned Yost seem to have plenty of confidence in the Gold Glover.

Moore is quoted in an article written by Vahe Gregorian of The Kansas City Star saying Gordon “came alive” at the plate in the 2018 season. The question will be if he can continue on the uptick in production at the plate, or if he will falter, and revert back to his plate performance of the two years prior.

2018 Season Statistics

He slashed .245/.324/.370 in the 2018 season, higher than the last two seasons. He played in 141 games for the Kansas City Royals in 2018, tallying 124 hits, 13 homers, and 54 RBI’s.

He struck out 124 times and walked 50 times.

2019 Predictions?

If this is truly his last year, he will likely be tasked with mentoring his left field successor. Gordon will hopefully be able to keep things going at the plate and have a solid year. With the amount of young outfield talent in the organization, it is yet to be determined how much time he will spend in the dugout during 2019.