KC Royals: Making the case, Chicago Cubs free agents

There are many free agents available from the team that calls Wrigley Field home – could any of them assist the KC Royals?

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 look at the Cub’s free agents.

After winning the National League Central by three games over the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs took on the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card round.  Disappointingly they were swept in the best 2 out of 3 round.

The Cubs have quite a few players in their early to mid-30s that are free to offer their services to other teams.  Chicago is also rumored to be shopping at least one big-name talent so an overhaul of the team may be in the works.

Infielders available

Having terrorized Royals pitching during his career, mainly with the Cleveland Indians, it may be tempting to get Jason Kipnis on our side.  He has slammed 19 dingers and 32 doubles against Kansas City, the most against any one team he has faced.

The last few years have not been as productive for Kipnis as he produced an OPS of no greater than .744 since 2017.  His primary position is second base and with Nicky Lopez, a favorite of Mike Matheny, there is really no place for this free agent.

One player who might fill the veteran utility role is Hernan Perez.  He will turn 30 next spring and has nine seasons under his belt.  He had a couple of good years in Milwaukee in a quasi full-time role but generally is a good extra hand to have on deck.

Perez can play all infield and outfield positions and has decent speed.  One negative would be he is not much for on-base percentage, something the KC Royals desperately need.  Important to note that he should not cost the KC Royals an arm and a leg.

Daniel Descalso is also a free agent from the Cubs but he did not play at all in 2020.  After a couple of double-digit home run seasons in ’17 and ’18, he really bottomed out with a .521 OPS in ’19.  No foreseeable fit with the Royals.

A simple household chore sidelined this southpaw much of 2020, could the KC Royals use that to their advantage?

If you ever need an excuse not to do dishes, letting your significant other know it could hurt your career might work.  Jose Quintana missed most of the year after he needed stitches cleaning up after a meal.  If the freak accident suppresses his market value some Kansas City could get a small bargain.

Before that, Quintana had been fairly durable starting 246 games his first eight seasons.  With a career ERA of 3.73 and WHIP of 1.27, he could be a steady piece of the Royals rotation.  With a projected market value of around $7.5 million, KC would need to decide if that is where their money could be best spent.

A popular choice seems to be Jon Lester and he did have an 18 win season just 2 years ago.  But his production has dropped in the last two years and he will be 37 in January.  It might be nice to have him buy rounds in the KC metro area but it would be wiser to give another rookie a chance to shine.

Tyler Chatwood would be a cheaper version of Quintana but without the pedigree of success in the majors.  He has had ERAs of 4.69 or higher in three of the last four seasons and would block the progression of one of the younger Royal arms.

Plenty of relievers possibly leaving Windy City

Former Royal Jeremy Jeffress pitched extremely well in 2020 but has had a Jekyll and Hyde career the last several seasons after dominating 2014-2016.  His price tag is too much to hope he puts together another string of decent years.

With the reemergence of Greg Holland, the dream to bring back another component of HDH is tempting with Kelvin Herrera on the market.  He has not been the same since leaving the powder blue uniforms but a minor league deal with an invite to spring training would be interesting.

With the KC Royals sporting a fairly solid bullpen bringing in guys like Andrew Chafin, Pedro Strop, Rex Brothers, Brandon Morrow, or Cody Allen does not make much sense.  Either through performance or injuries, these relievers have not lived up to the good pitchers they were in previous seasons.

That is the list of the Cubs free agents heading into the offseason.  There are a few worth a look by the Royals with only a couple who could play a significant role during the 2021 season.