Kansas City Royals: Billy Hamilton is seemingly inevitable

The Kansas City Royals are showing interest in Billy Hamilton. Because of course they are.

Former Cincinnati Reds speedster Billy Hamilton is a free agent, having been cut loose instead of being tendered a contract. He is a player that intrigues even after five full seasons in the majors, showing incredible speed and tantalizing with his defensive ability in center. With that profile of speed and defense, Hamilton would appear to be the stereotypical Kansas City Royals outfielder.

Therefore, it is not a surprise that the Royals are very interested in bringing Hamilton on board. The Royals want action, and weapons on the basepaths, and Hamilton is that type of player.

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This interest also makes sense given the Royals history with Hamilton. They had previously attempted to trade for the outfielder, even thinking that they had a deal in place, before it was quashed by the Reds ownership. Now, they may get him at a much lower cost, while retaining any prospects that would have been traded away.

While Hamilton remains intriguing, he has yet to show the type of production one would hope for. He has a lifetime .245/.298/.333 batting line, with 277 career steals in 690 games. He does make contact, with his 20.3% career strikeout rate slightly below average, but his 6.9% walk rate and low batting average are not what one would expect from someone with Hamilton’s speed.

For the Royals, that inability to actually produce anything on offense may not matter at all. This is, after all, the team that continued to play Alicdes Escobar virtually every day. Plugging Hamilton in center between Alex Gordon and Brett Phillips would give Kansas City an incredible defensive outfield, similar to when Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, and Jarrod Dyson were patrolling the spacious grounds of Kauffman Stadium during their playoff run.

The difference is, that outfield, as excellent as they were defensively, could also produce with the bat. Gordon is not the same player he once was. Phillips is a question mark offensively, and did not exactly impress at the plate in 2018. Hamilton, meanwhile, has not exactly displayed much in the way of ability at the plate either.

Yet, that may not matter. The Royals are squarely in the midst of their rebuild, and are looking for potential lottery tickets. A player like Hamilton, if he can get on base regularly and use the spacious grounds at Kauffman to his advantage, could end up being just that. If not, he would not cost much and be expendable.

Billy Hamilton and the Kansas City Royals just seems inevitable. Of course they are interested in his services.