KC Royals must sign one newly available outfielder

Several players were non-tendered by their clubs on Wednesday giving the KC Royals plenty of opportunities to shore up the outfield.

While the KC Royals have already made a splash in the pitching market they still have a gaping hole to fill in the outfield.  Fortunately for them, there are several options now with other clubs deciding to not make offers to arbitration-eligible players.

With the retirement of Alex Gordon, the move to first and now possibly back to third for Hunter Dozier, Whit Merrifield stands as the only sure player who will play daily in the outfield.  While there are several internal candidates, a proven bat out there is needed.

Often sought after Cubbies slugger

The Chicago Cubs seem to be teetering on the edge of an at least soft rebuild of their squad.  While they did hold on to Kris Bryant – but still could trade him – they did let go slugger Kyle Schwarber.

The playoff hero from only a few years ago has plenty of pop in his bat that would make a highly potent middle of the order when paired with Salvador Perez, Jorge Soler, and Dozier.  The Royals have not had a feared quartet of power in a long time.

In essentially four full seasons, Schwarber has cranked out 121 dingers to go along with 71 doubles and eight triples leading to a career .480 slugging percentage.  Despite some poor batting averages, he has still managed to reach base at a .336 clip which is sadly several points higher than the  KC Royals did as a team in 2020.

Particularly impressive are the .355 and .356 OBPs Schwarber put up in ’15 and ’18 despite batting averages of only .246 and .238, respectively.  Of concern, however, are the .315 and .308 on-base numbers from ’17 and this past summer.

Schwarber has a nice arm in the outfield registering 29 assists in 463 career outfield games.  He has had a couple of bumpy years fielding but also in two of the last three seasons has recorded a fielding percentage above the league average.

After making $7 million during a career-worst year the Cubs opted to not negotiate a new deal.  Schwarber turns 28 next spring and could be a nice get for the Royals without breaking the bank.  And if he can rebound from 2020 he could find himself an opportunity to be a playoff hero again.

The Colorado Rockies made a surprising choice by not working to re-sign the 10th overall pick in the 2012 draft.

While that seems like an eternity ago, David Dahl was selected out of high school and will only turn 27 next April.  He reached the big leagues in 2016 but has only been able to play 264 games in the majors since then due to injuries.

When not on the injured list, Dahl put up quality numbers outside of his 2020 campaign.  He was an All-Star in 2019 and his career slash is .286/.334./494.  He is a left-handed hitter that would mix in well with the powerful righties in the Kansas City lineup.

His fielding is not spectacular but definitely would not be an anchor to the KC Royals.  Dahl can go all three outfield positions but has spent more time in the corner spots which is where the team would need him to play.

His salary of almost $2.5 million may not decrease despite the bad year as he has youth and plenty of potential.  Despite the fact he may be more fragile than your loved one’s favorite Christmas ornament, a multi-year deal for a reasonable sum would be a wise gamble for the Royals.

Is 2020 a blip on the radar for former White Sox player?

After acquiring Nomar Mazara for this last season, the south side Chicago team had to be extremely disappointed.  Averaging 20 home runs per year while with the Texas Rangers, Mazara only hit one(!) for the Pale Hose.

His OBP is not overly impressive with a career .318, but again, it is much higher than Kansas City’s the last few years.  The 6’4″ lefthander will only be 26 next season and had four consistent years at the plate before the blowup in ’20.

His career .990 fielding in the outfield on top of 27 assists show he can more than handle his own in the big grass area.  While he could play either corner spot, right field has been his dominant position.

He should expect less than the five and half million the White Sox were due to pay him in 2020 but even in a suppressed market a team might shell out $4 million for a one or two year deal to see if he can recapture his prior success.  Mazara is not the first player the Royals should target but could be an option if others sign elsewhere.