Jayson Nix replaces Christian Colon on Kansas City’s World Series roster

With Game 1 of the World Series set to begin in just a few hours, it seems as though the Kansas City Royals have elected to make at least one change to their active roster – and it’s a curious one at that. The team will reportedly add 32 year old journeyman infielder Jayson Nix, replacing the 25 year old Christian Colon.

Colon made his MLB Debut with Kansas City on July 1st. The former 1st Round pick (2010, 4th overall) would appear in just 21 games for the Royals before the season concluded. In 49 plate appearances he’d hit .333/.375/.489, while seeing time across the infield. Colon was one the team’s roster for each of the first two rounds of this year’s playoffs but saw limited action, recording just two plate appearances in two games played.

Nix certainly brings more experience to the table. Over parts of the seven seasons he’s seen a total of 1,465 plate appearances in the Major Leagues, collectively batting .212/.282/.345. He’s seen time in both leagues, but ultimately the bulk of his experience has come in the American League. In the postseason he’s 2 for 9 in seven games, including an at bat in this year’s Wild Card game against the Oakland A’s. This season alone he was a part of four different organizations, joining the Royals on a waiver claim in late August.

With the Royals he appeared in seven games, going hitless in nine plate appearances.

Morosi specifically points to Nix’s experience as a potential factor behind adding him onto the World Series roster, but the numbers don’t necessarily support such a theory. Nix has pinch hit a grand total of 37 times in his career, hitting just .182/.270/.212 in such situations. Colon, meanwhile, is 1 for 3 in his career as a pinch hitter. Looking at such small sample sizes, there’s no real way to determine a significant advantage towards either option.

Amazingly, neither player has ever faced the San Francisco Giants.

Nix certainly brings a more veteran approach to the table, but one has to wonder whether that’s enough to make a difference for the Royals in such a short series. Colon likely offers just as much potential upside both at the plate and in field.