Reports are coming that Royals are about to sign Hamilton who was not tendered by Reds, speedy outfielder with 50+ stolen bases in past 4 years. I am hearing a one year contract about $5.5M
Royals now have a crowded outfield with Hamilton, Gordon, Soler, Bonifacio, Phillips and Goodwin. Soler and Bonifacio may compete for DH. I like this addition though, how do others feel.
I'm sure he would be a guy that the Royals would need to get but he has speed and defense. Those type of guys were who were acquired before the Championship. He doesn't have much of a bat but can steal bases.
I don't get this signing at all. The Royals aren't going to compete next year or the year after. Hamilton is already 28, so he will be on the wrong side of 30 the next time the Royals are in the playoff hunt. @AsadZ is on the money that the outfield is very crowded now. I take the opposite stance, though and see this as a waste of money in a non competitive year. Better to let Phillips and Goodwin patrol centerfield for less with Gordon, Soler and Bonifacio on the corners than spend an extra $5M to send one of those guys to the minors, or trade them for a lousy return.
The Royals baffle me. They need to plan for the long term, and instead they make what looks like a very shortsighted move here.
Royals doing what they should do and playing to their home field advantage. Find speedsters and RUN. Next year's lineup actually looks formidable. What I want to see is either an additional starter and Kennedy sliding into the pen or a high-end bullpen arm. But, I do think next season's group should be fun to watch at least.
With Goodwin and Phillips as 4th and 5th outfielders. Ideally, we will platoon Goodwin and Bonifacio.
Starters:
- Junis
- Duffy
- Keller
- Fillmyer
- Minor leaguer (Oaks, Sparkman, Hernandez, Kalish)
Pen:
- Peralta
- Kennedy
- Flynn
- McCarthy
- Hopefully a Free Agent
What I'd really like to see is Nicky Lopez get called up to 2B and the Whit play 3rd. Lean in to having a team built around speed. I'd also like to see Frank Schwindel get his shot at the Big Leagues. He could platoon with O'Hearn or DH and leave Soler in RF.
Either way, I like the signing. I expect 40 SBs. It really looks like we'll see 3 guys on our team steal 40+ bases. If Lopez gets called up early, another guy with 15.
My ideal batting order:
This 2019 team should be pretty awful still. But definitely has some pieces for the next decent Royals team. We need to get some pitching. We need to find another bat. But overall, I'm excited by this bunch.
@justanotherfan I see what you are saying. I feel that Moore is stacking for speed and defense and also using this as an insurance against any injury. Last year Soler missed a lot of time due to injury and Bonifacio got suspended.
@justanotherfan I'll disagree. He is instantly our 2nd best outfielder after Gordo. For only $5M.
If they make the commitment to D, Phillips should be starting in RF. And Bonifacio would be a great backup outfielder and late game bat.
Add in that the Indians are selling off everything and going for a rebuild and it may only take 81 wins to land the division title. Not saying they can win 81 games, but they could at least make it competitive. Which means more eyeballs and more revenue. More revenue means a $5M signing was completely worth it.
Fwiw, I do think this team could win 75 games next season if the pitching rotation can stay relatively healthy. Part of that is getting better bullpen pieces to take the strain off some of them. Another big part of that though is improving the defense. This signing absolutely improves the defense.
I find nothing wrong with a value signing at an area of need for relatively cheap.
Next big step forward would be going after a bullpen arm. And there is some decent bullpen arms out there to be had.
Revisiting this Hamilton signing, I think we saw just how well signing Jon Jay went last season. He came here, briefly shined, and was flipped. I think Hamilton offers that same kind of upside. If he plays well and we are showing no signs of life, you flip him.
It would require Hamilton absolutely sucking to be a bad signing in my book.
White Sox have signed Kelvin Herrera on a 2 year $18M contract, good for KH to get paid.
