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The Kansas City Royals are coming off one of the most emotional World Series victories in recent MLB memory. The Royals went all-in down the stretch in 2015, picking up Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist. Now they have to face the 2016 with less depth than they have had in several seasons.
At the end of 2015, outfielders Alex Gordon and Alex Rios were free agents. Fans were excited to see how the Royals’ front office was going to replace these two defensive stalwarts. The answer was to re-sign Gordon and replace Rios with top backup Jarrod Dyson. The Royals plan on making a go of it with Paulo Orlando to start the season with Dyson being injured, but neither Dyson nor Orlando has the pop to be the full season answer in right field.
For an answer to their mid-range problem the Royals must look into their farm system. They have a handful of players who are still a year or two away, but only one player who should be ready after a month or so in Omaha. Brett Eibner is almost ready for the bigs. He should have been the one to step in when Dyson went down, but his slow spring relegated him to the minors. How quickly he can come back will determine whether the Royals can make a run at repeating as champions.
Eibner spent 103 games in Omaha last year during his age 26 season, hitting 18 home runs with an OPS of .878. His AVG and OBP both went up as he began to hit the ball into the ground more last season. He’s also predominantly been a center fielder. If he can continue that progression, playing right field and batting eighth for the Royals should be a win.
The Royals don’t have the same options as other teams. They are a young group focused on winning now and in the future. In order for 2016 to be a success, Eibner needs to be in Kansas City and helping Dyson fill the hole in right field.
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