KC Royals: Making the case, Angels and Orioles free agents

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Do the Los Angeles Angels or Baltimore Orioles have free agents who can help the KC Royals?

Bad teams are bad for different, but limited, reasons. They usually just have bad players, or not enough good ones, which also means such clubs typically don’t produce great free agents every offseason. The KC Royals, for example, didn’t lose any stellar free agents after their 100-loss seasons of 2018 and ’19.

Their lack of sufficient numbers of good players is at least one reason the Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles won’t suffer much if they lose their free agents this winter. There are only four between the two clubs, and none will command a lot of attention.

Of the two teams, the Orioles’ dearth of talent hurts the most. Baltimore last won more games than it lost in 2016, the season marking the end of five straight winning campaigns that encompassed three playoff trips. The O’s were so bad that they lost 11 more games (115) than the Royals did in 2018, and five more (108) than Kansas City the very next season.

The presence of Mike Trout, perhaps the best player in the game, hid many of the Angels’ flaws over LA’s last five campaigns. Unlike the Orioles, Los Angeles didn’t manage even a single winning season in that time, but they also didn’t lose 100 games in any of those years.

Not surprisingly, then, free agency won’t strip the Angels or the O’s of their core talent this offseason. Los Angeles could lose a shortstop and a pitcher, while Baltimore stands to lose a catcher and a starter. There’s really only one possibility for the KC Royals among them.

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A long-time National League starting pitcher might be worth some consideration from the KC Royals.

Julio Teheran didn’t win a game for the Los Angeles Angels in 2020. He gave up 35 runs in 31.1 innings, which isn’t impressive at any level of professional baseball, much less the big leagues. His ERA was astronomical (10.05) and his ERA+ unsightly (45).

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the KC Royals should ignore him.

It’s hard to believe the time Teheran missed after testing positive for COVID-19 didn’t impact his pitching. He was symptomatic and didn’t pitch until Aug. 5 and, although he made 10 appearances (all but one a start), he averaged just a shade over three innings per game.

But 0-4, even in a short season, is atypical for Teheran. His worst season before last was the 7-10 campaign he had with the Braves in 2016 (he still made the National League All-Star team for the second time); he’s won 14 games twice, 11 games twice and 10 games once over his 10 year career.

Teheran pitched nine seasons, started 226 games and exceeded 175 innings six times for Atlanta before signing a one-year deal with the Angels last year. So he can put in the work. Even if 2020 was a one-off for him, there’s still room for concern: a hurler with good control through 2016, he’s suffered increased walk rates since—3.4 BB9 in 2017, 4.3 in both 2018 and ’19, and 4.6 last season.

Could Teheran, who’ll be 30 in January, be a candidate to bring his eclectic repertoire (fastball, slider, change, curve and sinker—he can also throw a screwball) to Kansas City? The Royals might want to at least take a look because they need another starter who’s been around, one who can give them a lot of meaningful innings. But, if they’re interested and he reciprocates, the club shouldn’t break the bank with him. General manager Dayton Moore knows how to sign pitchers to inexpensive short-term contracts.

Shortstop Andrelton Simmons is the Angels’ other free agent. A teammate of Teheran’s for a time in Atlanta, Simmons has given the Angels five serviceable seasons; he’s slashed .281/.328/.304 with better than league average glove work. And at 32, Simmons probably has a few years left.

But none of those years should, or really could, be spent with the Royals. Simmons certainly isn’t going to supplant Adalberto Mondesi at shortstop and nothing in his career suggests he’s versatile enough to play third or second; indeed, other than two games at DH, he’s played all his big league games at short. He’s a decent player but doesn’t fit any of the Royals’ needs.

The Orioles stand to lose a catcher and pitcher, but not to the KC Royals.

Someday, hopefully later than sooner, Salvador Perez won’t be a Royal, and he’ll be agonizingly difficult, if not impossible, to replace as the club’s regular catcher, leader, and fan favorite.

Of more immediate concern (but not panic) is how to replace him on his days off, or when he misses short periods with the aches and pains that come with the job of being a major league catcher. Present backups Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria have good gloves but not good bats.

Although replacing Gallagher and Viloria probably isn’t a front office obsession, the thought of better offense from a Perez backup must occasionally cross Dayton Moore’s mind.

One name not likely to capture Moore’s attention is Baltimore free agent backstop Bryan Holaday.

Holaday is a nine-year major league veteran who plays good defense and is better than average at gunning down would-be base stealers. But the backup backstop bat the KC Royals could use isn’t his—he’s a career .238 hitter with 10 homers in those nine seasons. And the fact he’s played a few games at first base, second, third and in left field won’t increase his value to Kansas City.

Wade LeBlanc is the other Oriole the Royals can consider. A journeyman starter and reliever during his 10-year career with stops in San Diego, Miami, Houston, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles (Angels), New York (Mets) and Baltimore, he was 1-0 for the O’s in 2020, but surrendered 20 runs in 22.1 innings before suffering a late August injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. His best effort was the 9-5, 3.72 ERA campaign he put together for the Mariners in 2018.

LeBlanc turns 37 in August and his production potential doesn’t warrant a serious look from Kansas City.

Colorado free agents. dark. Next

The Orioles and Angels have a combined four free agents. Only one of them, Baltimore’s Julio Teheran, might be worth exploring.

Home / KC Royals News

Do the Los Angeles Angels or Baltimore Orioles have free agents who can help the KC Royals?

A long-time National League starting pitcher might be worth some consideration from the KC Royals.

The Orioles stand to lose a catcher and pitcher, but not to the KC Royals.

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