The Royals are “looking hard” at recently non-tendered center fielder Billy Hamilton, tweets Rustin Dodd of The Athletic. MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan suggests interest on the Royals’ behalf in a column as well, noting that while GM Dayton Moore wouldn’t comment on any intrigue, there’s a general sense among Royals execs that the fleet-footed Hamilton’s skill set would fit Kauffman Stadium well.
Hamilton, who turned 28 in September, was arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter and had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $5.9MM in 2019 before the Reds cut him loose last week. While he’s long been an offensive liability, Hamilton is among the game’s elite defensive outfielders and perhaps the best baserunner in the game, having swiped 50+ bases each season from 2014-17 and another 34 last year. Over the past three seasons, Hamilton has also been worth 28 Defensive Runs Saved, notched a 26.5 Ultimate Zone Rating and, per Statcast, converted a staggering 52 outs more than could be expected of an average defensive outfielder (based on Statcast’s catch probability data).
None of that was enough to outweight Hamilton’s anemic bat, however, it seems. The switch-hitter has posted a sub-.300 OBP in four of his five full Major League seasons, and while he showed some strides at the plate in 2016, he followed up that year’s .321 OBP with a pair of seasons in which he mustered a combined .242/.299/.331 batting line. Clearly, moving from the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park to the cavernous Kauffman Stadium won’t do his virtually nonexistent power numbers any favors, but there are few in the game better suited than Hamilton to cover all of the ground in Kansas City’s expansive outfield.
At present, Kansas City’s outfield will feature Alex Gordon in left field in the final season of a four-year, $72MM contract. The other two spots are less certain, with Brett Phillips, Brian Goodwin, Jorge Bonifacio and newly signed Chris Owings among the options to fill them. Designated hitter Jorge Soler, too, could see occasional time in right field. While that group is riddled with offensive question marks, and Hamilton would only bring more of the same, it’s also true that an alignment of Gordon, Hamilton and Phillips would be a superlative defensive unit. Adding Hamilton to a lineup that already features Whit Merrifield, he of consecutive AL stolen base crowns, and young speedster Adalberto Mondesi would surely serve to frustrate opposing pitchers and catchers as the trio ran amok on the basepaths, too.
Gordon in left, Hamilton in center, Phillips in right would be one of the best defensive outfields of all time.
Also easily the worst offensively of all time
Still, Hamilton = best defensive CF, Gordon is a top 5 defensive LF for sure, and Brett Phillips has a heck of an arm and would easily be a top 5 defensive RF. A fly ball pitcher with that defensive outfield and the pitchers park of Kauffman as their home would really do well.
It takes a bit more than a good arm to be in the top 5 defensively at any position in MLB.
If you’ve seen Brett Phillips play you would know why he’s such a good defender. You obviously haven’t.
Must’ve missed the news of Hamilton beating Inciarte for the gold glove this year or the past three years when Inciarte has won it. I totally agree with you though Hamilton is by far the best defensive CF in the game because it’s not like he hasn’t won a gold glove yet.
I’ll take Marisnick in center over Hamilton.
Inciarte has won 3 straight gold gloves over Hamilton…So Hamilton does not = best defensive CF!
Harrison bader says hello
If Albert Almora played all year he would be
Let’s stop using gold gloves to prove defensive ability, okay? That award is a joke.
Thank you. Derek Jeter was winning Gold Glove Awards purely on popularity.
We all know the Gold Glove has a tendency to go the great defender who also hits good. Kirby Puckett and Griffey are the best examples. Hamilton is every bit as good as any other CF, and probably slightly better at tracking down flies than any in the game today.
Worst defensive OF of all time has to be 2017 Giants. Still feel for those poor pitchers. worst probably in a long time. Can see why you value a great defensive OF.
I don’t know the phils were pretty bad as well.
Of all time? Maybe your time…
There was a time when the Tigers put this guy named Rob Deer in their outfield. And any outfield with Deer is worse than anything out here today.
2018 Giants weren’t any better, they sucked also.
Gordon, Dyson, Cain wasn’t too bad for us, either.
I’ll take Trout,Bourjos,Calhoun. Thanks
1980 Oakland A’s are the greatest defensive OF all time. That’s a pretty high target.
Would be great pinch runner and defensive sub. A luxury that may not be worth a roster spot.
I agree with you. I am a Reds fan, but Billy would not start on any pennant contending teams.
I think he can be a little bit more than that. He has essentially a high floor since defense and baserunning tend to be more consistent, while his ceiling is a little higher since a little luck could a .299 OBA into a somewhat more palatable .330 or .340.
Perfect fit would be a team with a large home park (who cares if he loses a little of his minimum power) and at least a couple of starting pitchers with extreme fly ball tendencies. Start him when the park conditions and starting pitchers make outfield defense more valuable, otherwise he comes off the bench.
Tigers!
Jorge B? is the RF.
His omission was an error on my part — had him in there, shuffled some wording and left him off — but I wouldn’t by any means call him a lock for playing time after he hit .255/.312/.360 in his return from a PED suspension.
But, he should definitely be in there. I updated the post. Thanks for the heads up.
Don’t know about The PED suspension, but much of the time it was difficult to watch him play RF. He is a potential power hitting RH OF, so with Soler out injured he got a decent amount of playing time.
Don’t think he’ll fit in KC. Might work out as a part-time COF in a bandbox NL park as in Philly. Maybe a part-time LF/DH in Fenway Park.
With Owings, Merrifield, Soler, and Herrera (a switch hitter) all able to hit RH and play RF, it seems best to release him and use the roster spot to give playing time to a youngster.
Don’t forget Boni and, to a lesser extent, Rosie Herrera fighting for some time in OF as well. Stacked with major league mediocrity.
O’Hean snd others to in Minors,
Hamilton seems like a perfect buy low candidate for the spacious ball park in KC. If he recovers any value then he may be dealt away to a contender who needs a pinch runner/bunter or defensive replacement at the deadline.
You have to have had value to recover it
Those extra outs in CF have value. The baserunning has value, too. It’s not everyday value, but putting in Hamilton after the worst defensive OF on the team takes his last at-bat of the game is worth more in the late innings than 40 innings of awfulness from an 8th reliever.
Did you just say “bunter” in relation to Billy Hamilton? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Or instead of being flipped, the Royals just enjoy him helping them out a halfway decent product on the field for 162.
Royals were the exact team I thought of when I saw he was non-tendered.
Kinda going in the direction of the Cardinals of old,not a Royals fan but I like it except somebody needs to teach Billy to walk and make contact on the ground!
He’s made zero progress in either area and he’s been around long enough to show that he probably never will.
You’re taught the diffetence between a ball and a strike when you’re 5
All kidding aside, maybe he needs glasses.
Royal have great instructors. Both Rusty Kuntz and Dale Sveum can stretch their responsibilities and work with him some.
Matty Alou was a so-so player for years. With the Pirates he learned to put the ball on the ground and use his speed. Became a Batting Champion and multi-year All-Star. Exciting to watch.
Could moving to a more spacious ballpark help a slap hitting guy? Just thinking more outfield grass for bloopers to land + his speed could help him get a few more hits.
yeah, I feel like going there would actually help his numbers. he’s not a HR hitter but I wouldn’t be surprised if his SLG actually increased with more doubles and triples due to his speed.
typical Royals interested in speed and defense and not pitchers and home runs hitters
Thx Royals, I’ve been concerned the Reds would re-sign him, thanks again , please sign him
Billy Hamilton is easily one of the worst hitting “stars” ever. Leave it to the Reds to put his face on everything the last few years. Also could b y no1 was in that stadium
He’d be a great bounceback candidate, especially if he could be signed for decently cheap. Provides fantastic defense, good baserunning. Now hopefully he can add some hitting too.
Bounce back to what?
Do you not know what a bounceback is?
Yeah, he may have an OBP of .305 next yearyes…now, bounce back to what?
He’s never been a good hitter, so what is he bouncing back to?
He’d be a great fit for the Yankees, he could push Judge or Stanton for ABs
Pinch runner and late inning defense.
It makes sense. I doubt he’s worth much at the deadline, but he should be flippable.
His BABIP would surely rise going to a bigger ballpark. I always noticed how certain guys (Pablo Sandoval) going to San Fransisco in AT&T park for example would thrive because of the large dimensions meaning there’s more opportunities for balls to fall if you’re not an extreme flyball guy. Sandoval for example turned into an awful hitter in a doubles hitters paradise in Fenway with his spray hitting approach.
Same thing could be said about Yankee Stadium turning guys who were high average hitting left handers into low average hitters because the shift into right field would lapse 90% of the pull side.
I think Hamilton’s batting profile is ideal for a ballpark like Kaufman, I’d say he’s got a chance to be the next Jarrod Dyson there.
Again, not a bad move for about 5M or so. See, you can construct a roster just with the leftovers this years, for about 85-90M, and probably win 75 games. AND be building up your farm system; really, they’re not mutually exclusive. AND have moveable pieces on July 31; somebody could very conceivably need a Billy or a Schoop to help them to the playoffs….
That’s why you need a salary floor…..not to mention you could take on a bad contract or two, and get prospects as piggy-backs…..you’d go from the O’s to contention in about 3 years…..if you do it right…..and give the fannies in the seats something to root for…..
The owners know this of course….but by selling a “rebuild”, they can save 30M a year and charge the same price to watch AAA talent….meanwhile peddling a future that never really comes……
“Tanking”: may be going the way of the Edsel, tho….low attendance, low TV shows the fan bases ain’t buyin’ it……this is a good thing…..
Id like to agree but greed will continue to win the day. In the past guys like Adam Jones and Cutch would already be sporting new uniforms on a city trying desperately to stay relevant but these days the owners have many duped into believing tanking is a strategy worth rooting for.
Royals have an abundance of outfielders. They need pitching!
They have 5 young starting pitchers. More coming up. There is talk of moving Duffy and Kennedy to the bullpen.
The Indians have 3 TOR pitchers that they were shopping. When they got them, Kluber, Corrasco, and Bauer were failed pitchers from other organizations. It took 2-4 years for them to slowly change, improve, and become premier pitchers.
Small market teams have to develop their own pitchers (and position players). Royals are doing that. Again.
The Rockies should be in on him too. He can cover a lot of ground at Coors, and if he can get some hits, he may end up with a ton of triples and ITPHRs
As a Yankee fan I would love one very fast slap hitting defense first player on the roster who bats left handed. These are the guys that disrupt pitchers and are necessary in big lineups.
I fully expect The Giants to sign Hamilton and will have him hit lead off. Despite the fact that they probably have pitchers who more of an offensive threat, Bochy seems to think that a lead off guys OBP doesn’t matter so long as he’s fast. While I love Bochy his choices to hit lead off baffle me.
Everyone talks about Kaufman being bad for hitters, in some respects a big stadium like this could be better for a guy like Hamilton than a bandbox like Great American if he could hit gaps.
Agree! The Royals GM was on MLB network and said something like “because of our ballpark we don’t get all that excited by people who hit the long ball. We are more excited about someone who can hit the ball in the gaps and run”.
I just don’t get why the Rockies wouldn’t be all over this guy and guys like him.
Imagine if he could get a 30 point bump to obp what kinda damage he could do on the bases, plus who can cover as much ground in coors field as billy?
Royals fan here. Don’t sign him. He takes playing time away from our youngsters. We have a good group to build on. They need all the ABs and experience they can get. And Frank the Tank needs to be called up to DH and play some outfield too
Hamilton should be forced to go to bat and bunt almost everytime
Most disappointing talent in baseball. Puts the ball in the air when on the ground would get him to play every day. Once he’s on base does not know when to run. Great outfielder horrible offense of player. Must be hardheaded as well I would guess
Wow Royals are interested in another speedster who can’t hit.
The Pirates should sign Hamilton. If they beat you, get them to join you. Hamilton has an absurd number of his career SB against them.
Pirates have little power, might as well try to inject some speed.
I’m surprised more teams aren’t interested in him. This speed is hard to find and he can play good enough to have a spot on someone’s roster
I would love to see the braves get him as their 4th of
If given a chance, Hamilton could be a .300/.400/.500 guy with the slugging coming off doubles and triples