MLB: Five Potential Landing Spots for Jose Reyes

The Kansas City Royals

The Royals have an outstanding defender at shortstop in Alcides Escobar, but second base has been a bit murkier for the world champs. Recently, Kansas City released Omar Infante (who, incidentally, was at one point leading AL second basemen in the All-Star voting process, because Royals fans don’t understand the concept of “All-Stars”), leaving a void at second base that has been filled by a pair of inexperienced players.

ESPN’s Alex Cora reported that the Royals had inquired about Reyes as a second base option, but Jerry Crasnick quickly added that there’s no reason to think that it was anything more than “due diligence” – rookie Whit Merrifield and Christian Colon have been satisfactory so far. It’s not like Infante had been good for some time, so the Royals were fairly prepared for this.

Still, the Royals are in a close battle with the Cleveland Indians for a division title, and they’ll likely need to make some changes to beat out the first place Indians. Reyes will come cheaply – a key factor for a mid-size market like Kansas City – given that the Rockies are stuck footing the bill on him. He could be a good veteran addition, especially as the league begins to adjust to Merrifield and he comes back to earth.

But… The biggest problem here is that the Royals are a relatively young team and rely heavily on defense to help them succeed. Reyes has tailed off defensively over the last few seasons, and in a big park like Kauffman Stadium, his bat may not play as well either. If the Royals change their mind and take a serious interest in Reyes, it would be a surprise if he was much of an upgrade over Infante.

Still, Kansas City is anxious to repeat their championship, and Reyes is an inexpensive addition. They may be willing to take a risk – and cut him loose if it doesn’t pan out.

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