Marwin Gonzalez would provide the versatility that the Kansas City Royals are looking for.
The list of available free agents who can play third base and the outfield isn’t very deep and while there are a few better left-handed fits who are primarily third basemen, Marwin Gonzalez can play multiple infield positions and has spent a significant amount of time in the outfield during his career.
After a solid seven-year run with the Houston Astros, Gonzalez has been less than impressive in his two seasons with the Minnesota Twins and is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career.
But it doesn’t serve anyone good to focus too much on 2020 numbers, in which Gonzalez hit .211 with a .286 OBP and five home runs in 53 games. He’s a switch-hitter but all of his home runs came against right-handed pitchers last season and his OPS was nearly 140 points higher against RHP compared to his production against LHP.
Despite the dip in recent production at the plate, Gonzalez has shown the ability to be a decent defender at multiple positions and he can very likely be signed to a cheap one-year deal if the Kansas City Royals believe there’s potential for him to bounce-back in 2021.
Other potential third base options to keep an eye on include Travis Shaw, Jake Lamb, and Brock Holt.