KC Royals must sign one newly available outfielder

While the power of this lefthander is undoubted, will it play in other ballparks?

The Minnesota Twins decided to not pay out more money for Eddie Rosario this week.  A bit of a surprise as he has been a consistent producer in their lineup for years.

Rosario led the majors in triples his rookie year in ’15 to go along with his 18 doubles and 13 home runs.  From ’17-’19 he smashed 27, 24, and 32 dingers, respectively.  In a shortened 2020 he still clubbed another 13 balls out of the park.

And still, the Twins decided that after a $7.75 million contract year they did not want to pay out whatever it would take to bring Rosario back.  It could be a sign the player is looking for a larger pay raise than the market is willing to bear right now.

He does not strike out a lot, but he does not reach base as often either, posting a career .310 OBP.  Rosario is not the smoothest in the outfield with a .976 fielding percentage – although he does have an arm that his 53 assists will attest to.

On top of being wary of his reaching base, one area the KC Royals should look at are his career splits.  When playing games outside of Minnesota, Rosario hits fewer home runs (-15), strikeouts more (+53), and has a lower OPS (-.78).  These are all concerning facts when thinking about giving up several million per year.

Remaining options to use in case of emergency

There are a handful of others who could be a possibility but may not be any better than internal candidates the Royals have.  They include Brian Goodwin, Adam Duvall, Tyler Naquin, Ben Gamel, and Delino DeShields.

Each one of them has had an intriguing year or two but overall have not performed consistently enough to justify handing over a big contract.  A small deal with a backup or utility outfield role could be a possibility though.

If you have noticed a theme with the players highlighted, it is they are left-handed and have power.  This is a component missing on the team since Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer left.  To mix a bat from the other side of the plate while filling a much-needed outfield role will be a key push for the KC Royals to return to playoff contention.