Kansas City Royals additions and subtractions
Key additions: Jon Jay, Lucas Duda, Brad Keller, Clay Buchholz
Newcomer to watch: Lucas Duda. His place in Kansas City Royals lore already secure, Duda has come to town as a bridge at first.
There is no questioning the power that Duda has in his bat when healthy. Even in a down season, when he produced a .217/.322/.496 batting line during his time with the Mtes and Rays, he still slugged 30 homers. His signing gives the Royals another legitimate power bat to pair with Mike Moustakas in the lineup.
Obviously, Duda is not Eric Hosmer at first. He has nowhere near the defensive pedigree, or the all around game on offense. But he does have a solid power bat, and on a one year deal, can be a nice addition to the lineup. If the Royals struggle, he can serve as a potential trade chip at the deadline. Kansas City just needs to hope that he has learned to throw home over the past two years, at least while he is on the club.
Notable losses: Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Joakim Soria, Scott Alexander, Mike Minor, Melky Cabrera, Jason Vargas, Ryan Buchter
Biggest loss: Lorenzo Cain. Hosmer going to San Diego may generate the most attention, but it is the loss of Lorenzo Cain that may hurt the Royals more.
Cain became a solid all around player with the Royals during the past few years, and that continued in 2017. Last year, he produced an excellent .300/.363/.440 batting line, hitting 15 homers and stealing 26 bases. He also continued his incredible play in center, saving nine runs and leading American League outfielders in range factor per nine innings. Cain was a key part of the Royals focus on contact and defense.
However, he was more than his production on the field. The Cain/Salvador Perez bromance was one of the more entertaining moments in baseball, and a sign of the excellent chemistry in the Kansas City Royals locker room. That chemistry helped make the Royals far greater than the sum of their parts, and may be the biggest loss of the offseason.