KC Royals: The best and worst 2021 roster additions

Two veteran roster returnees have been about average for the KC Royals in 2021.

Ex-Royals Mike Minor and Jarrod Dyson rejoined the club this season and, while they’ve added some value, both get a C+ for the first 50 games.

Minor pitched one season out of the bullpen for the Royals in 2017 before winning 26 games from 2018-19 as a starter for Texas, but was a combined 1-6 for 0-5 for the Rangers and Oakland last season. Kansas City signed Minor hoping he can rebound to his 2018-19 form and buttress and mentor its rotation.

He’s met some expectations by completing at least five innings in all but two of his 10 starts and wining three of his five decisions. But he’s inconsistent. He’s given up four or more runs five times and, until limiting Tampa Bay to just a run in five innings last Wednesday, carried an ERA over 5.00 for most of the campaign. (It’s 4.83 now). Minor is trending upward, though—although he gave up four runs My 21, he fanned nine while giving up only two hits and that one run last Wednesday, and held the White Sox to a run and struck out seven in seven innings May 15.

But until those good games occur more frequently, Minor gets a C+.

So far, Jarrod Dyson has been steady, but not stellar, for the KC Royals.

Kansas City had two main things in mind when it signed Jarrod Dyson during spring training. The Royals needed a backup outfielder with a decent glove and a speedster for critical late-game and extra-inning situations.

Dyson, a Royal from 2010-2016, checked, and continues to check, those boxes. He hasn’t committed an error through 20 games in the field (he’s appeared in 27 total contests), and he’s succeeded in three of four steal attempts.

His bat—he’s hitting just .222 through Saturday—is the only thing preventing Dyson from receiving something better than a C+. The Royals knew they weren’t getting a .300-plus hitter in Dyson, but he’ll need to be a bit better at the plate to improve his grade.

Two new KC Royals and a returnee earn B’s for their 2021 performances.

Signing Michael A. Taylor seemed a peculiar move when the Royals made it last November. Taylor had been a good, fleet defensive outfielder for Washington, but his offensive credentials were suspect: he brought a .237 career average and .291 OBP to Kansas City.

His shortage of bat bona fides notwithstanding, the Royals quickly installed him as their regular center fielder, and he hasn’t disappointed. Although he’s cooled off from a torrid spring training performance (.333/.438/.615 with a 1.053 OPS) and a good regular season start (he was hitting .324 after 10 games), he’s batting .248 through Saturday, a nice increase over his career clip, and his .304 OBP, while not outstanding, is better than his career mark.

Taylor is doing what the Royals acquired him to and a little more. He’s been good defensively (one error in 111 chances), improved his work at the plate, and clubbed five home runs for good measure. He gets a B.

Hanser Alberto has been a valuable and versatile addition to the KC Royals.

Kansas City acquired Hanser Alberto primarily for infield depth, and perhaps in case Nicky Lopez’s bat became even worse. How good the move was became evident when injuries to shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and third baseman Hunter Dozier pressed Alberto into more service than anticipated.

Alberto, a versatile infielder who spent the past two seasons as Baltimore’s main second baseman, stepped up and shared the infield load with Nicky Lopez and Whit Merrifield, playing third base 25 times, second eight times, and shortstop four times. (He’s also been the designated hitter twice and even pitched once).

Offensively, Adalberto’s .258 average through Saturday is below his career .276, but he’s hitting .300 in May and is 7-for-14 in his last eight games.

More has been required of Adalberto than he, or the Royals, expected when he signed on for the 2021 season, and he’s performed well in difficult circumstances. He deserves a strong B.

A classic KC Royals pitching reclamation project is working out well.

The Royals opened some eyes when they agreed to give former Royal Ervin Santana a comeback shot. Santana was in need of repair, a once-excellent hurler who hadn’t pitched in the majors since throwing three times for the White Sox in 2019 and five for Minnesota in 2018. But the Santana signing was just another in the long line of club attempts to fix down-on-their-luck pitchers; so far, the move is paying some dividends.

Santana’s mostly steady work is what the club expected. Manager Mike Matheny uses him almost exclusively in relief, a role in which Santana boasts a 2.03 ERA. He started (or “opened”) Saturday against the Twins, though, and was charged with three runs in three innings, including an inherited runner Carlos Hernandez allowed to score. But even after pitching Thursday, Santana did what Matheny required of him Saturday—with the staff short a starter, he didn’t let the game get away and handed it over to the pen with the contest tied.

And he hasn’t been scored upon in his last five relief appearances.

Santana has been and is reliable. Give him a B.

A pair of KC Royals newcomers earn the club’s highest 50-game grades.

The top grades for Kansas City roster additions go to Carlos Santana and Andrew Benintendi.

Finally stabilizing the first base position the Royals hadn’t been able to adequately fill since Eric Hosmer left after 2017 earns Carlos Santana an A. He’s delivered just what the club gave him a two-year contract to: a potent package of power, RBIs, the ability to reach base consistently, and good defense.

Through Saturday’s 50th game, Santana’s .250 average is actually better than his career .248 mark. Much more important, though, are his team-best 34 RBIs, the 10-home runs that tie him with Salvador Perez for the club lead, and his excellent .381 OBP. Proof that he’s hitting in the clutch includes his .283 average with runners in scoring position and the walk-off home run he hit against Detroit a week ago:

And he’s played almost flawless defense.

The KC Royals found a man from Boston to take over left field in 2021.

From the moment Alex Gordon announced his retirement with less than a week of the 2020 season remaining, the Royals knew replacing him wouldn’t be easy. And it wasn’t—not until KC packaged Franchy Cordero, Khalil Lee, and two players to be named later in a three-team deal in February did the club have its man, and the new lefthanded bat General Manager Dayton Moore searched for all winter. Benintendi brought speed, power, and good defense to the Royal outfield.

But Benintendi was an April disappointment. His .225 average and one homer led many to question whether his .266 2019 average, and the .103 he struggled to in an injury-ridden 2020 campaign, were simply outliers for the career .273 hitter with a .353 OBP and three double-digit home run seasons, or the results of his efforts to get stronger after the 2018 campaign.

Fortunately, Benintendi has recovered from April. He’s hitting .333 this month and .282 for the season, and his .346 season OBP is 35 points higher than his April-ending mark. He has 20 hits in his last 20 games.

Benintendi overcame a slow start to reinforce the confidence the Royals have in him. He’s proving he can do what the club needs from its left fielder and has earned his A.

Through the KC Royals’ first 50 games, Carlos Santana and Andrew Benintendi grade out as the club’s top newcomers.