Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer 2018 free agent profile
When the Kansas City Royals started the 2017 season on a low, it looked like first baseman Eric Hosmer would become a name mentioned regularly at the trade deadline.
His expiring contract and the expectedly high asking price for his next deal makes it hard for a small-market team like the Kansas City Royals to keep him around for long.
Fortunes changed, and Eric Hosmer is still with the Royals. They’ve turned their season around and are looking to win one final championship with the core from the 2015 team still in place.
It’s still unclear whether the Royals can afford to keep Hosmer after 2017. They have other upcoming free agents to consider including center fielder Lorenzo Cain and third baseman Mike Moustakas. Unless they break the bank, the Royals can probably keep only one at the most.
Hosmer has done everything in his power to help the Royals win this year. In doing so, he has also guaranteed a big contract for the 2018 season and beyond. Through his first 455 plate appearances, Hosmer has hit .316/.371/.489 while adding 16 home runs.
The 2017 season could very well become Hosmer’s best. Even if he falls short of last year’s home run and RBI totals, Hosmer’s batting line is at a career-best. As we learned last offseason, teams don’t really value power-hitting first basemen with limited skill. Thankfully for Hosmer, he’s not a single-talent slugging first baseman. He owns three Gold Gloves and is more focused on hitting for average than walloping one over the outfield fence.
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Hosmer’s awesome 2017 campaign won’t do much to keep him in Kansas City. On the contrary, it probably means another team in need of first base help can pull him away. Plus, the Royals did just use their first-round draft pick to select a first baseman, Nick Pratto.
Pratto shouldn’t factor into the Royals’ decision to keep Hosmer next season. Minor league first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, however, will. O’Hearn has hit well at Triple-A this season with good power and a decent average. Right behind him in Double-A is another first baseman, Samir Duenez. He is also doing a good job this year and is someone the Royals could consider in the future.
Where will Hosmer play in 2018?
Multiple teams will be in the market for a first baseman next year as there are numerous free agents at the position. Teams like the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals may even consider upgrading what they already have. Each could shift someone to another position to make room.
Hosmer is not a first baseman who can carry a team on his shoulders, but he is a leader who can help take a team far. He did it before with the 2015 Royals. Teams would make a mistake by failing to remember all of those wonderful postseason moments.
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Along with the Yankees and Cardinals, there are other possible openings next year. These include the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays. If I had to pick one, I would say he stays in Missouri and joins the Cardinals.