KC Royals: Questions loom as Spring Training approaches

The KC Royals officially open the gates to Spring Training on February 12. The club has a new third baseman and some new relievers, but questions about the starting rotation, first base and the outfield need answers.

The late afternoon sacrifice fly off Brett Phillips‘ bat that gave the KC Royals a walk-off season finale win over Minnesota on September 29 marked more than the end of another dismal Kansas City campaign. The offseason began the instant the winning run crossed the plate–there were things to repair and others to replace, the kind of tasks made necessary by a 103 loss season.

It is hard to imagine General Manager Dayton Moore taking much time off before he set about putting as much of the Royals’ house in order as possible. There was a manager to hire. Alex Gordon was contemplating retirement and his decision, no matter what it turned out to be, would have lineup implications. The rotation and bullpen, in varying degrees of disarray, needed work. Concerns about his defense cast doubt on Hunter Dozier‘s hold on third base. No Royal enjoyed indisputable claim to first base or right field.

And on top of it all, a new ownership group was preparing to take control of the franchise.

The ownership change was, of course, out of Moore’s hands–announced in August, only baseball’s formal approval awaited, and it came in November. The managerial opening occasioned by Ned Yost‘s retirement took Moore a month to fill–to no one’s surprise, he gave Mike Matheny the job.

Never prone to spend extravagantly on relievers, Moore appears to have done all he reasonably could to give Matheny plenty of bullpen projects from which to choose, including former KC closer Greg Holland, who returns to the Royals in search of rejuvenation, and Trevor Rosenthal, the ex-Cardinal who put in his finest seasons working for Matheny in St. Louis.

In a deal few saw coming, Moore’s signing of Maikel Franco to play third base resolved not only the concerns about Dozier’s hot corner defense, but also the uncertainty in right field as Dozier, suddenly displaced at third, will play there. Gordon decided to return for $4 million, leaving Brett Phillips and Bubba Starling to vie for a backup outfield role.

So while Moore’s winter work may have resolved some issues, major questions remain unanswered just days before Spring Training opens. Who will secure the fifth spot in the Royals’ shaky starting rotation? Who will play first base? And who will provide outfield backup for Gordon, Merrifield and Dozier?

The KC Royals have been searching for a first baseman for three seasons and hope to find one in 2020. The club will look first to a couple of young players with the same first name.

The KC Royals’ quest to fill the gaping hole left at first base by Eric Hosmer‘s departure after 2017 continues. The club gave Lucas Duda two shots at the job, first in 2018 until it traded him to Atlanta, then again for a shorter time in 2019 before declaring a merciful end to the attempt when Duda’s bat failed. Ryan O’Hearn received the longest look at first last season, but suffered at the plate.

So it is that the Royals enter their third Spring Training with things still unsettled at Hosmer’s old position. Their hopes to finally resolve the matter rest first on O’Hearn, whose 2018 performance earned him most of the playing time at first last season–he played there in 31 of his 44 games, hitting 12 home runs with 30 RBIs, a .262 average and .950 OPS (154 OPS+). Although he declined miserably in 2019–he hit 14 homers but with an ugly .195/.281/.369 slash (70 OPS+)–’18 may more accurately reflect his potential. And new manager Mike Matheny is a fan.

Unless KC swings a late deal, another Ryan will provide O’Hearn’s competition. Ryan McBroom came to the club last August in a straight-cash transaction with the Yankees and saw action at first and in the outfield. His batting average was the best feature of his .293/.361/.360 23-game slash (his 93 OPS+ must improve) but he clubbed 102 homers in six minor league seasons with the Yanks and posted a .976 OPS in AAA before the Royals bought his contract.

Of course, the club is sure to test Salvador Perez at first a few times this season as it searches for ways to reduce the physical demands of catching and to rest his post-Tommy John surgery elbow. And Jorge Soler may see bits of time there. Clearly, however, the Royals seek daily first base certainty, so a Ryan is the preferred everyday choice. A Ryan-Ryan platoon isn’t out of the question–McBroom fares far better against left-handers than O’Hearn.

The offseason signing of a free agent third baseman shook the KC Royals’ outfield. In its aftermath, two outfielders running short on time will compete for a backup spot, a test that may spell the end of one player’s KC career.

As the New Year drew near, Bubba Starling and Brett Phillips probably weren’t thinking about Maikel Franco. Instead, their baseball thoughts were more likely fixed on their approaching battle for a regular job in the KC Royals’ outfield–while smart money had Whit Merrifield grabbing most of the right field time, center field was wide open after Phillips and Starling both failed to win the job in 2019, and left fielder Alex Gordon was quietly considering retirement.

That all changed on December 27, however, when the Royals signed Franco to play third base, a move that uprooted Hunter Dozier and moved him straight to right field and, consequently, Merrifield to center. Phillips and Starling were left to fight for one of two things–the regular left field job if Gordon decided to retire, or a backup role if he decided to stay.

Gordon’s recent decision to return for another season narrows the Starling-Phillips contest to one for a backup job. Gordon’s still stellar defense (he won another Gold Glove in 2019), his improvement at the plate last season, his history with the franchise, and the $4 million he’ll get this season mean he’s the presumptive everyday left fielder–he may take a few more days off, but the club didn’t give him $4 million to be a reserve.

Starling and Phillips, then, will compete for what may be the only backup outfield spot available. The Royals obviously need one outfield reserve, but carrying more than that reduces their roster flexibility; and if another backup is needed, others have outfield experience, including Jorge Soler, Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan McBroom. The roster is too crowded to devote space to more than one exclusive reserve outfielder.

Further complicating the issue is that Starling and Phillips are both out of minor league options, meaning neither can be demoted to AAA Omaha–or any other destination in the Royals’ system–without first being offered to the other 29 major league clubs and clearing waivers. Whoever wins the backup job will likely send the other packing unless the latter clears waivers.

For the Royals, the choice between Starling and Phillips is anything but clear. Starling made his much anticipated big league debut last season after toiling through eight mostly lackluster and injury-plagued minor league seasons; a fast start soon slowed and he finished with four home runs, 12 RBI’s and an unsightly .215/.255/.317 slash and dismal 50 OPS+ in 56 games. Phillips also made a poor case for himself, slashing .138/.247/.262 with a 35 OPS+ in 30 games. A 2018 split between Milwaukee and KC wasn’t much better: .187/.252/.306 and 52 OPS+.

Both are decent defenders and age isn’t really a factor–Phillips will turn 26 this season and Starling 28–but Starling may be the favorite. The club’s investment in him is deep (he’s been with the organization since 2012), he has the athleticism edge, was a slightly better hitter than Phillips last season, and Royals’ fans have long yearned for him, an area native and local hero of sorts for turning down a football scholarship at Nebraska to sign with the Royals, to patrol the Kauffman Stadium outfield.

If neither hits, the KC Royals may have to look elsewhere. Top internal candidates include Nick Heath, a player close to being ready for the majors, and Khalil Lee, whose debut is more realistic late in the season or in 2021. The club could turn to other teams, but shouldn’t with Heath and Lee in the system.

The KC Royals begin Spring Training with questions in search of answers. By Opening Day, the club should know who its fifth starter, first baseman and backup outfielder will be.