Kansas City Royals: Kendrys Morales in Right Field?
By Ryan Schultz
The Kansas City Royals have suffered multiple big injuries this season, with Mike Moustakas out for the year and Alex Gordon having missed nearly a month. Just recently they placed Lorenzo Cain on the disabled list. These injuries have forced the Royals to depend on players like Paulo Orlando and Brett Eibner, who have stepped up so far; however, it is reasonable to assume that both of those players will cool off in the near future. The Royals are looking for stability in their outfield, which has been one of the most stable outfield groups over the past three seasons.
On Wednesday the Royals put Kendrys Morales in right field for the first time since 2008. During the years following 2008, Morales has played a majority of his games as the designated hitter with some starts at first base scattered in. The Royals are known to be a defensively minded team, but with no DH in St. Louis desperate times called for desperate measures.
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In the game on Wednesday, not only did he 3-4 to raise his average to .255 (it had been below .200) but he also made a great catch in right field. Certainly on paper Morales doesn’t appear to be a great choice for the defensively oriented Royals. He hasn’t played right field in years, mostly because his aging body has limited his ability to track down fly balls. On a short term basis, putting him in right field makes sense. He has started to hit the ball better as of late, so the team wants his bat in the lineup. While they are in a National League ballpark the move makes complete sense. Keep the veteran in the lineup rather than depending on the streaky young players.
However, if this move is intended to be a long term fix while Cain is out, the Royals are in for a rude awakening. I mentioned that Orlando and Eibner are probably going to cool off, but for now they are absolute assets offensively. Orlando is hitting .348/.374/.449 in nearly 200 plate appearances this season, and Eibner is hitting .297/.350/.514 in less than 50 plate appearances. The sample size is small, but it appears that both of these players will contribute offensively and defensively.
The Royals have operated under the motto that defense, making contact, and a finishing bullpen will win games. It has worked out tremendously for the team that reached back to back World Series, winning the World Series in 2015. Kendrys Morales worked in right field for a game, but Orlando and Eibner both provide a type of gameplay more similar to the Royals style of play.
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Playing Morales in the field in a National League ballpark certainly makes sense, but it is definitely not the right move for the duration of Cain’s injury. He simply cannot play in the field at a level that is expected from the Royals, especially without the help of Cain’s range in center field.