Royals: Three biggest gaps to fill for the 2020 season

The first gap to fill for the Kansas City Royals is likely the most obvious gap seen by fans during the 2019 regular season.

First on foremost on the biggest gaps for the Kansas City Royals to fill is pitching. This includes both starting and relief pitching to be efficient, unlike the Royals pitching staff. Pitching was a problem and everyone knows about it. It was apparent throughout the entire year, and though there were very good games, there were a lot of really bad ones.

It seemed that Royals pitchers just never could figure it out in 2019. Not only did the team start the year with a bullpen that didn’t have any concrete roles, but their starting pitching was shaky early on.

The pitching struggles lasted throughout the year, causing the team to fall to the bottom of the MLB is most pitching categories, holding a team ERA of 5.20, and giving up 582 walks. The Royals have a lot of starting pitchers to work with, Brad Keller, Jakob Junis, Mike Montgomery, Danny Duffy, and even more relievers that can be expected to be seen, but the team needs to make some decisions as to who will be where.

Some players may start the season in the minors while some starters may find themselves in the bullpen. Either way, the positions need to be more solidified going into the season than they were in 2019. If the team want’s to break away from the 100 loss seasons, filling the pitching gaps is the first place to start.

While there are Kansas City Royals players to fill the gap at first, they have to step up and show they can produce before the job is fully theirs.

While pitching seems to hold most of the issues the Kansas City Royals have, first base brought its share of issues during 2019 as well. For the Royals, the issue fell to the fact that the player who was supposed to take the reigns struggled offensively, and the players that were in line to fill in didn’t impress anyone either.

With a first base lineup for a majority of the year consisting of Ryan O’Hearn, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Lucas Duda, hopes weren’t very high for the position. Ryan O’Hearn had taken baseball by storm in his 2018 debut but seemed to fall off offensively in 2019. Defensively he is average, but with the offensive production he is capable of, it should be worth it. He started to turn things around towards the end of the season, but he will have to carry that over to 2020 if he wants to remain the frontrunner for first.

The Royals also brought in Ryan McBroom from the Yankee’s minor league system but he saw limited time at first, filling in as needed in the outfield. While most other positions have players locked down, first base is one of the only spots that are truly up in the air.

It’s likely Ryan O’Hearn will continue to lead the pack in the positional battle, but with new management, there is no telling what changes could come to the lineup. If the Royals want to continue to show progress and get one step closer to contention, locking down an everyday first baseman who can help both offensively and defensively will be key for 2020.

With a lot of unknowns surrounding the Kansas City Royals for 2020, the outfield gaps could be filled in a number of different ways.

There are two directions that could have to be taken by the Kansas City Royals in filling the gaps in the outfield. First, if Alex Gordon does not return on another contract, the team will have to fill the large defensive void left by the 7-time gold glover.

Second, whether Alex is brought back or not, the Royals have to fill the gaps by deciding who is going to be the full-time position holder. Like first base, the outfield has multiple players looking to fill a possible spot in the canyon of Kauffman Stadium.

The issue, assuming Gordon returns, is that there are six possibilities for the two outfield spots. Even if Gordon doesn’t get a new contract, there are still two players for each spot.

Dozier spent a lot of time in the outfield in 2019, but pending a big third base free agent signing, it’s likely he will remain at third. The story is similar for Jorge Soler, who will see limited outfield time, playing mostly in the designated hitter spot. Whit Merrifield could be the same, but with Nicky Lopez likely to be in the lineup, he stays in the outfield running until further decisions come forward.

That leaves Bubba Starling and Brett Phillips likely fighting for the center, and Merrifield and McBroom in the running for right. Of course, if Alex doesn’t return, the decision is made much easier, especially if McBroom takes over at first base.

The issue, if it hasn’t already been noticed, is that there is no rhyme or reason as to who is going to be in what outfield position in 2020. All of the listed players are great defensively, and some of them can produce offensively, making the decision even more difficult.

While the outfield is not the biggest concern for the Royals, it is one of the few positions that will need to be solidified a little more come spring training.

For most spots, the Royals have the players, they just need to figure out where they all fit in the best. 2020 will be interesting but as long as the Royals can correctly put the pieces together, along with maybe a few new pitchers, the 100 loss seasons can be a thing of the past.