Kansas City Royals Likely Heading to Rebuild
By David Hill
The Kansas City Royals have enjoyed a run of success over the past few years. That window of opportunity could be closed for some time, as the Royals appear likely to be rebuilding.
The past few years have been great for the Kansas City Royals. After nearly three decades of being out of the postseason, and almost 20 years as a doormat, the Royals found themselves amongst baseball’s royalty again. They had their first winning season in a decade in 2013, and followed that up with consecutive World Series appearances. Although the past two seasons have been somewhat disappointing, the Royals were still contending.
That window of opportunity may have closed. With such key players as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain as free agents, the Royals are expected to enter a rebuilding process. However, the hope was that, should the Royals retain Hosmer, they would attempt to contend once again.
However, even if the Royals retain Hosmer, they could still look to rebuild. Virtually everything on the roster could be on the move, even pieces under team control into the next decade. That means that the Royals could look to move on from players like Whit Merrifield and Scott Alexander, even though they are not set to enter arbitration for two more years.
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Granted, Royals general manager Dayton Moore did say that they would need to have “somebody blow their doors off” to move those players. However, as teams around the league embracing tanking and a harsh rebuilding process, the Royals could be looking towards a similar path.
A massive rebuild would certainly make sense for the Royals. They could build around Danny Duffy and Salvador Perez, while hoping that Merrified and Alexander can replicate their excellent 2017 performances. Cheslor Cuthbert, Jorge Soler, and Hunter Dozier could get an extended trial on the major league roster. If Royals fans truly want to dream, maybe Kyle Zimmer can be healthy and make an appearance.
However, the idea that the Royals could sign Hosmer and undergo such a path would not make much sense. For the type of contract that Hosmer is likely to command, the Royals may as well go all in again, and attempt to keep their window of contention open. Besides, a true rebuild would mean that the Royals would need to part ways with players like Ian Kennedy and Joakim Soria, who do not have a lot of trade value at this point.
The Kansas City Royals may undergo a total rebuild. If so, they should exit the Eric Hosmer Sweepstakes.