Why the KC Royals won’t find any help in The Bronx

The KC Royals have little (or no) need for 2 other Yankee free agents.

Imagining the Yankees without Brett Gardner is hard to do. A New York outfield mainstay since 2008, he’s an All-Star and a Gold Glover, reliable in the clutch, and used to steal bases with abandon (he led the league with 49 steals in 2011 and swiped 47 the year before). He’s also been a clutch hitter and above-league-average defender.

And despite turning 38 late this past season, he made Yankee fans forget a dismal first-half slump (.194 with three homers and 13 RBIs before the All-Star Break) with an impressive second-half resurgence.

Kansas City could have used Gardner a few years ago when he was still in his prime, but those days are gone. Recent Gold Glove winners Michael A. Taylor and Andrew Benintendi are set in center and left fields and, although right field remains a puzzling question, the club needs someone there with more seasons ahead of him than behind him.

And what of Anthony Rizzo, the Yanks’ other free agent? Possessed of decent power throughout his 11-year big league career, Rizzo hit eight home runs in 49 games for New York after the Cubs dealt him to the Yankees a day before the 2021 trade deadline. His 251 career homers complement an excellent .369 OBP and quite serviceable .268 average.

Rizzo, a three-time All-Star, also owns a Platinum and four Gold Gloves, and a Silver Slugger. But he’s also a first baseman, a commodity the Royals really don’t need—Carlos Santana is the presumptive 2022 starter, and slugger and minor league Gold Glover Nick Pratto waits in the wings.

Kansas City shouldn’t look for free agent help in The Bronx.