KC Royals: Is there any free agent help in Colorado?

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Welcome to the first in a series of Kings of Kauffman stories analyzing the major league free agent market. Over the next several weeks, our writers will scrutinize each club’s free agents and project who might, or might not, fit the needs of the KC Royals. Today, we take a look at the Colorado Rockies’ free agents.

But for their trips to the postseason in 2017 and 2018, the Colorado Rockies haven’t been remarkably different from the KC Royals over the past five seasons. The Rockies lost 91 games in 2019 while the Royals lost 103, both clubs finished 26-34 in 2020, and Colorado was 74-87 this season, KC 74-88.

Their inability to post recent winning records means both teams will probe this winter’s strong free agent market. The Royals’ uninspiring quartet of free agents—Ervin Santana, Jesse Hahn, and former Colorado relievers Wade Davis and Greg Holland—probably won’t tempt the Rockies, but could Kansas City find help among their four free agents?

The KC Royals have absolutely no need for the Rockies’ top free agent.

Make no mistake about it, Trevor Story is going to get his money this winter, or sometime after that if baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires without a new deal and the owners lock the players out and institute a transaction freeze Dec. 2.

Story is a high level shortstop possessed of a passable glove and better bat. He’s averaging over 26 home runs in six seasons and hit 37 in 2018, 35 in 2019, and 24 in 2021. His career slash alone (.272/.340/.523) makes him attractive to any club needing a shortstop.

And that’s one thing the Royals don’t need, not with Nicky Lopez, Adalberto Mondesi, and Bobby Witt Jr. all in the fold. Kansas City won’t seek out Story.

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A Colorado starting pitcher might get a call from the KC Royals this winter.

In the midst of a seventh straight losing season, the Royals picked Whit Merrifield, Christian Colon, Brett Eibner and Scott Alexander in the 2010 amateur draft, and signed them all. They also selected current Colorado starter Jon Gray, who opted instead for school, then signed with the Rockies when they drafted him in 2013.

Now, Kansas City might have another shot at Gray. He’s a free agent, and it just so happens the Royals could stand to add a fairly reliable starter to their unstable rotation.

But landing Gray, even if the club is interested, won’t be easy. He strung together four consecutive double-digit win seasons from 2016-2019, and he’s managed a 4.54 career ERA at Coors Field, no small accomplishment considering how hitter-friendly the Rockies’ high altitude home venue tends to be.

Gray isn’t a Scherzer or a Kershaw, but he’s a steady mid-to-back-end rotation piece who could interest the Royals. Even if Kansas City calls, however, Gray’s heart may be too attached to the Rox, unless their surprising failure to make him a Qualifying Offer by Sunday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline signals an end to the Rockies’ relationship with the righthander.

Kansas City could probably use Gray. Colorado, though, may prove too much for the Royals to overcome.

A former Royal and a relief pitcher round out Colorado’s free agents.

The mere mention of Chris Owings’ name around Kansas City surely draws more negative than positive reactions. Royals fans probably remember Owings not as a serviceable Arizona infielder whose skills moved KC to sign him before the 2019 season, or the decent utility man he’s been for the Rockies for the past two years; instead, mentioning Owings can trigger bad memories of the short time he spent with the Royals in 2019.

Owings slashed an abominable .133/.193/.222 in 40 games before the club released him in early June. Boston picked him up a couple of weeks later; he hit .156 in 26 games, then signed with Colorado after the season.

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Since arriving in Colorado, Owings has slashed .298/.372/.536 and done everything for the Rockies but catch, pitch, and play first base. The sample size isn’t that big—38 games—but the performance is reminiscent of how much better Owings was as a Diamondback (.250/.291/.378) than as a Royal and, combined with his six Arizona seasons, suggests Owings’ 2019 was an outlier, perhaps even an awful fluke.

But don’t expect Kansas City to make a play for him. The Royals have much versatility of their own with Whit Merrifield, and it looks like Adalberto Mondesi may move into a super-utility role next season. Even Owings at his best would add little.

Pitcher Jhoulys Chacín is Colorado’s other free agent. A 13-year big league veteran, 2021 marked his first season as a reliever only—he came out of the bullpen 46 times and went 3-2 with a 4.34 ERA, a mark curiously tempered by an unusually low Coors Field 2.87.

But he’ll be 34 in January. Kansas City has younger pitchers with more experience as relievers. The Royals don’t need to pursue Chacín.

Next. Is Jakob Junis really gone for good?. dark

The KC Royals need some help. Colorado’s free agents probably won’t provide it.

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