Kansas City Royals place Alex Gordon on disabled list

The Kansas City Royals have placed outfielder Alex Gordon on the disabled list with a labral tear in his left hip.

There are some players whose value is not entirely measured by how they produce at the plate. Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon is one of those players, an superlative defensive left fielder whose glove has far overtaken his offensive production. And yet, despite his minimal offensive production, that defense continued to make Gordon a solid player in the lineup.

Now, as the Royals had just started to string together a few solid games, they will need to replace their Gold Glove outfielder. Gordon has been placed on the disabled list with a labral tear in his left hip. In his place, Kansas City has called up outfielder Abraham Almonte.

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There had been a time when Gordon was a solid player from an offensive standpoint. During the Royals five year run to contention, culminating in their consecutive World Series appearances, he had produced a .281/.359/.450 batting line, hitting 89 homers and stealing 52 bases. He was a three time All Star in that time, winning four Gold Glove awards, including the 2014 Platinum Glove, as he established himself as one of the best all around left fielders in the game.

However, since he was signed to a four year, $72 million contract to keep him Forever Royal following Kansas City’s 2015 World Series title, Gordon has struggled. Since the start of 2016, Gordon has a meager .213/.300/.343 batting line, with only 26 homers and 16 steals. he was still valuable on the field, saving 20 runs in left and winning the Gold Glove award again in 2017.

Almonte may well be able to approximate Gordon’s production at the plate, or even outperform the former star. In part time action with the Indians over the past two seasons, Almonte has produced a .249/.304/.384 batting line, hitting four home runs and stealing ten bases. However, while Almonte has been a decent defensive outfielder, he is not in the same class as Gordon.

Next: Kyle Zimmer returns to Kansas City

The Kansas City Royals have placed Alex Gordon on the disabled list, and have brought up Abraham Almonte. Even though Almonte may produce at close to the same level, the Royals will miss Gordon’s defense for however long he is out of the lineup.