Should the KC Royals call some old friends for help?

As the KC Royals think about how to improve their roster this winter, trades, minor league promotions, and major league free agents will be their most obvious sources.

There is, however, another market to ponder, and on it are several former Royals who the club might consider for 2022. Several players who’ve been on KC’s major league roster before are now minor league free agents and can sign with any organization.

The complete list of minor leaguers now on the market is long, and includes 16 who played in the KC organization this season—pitchers Jake Newberry, Chance Adams, Jake Kalish, Carlos Sanabria, Brandon Barker, Garrett Davila and Nolan Watson; catchers Meibrys Viloria, Nick Dini and Nathan Esposito; infielder Jeison Guzman; and outfielders Erick Mejia, Blake Perkins, Anderson Miller, Rudy Martin, and even the retired Bubba Starling.

Seldom, however, do big league teams find immediate help among such free agents. But some former Royals enjoyed success in Kansas City, and might be worth new General Manager J.J. Picollo’s perusal. Let’s take a look at the most likely of the group to attract his attention.

The KC Royals’ need for some of the bigger names isn’t great right now.

Terrance Gore, Maikel Franco, Cheslor Cuthbert and Christian Colon are perhaps the biggest and most familiar names to Kansas City fans. Whether they have a place with their former team, though, is doubtful.

Gore just won a World Series ring with the Braves, but his limited utility means the Royals probably won’t, and shouldn’t, pursue him. He’s one-dimensional, a speedy runner whose value is greatest to postseason participants needing a base-stealing threat.

Franco excelled as the Royals’ regular third baseman in 2020. He played every one of the team’s 60 games, had eight homers and drove in 38 runs, and hit .278. Apparently for financial reasons (impending arbitration), however, Kansas City non-tendered him; he signed with Baltimore but managed only a .210 average in 104 games. With Bobby Witt Jr. sure to be a Royal next season, and Adalberto Mondesi spending September working at third base, there isn’t a place for Franco in Kauffman Stadium.

The same goes for Cheslor Cuthbert and Christian Colon, two utility-type infielders who played for the 2015 World Series champion Royals. The current club is loaded with talented infielders, making it extremely unlikely Picollo will call Cuthbert and Colon this winter.

If the KC Royals want another backup catcher, a popular one is available.

Kansas City is well-stocked behind the plate, where Salvador Perez reigns supreme, Cam Gallagher is a certainly adequate defensive backup, and new minor league superstar MJ Melendez, who between Double and Triple-A this season hammered 41 home runs with 103 RBIs and a .288/.386/.625 line.

That doesn’t mean, though, that the catching situation is uncomplicated. Gallagher calls an excellent game, but his offense (.243 career average) could be a bit better, and Melendez’s strong bat means he needs an everyday position to play, something he won’t get as long as Kansas City views him as primarily a catcher. That alone should disqualify him as a third backup to Perez—the Royals must find somewhere for him, or package him in a trade for current big league help.

A popular former Royal could step in if the KC brain trust decides the club needs another backup. Drew Butera served capably in that role from 2015 until August 2018 when they dealt him to Colorado for Jerry Vasto. He’s made a solid career out of backing up starting catchers.

Butera’s strength is behind the plate, not at it, although he hit .285 in 55 games for the Royals in 2016.

Should Picollo get in touch with Butera? Probably not. His career .196 average is well below Gallagher’s, and at 38 he’s 10 years older than Gallagher. Picollo needs to leave well enough alone.

Do 4 former KC Royals players offer enough to be considered this offseason?

If Kansas City fans remember Brett Eibner for anything significant, it’s the 3-2, two-out, bottom of the ninth inning single he slashed in his second big league game to break a 7-7 tie and walk off the White Sox in 2016.

But despite that exciting effort, Eibner was gone before his rookie season ended, dealt to the A’s at the trade deadline for Billy Burns. Oakland sent him to the Dodgers that winter, who converted him to a pitcher, but Tommy John surgery ruined his early mound efforts and he didn’t play again until 2020. He pitched three times for Miami that year, going 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA.

Eibner spent most of 2021 on the Injured List at Jacksonville, Miami’s Triple-A affiliate, and elected free agency earlier this week. He’s 2-4 with a respectable 2.57 ERA in 22 minor league appearances, but that shouldn’t be sufficient for the Royals, who are loaded with young pitching prospects.

Three other former Royals also shouldn’t draw KC’s interest. Utility infielder Matt Reynolds, a career .212 hitter, had his chance with the club in 2020, but didn’t get called up until September and appeared in only three games. Humberto Arteaga, another utility man, played 41 games for the KC Royals in 2019, but slashed a disturbing .197/.258/.230 and has been in just one big league game since. And because he’s a catcher, the club doesn’t have room for Francisco Peña.