KC Royals: Making the case, Colorado free agents

The KC Royals are probably looking for a bit of pitching and an outfielder, and Colorado’s free agent field has both.

Welcome back to Kings of Kauffman’s continuing series analyzing the major league free agent market and projecting who might, or might not, fit the KC Royals’ needs. Today we take a look at the Colorado Rockies’ free agents. 

The KC Royals are getting better. Chances are good they won’t lose 100 games in 2021 like they did in 2018 and ’19, and might have in 2020 had the season been long enough. But Kansas City  isn’t yet a complete team and should be in search of some help this winter. The club needs to tweak its pitching and, with the retirement of Alex Gordon, a veteran outfielder wouldn’t hurt while the Royals wait for their promising youngsters to mature a bit.

There are several outstanding starting pitchers, relievers and outfielders in this year’s free agent crop—who wouldn’t want to sign and add Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman or Jake Odorizzi to their rotation, Liam Hendriks or Trevor Rosenthal to their bullpen, or George Springer, Marcell Ozuna, Michael Brantley, or Jackie Bradley Jr. to their outfield?

Unfortunately, the members of that star-studded group aren’t likely to have Kansas City on their lists, so the Royals will have to look elsewhere for help that fits their almost invariably conservative budget. The club is certain not to escape the financial mess COVID-19 has so far wrought on the industry, so free agents who’ll head the wish lists of richer teams won’t be directing their agents to give KC general manager Dayton Moore a call.

So where does Moore turn? The seven free agents of the Colorado Rockies? Let’s see.

Can three former KC Royals give the current Kansas City club any help?

If your mind’s eye wanders back to the 2015 World Series, it’s likely to stop for a long moment on the indelible image of Wade Davis celebrating the called third strike he threw, and Drew Butera caught, to give the KC Royals their first Series title since 1985.

Davis was gone from the Royals a little over a year later, shipped to the Cubs for Jorge Soler, while Butera didn’t leave until the club traded him to the Colorado Rockies in the summer of 2018. He and Davis, who’d signed a free agent deal with the Rockies before the ’18 season, were teammates again.

Now, they’re free agents looking for a place to play. Nostalgia says Kansas City, but reality dictates otherwise.

Davis hasn’t been the Davis KC Royals fans love since 2018, when he celebrated his first Colorado season by leading the National League with 43 saves. Even then, though, there were hints of decline: his usually microscopic ERA ballooned to 4.13, his RA9 to 4.27. The next season was even worse—plagued by an oblique injury, Davis suffered the ugliest season of his career, going 1-6 with an 8.65 ERA. He missed most of 2020 with another injury, pitched just five times, and gave up 10 runs in 4.1 innings.

Butera’s post-Royals days have been better. One of the savviest backup catchers in the game, he’s been a steady presence behind the Colorado pate since 2018. He doesn’t hit well, but no one has ever paid Butera for his bat.

Don’t look for the Royals to bring either player back. Davis isn’t who he used to be, and the club can’t afford to risk a seat in the best bullpen it’s had for some time. And Kansas City is set for backup catchers with Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria.

Chris Owings is the other former Royal counted among the Rockies’ free agents. His unsightly partial 2019 season with the team (.133 average and .193 OBP) was agonizing for everyone. Although he improved his hitting with the Rockies this season and can play almost everywhere, the Royals have the much better and more versatile Whit Merrifield and others who can play more than one position. Owings isn’t the answer to any Royal question.

The KC Royals could use a veteran outfielder and two Colorado free agents are available.

Yes, fans, there still is a Matt Kemp. And he’s ready to play. But it shouldn’t be for the KC Royals.

Kemp helped fill Colorado’s need for a DH this season, but the future of that position in the National League is as uncertain as Kemp’s in baseball may be. He’ll be entering his 16th big league season and will turn 37 in September, a combination of career length and age that may complicate his ability to find work.

It’s not that he can’t still play—his six homers and 21 RBIs in 43 games this season extrapolates to 162-game totals of a little over 16 blasts and almost 57 runs driven in—but the 33 games he spent DH’ing suggest his days in the field may be numbered. And if the NL doesn’t move to the DH permanently next season, Kemp’s options will narrow.

Having Jorge Soler means the Royals aren’t looking for a DH but, with Alex Gordon retired, they might want a veteran to lead and mentor their stable of fast, talented, but young outfielders. Kemp has credibility-creating career numbers (287 homers, over a thousand RBIs,1,808 hits, and a .284/.337/.484 slash) to go with three All-Star selections (the last in 2018) and two Silver Sluggers. But he may be too pricey and not suited for many games in the field. Kansas City should look elsewhere.

Is Kevin Pillar a possibility? Perhaps. He’s an excellent outfielder and, although he’ll turn 32 before spring training, still has speed and can steal a base now and then. He has some power—he’s hit 21 home runs twice and reached double digits in homers five times in eight big league seasons. And Pillar can handle the bat: he hit .308 in 24 games this season for the Rockies and .274 in 30 for the Red Sox, and owns a .262 career average.

That the Rockies thought enough of Pillar to try and bolster their defense by picking him up at the 2020 trade deadline indicates additional value, especially with the glove. Defense is a top Kansas City priority; Pillar’s main position is center field, but he can also play the corners well. He could help the young outfielders for a year or two, add an experienced bat off the bench, and wouldn’t break the bank.

Pillar, then, might be worth a conversation. The Royals should at least give him a call.