KC Royals: The best and worst 2021 roster additions

The KC Royals took a refreshingly robust approach to improving the club this past winter. That the team brought aboard several players it didn’t have last season wasn’t unusual; the quality and experience of the newcomers, and in three cases returnees, was.

The Royals were quiet at first but, when reports surfaced Nov. 29 of an impending deal with free agent starter Mike Minor, things moved quickly. The club announced the signing of outfielder Michael A. Taylor the next day and surprised the baseball world by wrapping up a two-year deal with first baseman Carlos Santana a week later. Former KC pitcher Ervin Santana returned three weeks after that.

Kansas City continued securing the services of players who weren’t with the team last season by reuniting with legendary reliever Wade Davis in January, signing versatile infielder Hanser Alberto and trading for left fielder Andrew Benintendi in February, and bringing back former Royal Jarrod Dyson in March.

So, how do the eight acquisitions who didn’t play for the Royals last season grade out after Saturday’s 50th game of the season?

Someone has to get the lowest grade, and that someone is Davis. A good Cactus League performance earned Davis a spot on the Opening Day roster, but his stock has plunged after saving the season opener. He’s been charged with runs in eight of 15 appearances, blew a save May 16 against the White Sox, and is 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA. He gets a D.

Who’s the best and worst of the rest?

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.