KC Royals: Grading the team’s offseason additions

Back in May, when the season was still young and the KC Royals were, despite a disastrous 11-game losing streak, just two games under .500, we gave the club’s seven main offseason acquisitions early season, 50-game grades.

The reasons behind those ratings are right here. Leading the way with A’s were first baseman Carlos Santana and left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Michael A. Taylor, Hanser Alberto and Ervin Santana all received B’s, Mike Minor got a C+, and Wade Davis came in with a D. Jarrod Dyson, who’s no longer with the club, received a C+.

Now, Kansas City’s season is over. How should the club’s seven remaining offseason acquisitions grade out?

A veteran KC Royals reliever ends up with the worst grade of the campaign.

As we noted when assigning 50-game grades, someone has to finish at the bottom of the class. Then, it was Wade Davis. The rest of the season changed nothing.

Davis, one of the most effective relievers in Kansas City history, returned to the Royals this season on a one-year deal. He brought back memories with an Opening Day save, then lost any semblance of his Royal past. He was 0-2 with an unacceptable 6.61 ERA when we gave him a D in late May.

He was even worse at the All-Star Break with an 8.06 ERA.

Davis improved for a time after the Break, earning another save and striking out 16 in 17 innings. But he walked too many (eight), and his 4.76 ERA remained excessive for a reliever; he finished with an unsightly 6.75.

Davis gets a final D.

A pair of established players the KC Royals were counting on earned C’s.

Facing a season with a predominantly young starting rotation, Kansas City went hunting for a veteran arm last winter. The best on the market apparently exceeded the Royals’ financial parameters, but the club obviously believed Mike Minor was an answer when they signed him to a two-year contract.

The decision seemed reasonable. Minor’s reputation as an innings eater was well-earned, he’d had a couple of excellent seasons with Texas (12-8 in 2018 and 14-10 in 2019), he’d pitched for the Royals before (2017), and at 32 he certainly wasn’t washed up.

The results probably aren’t what KC anticipated. Yes, Minor’s eight wins tied Brad Keller for the club lead, but he lost 12 and posted the second-worst ERA (5.09) among the Royals’ regular hurlers. He also surrendered 26 home runs.

Minor gets a C.

Despite his 50-game A, a C also goes to Carlos Santana. His second half explains why.

The Royals signed Santana for two years to get on base, hit homers, drive in runs, and fill the first base void left by Eric Hosmer. He was doing all four things at the All-Star Break with a .368 OBP, 15 homers, 50 RBIs, and good defense.

But the 12-year veteran’s bat disappeared in the campaign’s second half. He hit .176, homered just four times, and drove in only 19 runs. Santana finished with a miserable .214 average.

Two outfielders get the best grades of the KC Royals’ offseason additions.

Kansas City’s outfield was a mess when baseball’s winter began. Left fielder Alex Gordon had retired, no one had earned the center field job, and Whit Merrifield moving to right was mere conjecture.

What a difference a year makes.

Michael A. Taylor signed in late November to bring an excellent glove, but a much weaker bat, to Kansas City for a year. His lack of plate prowess suggested he’d be a stop-gap in center, a placeholder until one of the club’s many hot outfield prospects reached big league readiness.

Taylor, though, turned heads with his defense—he made only three errors, led American League center fielders in DWAR (2.3) and Defensive Runs Saved (19), and just might win a Gold Glove.

His hitting still leaves something to be desired for a regular center fielder, but he managed 12 home runs and his .244 average was seven points better than his .237 career mark before the season started.

And at the end of the year, the Royals decided they like Taylor and the stability he brought to center so much that they’re bringing him back. The club signed him to a new two-year deal last week.

Taylor deserves a B+.

But do any of the Royals’ primary offseason acquisitions deserve an A?

Yes. Step to the head of the class, Andrew Benintendi.

Time will tell whether Benintendi’s defense will ever equal Alex Gordon’s, but he proved to be more than an adequate replacement for Gordon at the plate. Although he started slowly, hitting just .225 in April, missed time with a rib fracture and had a couple of rough slumps, he finished with 17 homers (second best of his career), 73 RBIs (third best), and a .276 average (also third best).

Benintendi’s best stretch was September and the three October games that concluded the season—he slashed .342/.398/.570 and drove in 29 runs in 31 games.

Benintendi was in 2021 everything the KC Royals wanted him to be when they traded for him in February, and gets an A. He’s arbitration eligible and under team control through next season, but the club might want to consider an extension.

The KC Royals added some key players last winter. Some had excellent seasons; some didn’t.