Kansas City Royals: Three intriguing left-handed bat options
By Nick Stevens
The Kansas City Royals are looking for a versatile left-handed bat. These three options fit the mold.
The Kansas City Royals aren’t done yet. In what has been a slow offseason thus far, the Royals are bucking numerous winter trends by spending money and signing free agents, with at least one more notable addition yet to come.
Kansas City has added veteran starter Mike Minor to help solidify a good, but young starting rotation, first baseman Carlos Santana to provide some thump in the middle of their order, and even outfielder Michael A. Taylor to add some experienced depth.
The Royals also re-signed relief pitcher Greg Holland, with the expectation being that they bring in one more veteran arm to strengthen the backend of the bullpen.
General manager Dayton Moore isn’t done addressing the hitting side of things, stating recently on MLB Network Radio that he is interested in bringing in a left-handed bat who can, ideally, play third base and left field.
While the Kansas City Royals haven’t been afraid to spend money this winter, if they do bring in this left-handed bat it likely won’t be someone on a multi-year deal or another large contract, but there are a handful of cheaper, valuable options on the market.
Here are three intriguing names the Royals could target.
Brad Miller would bring a few different valuable traits to the Kansas City Royals.
Brad Miller is a decent option for the Kansas City Royals for a few different reasons. The 31-year-old has played all around the infield throughout his career and did see some time in the outfield as recently as 2019 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
There is a bit of swing and miss in his game, but Miller has some surprise pop in his bat and has posted the two highest on-base percentages of his career over the last two seasons, something the Royals could use a bit of in 2021.
In 48 games with the Cardinals in 2020, Miller hit just .232, but he posted a .357 OBP, a 14.6% walk rate, and 16 extra-base hits, including seven home runs with a 121 wRC+.
He hit 30 home runs back in 2016 with Tampa Bay, but his 2019 numbers are more in line with his career marks and would be a welcomed addition to Kansas City’s lineup- .260/.329/.565 line with 13 home runs and a 126 wRC+.
A one-year deal at $5-6 should be enough to bring him in.