The Royals and free agent shortstop Alcides Escobar are “working toward an agreement” that would bring Escobar back to Kansas City, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports (Twitter link).
Escobar, 31, has been a mainstay at shortstop for the Royals since coming over from the Brewers alongside Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi in the blockbuster trade that sent Zack Greinke to Milwaukee. Of the 1134 games the Royals have played since acquiring him, Escobar has played in 1105 of them at the shortstop position.
A standout defender, Escobar’s bat has never really matched the value presented by his glove. He just .250/.272/.357 last season, which roughly matches the .262/.293/.348 slash he’s posted overall in 4481 plate appearances as a Royal. His Ultimate Zone Rating of 18.5 over that seven-year span, though, ranks sixth among qualified shortstops.
Go back to the Brewers!
The only reason I hate this move is because he’s such a god awful hitter.
On a positive note though, he’s been amazingly durable and very good defensively. Mondesi is just not ready to take shortstop for us. We know what we’re going to get out of Alcides and we won’t have to pay very much to keep him.
Yeah, but DM and Yost might as well give Mondesi the keys to the car at this point. They aren’t competing. Give him the experience and some ML AB’s and work on his game in the show. It’s his spot now as far as I’m concerned. I don’t see any upside in playing Esky these days.
Why can’t they just let Mondesi play? It is not as if they are a contender…or rebuilding.
He has below replacements level offense. At this point it’s better to give a younger guy a shot unless they have a absolute black Whole at shortstop in their minor league affiliates. Even then they can find another option than Escobar I’m sure
We tried. We don’t have anyone as capable as Escobar at short stop which I agree is sad. Torres had flashes of potential when he was called up but him and Mondesi just are not ready yet. Quite honestly, they may never be.
Strongly disagree. Mondesi is someone who needs to play every day. He struggled early in his mlb career because he tried to change his hitting style from what had been successful in Omaha. Time to let him sink or swim.
Esky will either be a backup or Mondesi will move to CF.
They have nothing to lose by playing mondesi everyday at this point. You know Escobar is bad. He can’t be worse right ?
Please no, just let Mondesi play, and figure out what you have with him. Escobar has been a league average or better 3 times in 8 years, and only better than league average once. He has 0.5 WAR/season in the last 2 years- he’s barely better than a replacement level player who is trending downward.
Esky is one of the premier defensive shortstops in MLB.
Should be very team friendly contract. MR GLASS AND DAYTON NEED TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP HOSMER AND MOOSE!!!!
Won’t happen
Signing both Hosmer and Moose would be good but it would cost too much money. I just don’t see it happening. Even if they sign both for 4-5 years, they have prospects who may debut by then and their development may be stunted with moose and hosmer still there.
Mondesi looked solid in the 2nd half at AAA. He deserves another shot. Worst case scenario, he struggles again and Goins can fill in until you call Mondesi back up. At this point, Goins and Esky offer about the same value. Esky is no longer a premiere defender. All said, Mondesi even struggling, still is a better option than Esky at this point.
How many people forget Esky’s second-half? Yes, he’s not the best shortstop. But he IS the best fit for a rebuilding team. The worst hitter in baseball was Alex Gordon by far, yet no one is calling for him to hang up his cleats. Esky has had maybe 2 bad seasons in 7 since joining Kansas City. Mondesi is trade bait at this point. I feel Kansas City wants to rebuild, but Dayton sees an open Central with only Minnesota and Cleveland being in the way. I don’t see Mondesi moving to center. And even if that is the case, they would send him down to learn the position, just as they did Alex Gordon. Alex became a premier player once he moved to the outfield because he could relax and focus on his game. If that is the idea set with Mondesi, I say we give the move of bringing Escobar back a chance. I mean, come on…it is a one year deal, cheap, and we are not expected to win many games any ways. I was born Royal, so I’m all for the decisions of Dayton and the Glass family.