KC Royals: Making the case, Miami Marlins free agents

Adding a veteran outfielder who has experience in a limited role could be a nice piece of the puzzle.

While the KC Royals still need a solid bat to add to the outfield, there is a Miami free agent who could slide into a reserve role very nicely. Matt Joyce may not have the power he used to, but in four of the last five years he’s produced an OBP of .335 or higher, including two seasons over .400.

In 2016 and 2019 while with Pittsburgh and Atlanta, respectively, he played in a large number of games with limited at-bats filling a pinch-hitting and late-inning outfield role. He hit 20 home runs and 20 doubles in 431 trips to the plate and those are the years he had the two tremendous OBPs.

He could bring veteran leadership to the dugout and would be a good lefthanded bat late in games and an occasional start. I would not be mad if Kansas City made a reasonable deal with him for one or two years.

Infield options

Logan Forsythe has struggled mightily the last two years and the Royals have plenty of options for an infield utility role.  He has not come close to matching his ’15 and ’16 seasons with the Rays and offers no value to the franchise.

This same argument can be made for Sean Rodriguez. After a coming out party with the Pirates in 2016 when he hit 18 dingers in just 300 at bats, he has only hit above .200 once in the last four years with a combined 19 home runs.

That is a wrap on the free agents from the Miami Marlins club. A couple of possibilities could help the Royals contend in 2021, but there aren’t any players that the team could not afford to miss out on.