On-base options: Free agents
Get on base!
Royals GM J.J. Picollo has highlighted an on-base hitter as his top priority this off-season, and for good reason. Royals leadoff hitters batted .228/.270/.334 this year, by far the worst in baseball. Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez all need more RBI opportunities from someone that can set the table.
Free agency is now in full swing, and we will see if the Royals spend as lavishly as they did last winter. Which free agents could give the Royals an upgrade in their lineup? Juan Soto and Alex Bregman will be among the top hitters available, but I didn’t list them because (a) it seems unlikely the Royals would spend that much; and (b) you probably already know how good they are.
Here are the realistic free agent options for the Royals who exhibit solid on-base skills.
Infielders
Ha-Seong Kim
2024: .233/.330/.370 470 PA 11 HR 22 SB 2.6 fWAR
I’ve long thought the Royals need to invest more in Asian free agents - the style of play there is very much what they would like to emulate in Kauffman Stadium, emphasizing bat-to-ball skills, speed, and defense. Kim exemplifies this approach with an 83.8 percent contact rate since coming to the States, one of the top 40 rates in baseball. He has a 10 percent career walk rate that has improved each season in MLB. The 29-year-old is an exemplary defender at short, who could move back to second. His average fell this year, and he missed the final month with a shoulder injury that required surgery. Still, he should be a pretty coveted free agent that nets a four-year deal worth around $60-80 million.
Yoán Moncada
2024: .275/.356/.400 45 PA 0 HR 1 SB 0.3 fWAR
Moncada missed most of the season with an adductor strain, ending his time with the White Sox. He hasn’t been a very good on-base hitter the last three seasons, and his walk rate has dropped significantly. But as recently as 2021 he had a .375 OBA with a 13.6 percent walk rate. Moncada has 15-25 home run power, is just 29 years old, and has been a solid defender at third base. A one-year make-good deal makes a lot of sense, and his ability to switch-hit makes him an attractive option.
Jorge Polanco
2024: .213/.296/.355 16 HR 4 SB 0.3 fWAR
Polanco was an All-Star with the Twins in 2019, hit 33 home runs in 2021, and posted a solid .335 OBA in 2023. The Twins traded him to the Mariners last year where he posted the worst offensive numbers of his career. His strikeout rate spiked significantly while his walk rate dropped. He was much better in the second half, but he had knee surgery in October. He’s 31 and second basemen seem to fall off a cliff, but he would likely come cheap on a one-year deal. He’s a left-handed hitting second baseman, so he only really makes sense if they move Michael Massey.
Donovan Solano
2024: .286/.343/.417 309 PA 8 HR 2 SB 0.8 fWAR
Solano was a semi-regular for the Marlins early in his career, but by 2019 it seemed like his MLB days were behind him, as he spent two full years in Triple-A. He rebounded with a terrific year as a part-time, and has done nothing but hit since. He has hit .294/.353/.413 in the last six seasons, the eighth-best batting average in baseball in that time. He doesn’t strike out much, and is capable of second or third. The 36-year-old could regress if he can’t sustain his high BABIP, but he could be a nice compliment to the infield that wouldn’t require more than a one-year deal with maybe an option.
Gleyber Torres
2024: .257/.330/.378 665 PA 15 HR 4 SB 1.7 fWAR
Torres was an All-Star in his first two years, smacking 38 home runs in 2019 but has regressed since then to become an average hitter with solid power for a middle infielder. He hit 25 home runs in 2023, but his power numbers fell off this year. He came on strong in the second half, and will be one of the younger free agents at age 27. But he is a poor baserunner and defender who may need to move to another position before too long. It will probably take a four-year deal worth around $50-65 million to land him, but he does still have some terrific power potential.
Outfielders
Mark Canha
2024: .242/.344/.346 462 PA 7 HR 7 SB 1.0 fWAR
Canha was once a Rule 5 pick by the A’s, and he developed a good eye at the plate flirting with .400 on-base percentages at his peak. He walked at an 11 percent rate this year, but his power really cratered. He’s not an awful defender, but he’s not a guy you want out there a lot, and at age 35, he may not have much left in the tank. But he’ll be cheap on a one-year deal, and he still shows good on-base skills.
Michael Conforto
2024: .237/.309/.450 488 PA 20 HR 0 SB 1.3 fWAR
Conforto played against the Royals in the 2015 World Series, and was an All-Star outfielder with the Mets, hitting 33 home runs in 2019. He hurt his shoulder in 2021, causing his numbers to decline, and he missed the entire next season following surgery. He signed a “make good” deal with the Giants and has been a bit above league-average the past two seasons. His walk numbers dropped off from 11.3 percent in 2023 to just 8.6 percent this year, while his strikeout rate increased. He still has 15-20 home run power, and while he’s a lefty, he had a reverse platoon split this year. The 31-year-old is probably looking at 1-2 year offers around $10-14 million per year.
Max Kepler
2024: .253/.302/.380 399 PA 8 HR 1 SB 1.0 fWAR
Kepler isn’t that great of an on-base hitter, but he had a .332 OBA in 2023 and he was posting 11 percent walk rates (with low batting averages) until his walk rate cratered this year. The 31-year-old was limited to just 105 games as he battled elbow soreness, a head injury, neck strain, and a bum knee this season. He hit 36 home runs in 2019, but that fell to just 24 in 2023 and just 8 this year. His performance seems to vary wildly between solid above-average corner outfielder, and below-league-average, but his defense is good enough to make him a positive contributor.
Tyler O’Neill
2024: .241/.336/.511 31 HR 4 SB 2.5 fWAR
O’Neill posted a pretty healthy on-base percentage this year, but he’s really more of a middle-of-the-order bat. His on-base percentage from 2022-23 was just .310, but his walk rate has improved the last few seasons to a 9-10 percent rate. He enjoyed his second 30+ home run season of his career, but the weightlifting aficionado has had trouble staying on the field at times. He strikes out a lot and is prone to streaks. He has been a terrific defender, winning two Gold Gloves in left field, although his metrics fell off this year. He will likely sign a three-year deal worth between $12-16 million per season.
Jurickson Profar
2024: .280/.380/.459 668 PA 24 HR 10 SB 4.3 fWAR
Profar was once the top prospect in baseball who had a mediocre career with the Rangers. He was one of the worst players in baseball in 2023 due to some horrific defense, but rebounded to put together a career season at age 31. He put together one of the best walk-to-strikeout ratios in baseball, and his 24 home runs were a career high. His defense isn’t good, but it wasn’t god awful this year. He’s a risk, but there were some positive underlying metrics to suggest this wasn’t a fluke. Expect Profar to land a two- or three- year deal worth $12-16 million per year.
Alex Verdugo
2024: .233/.292/.356 621 PA 13 HR 2 SB 0.6 fWAR
Verdugo was once a good enough prospect to be the headliner in the Mookie Betts trade to Los Angeles, and while he never lived up to that billing, he was an above-average-hitting corner outfielder with a .338 on-base percentage in four seasons in Boston. They sent him to the Yankees this season and he was a disaster, posting career worst in almost every offensive category. He’s still just 28 and has talent, but has been called a clubhouse headache.
DH-only options
It’s not likely the Royals would look at hitters that can’t play the field since they want to leave the DH slot open for Salvador Perez and on occasion, Vinnie Pasquantino. But if they wanted a veteran who only played on occasion, Joc Pederson could fit the bill. He posted a 151 OPS+ with 23 home runs with improved numbers against lefties than previously in his career. He is pretty bad defensively and didn’t even play the field this year, but his power is as good as ever. Andrew McCutchen is 38 years old, but still posted a .328 on-base percentage for the Pirates and could provide the veteran leadership the Royals desire. Justin Turner has seen his power disappear, but he still posted a .354 on-base percentage at age 39, and can still fill in at first and third on occasion.
Cheap options
Cavan Biggio hit below the Mendoza Line, but still walks at an 11 percent rate and is just 29 years old. Harold Ramirez doesn’t walk, but he hit for some high averages when he played in Tampa Bay under Matt Quatraro. Austin Slater had a 12 percent walk rate this year, but with no power and a light average. Infielder Luis Urías has a 10 percent career walk rate and hit 23 home runs in 2021, but has hit under the Mendoza Line in each of the past two seasons. Jesse Winker has a career 12.8 percent walk rae and rebounded to put up a 1.3 fWAR season after two miserable seasons.