Dodgers might’ve gifted Royals perfect chance at do-over to land ideal utility target

One of the lesser discussed, but always seemingly known, weaknesses of this current Kansas City Royals roster is their bench depth, specifically when it comes to versatile utility options.

As it stands, with the absence of Adam Frazier, a lot of that role on the bench will fall on the likes of Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert, who certainly have had their shortcomings at the major league level.

One name that once posed as a potential solution to their need for utility bats was Andy Ibáñez. After being non-tendered by the Detroit Tigers in November, someone with his positional versatility represented a new strong bench option on the free agent market.

However, in the early stages of the new year, the Los Angeles Dodgers scooped him up on a one-year, $1.2 million deal.

But fast forward to Tuesday, and just a mere matter of weeks after being given a fully guaranteed big league contract, the Dodgers shockingly designated Ibáñez for assignment to make room for their waiver claim of outfielder Mike Siani…whom they DFA’d last month.

So, this means that the Dodgers might’ve just gifted the Royals the perfect chance to get a do-over on Ibáñez and land a potentially strong upgrade to their lackluster bench unit.

Royals should capatilize on Dodgers puzziling roster move and bring in Andy Ibáñez

Now, when we’re talking about bench pieces, you have to take the term “perfect fit” with a grain of salt. This isn’t going to be a ground-breaking and game-altering addition here, rather it will be a move to strengthen between the margins, which certainly has it’s value for contending teams.

There’s no reason to believe that with back-to-back seasons with wRC+ totals in the 80s that Ibáñez should be challenging for a full-time starting role. However, there’s several elements to his game that would make him a worthwhile occasional fixture in this lineup.

The first is his plate discipline, as when you want someone coming off your bench in a pinch-hit situation, you at least want them to put the ball in play. His 13.5% K-rate and 92.5% in-zone contact rate would indicate that’s precisely what he’s capable of doing. What also helps is there’s some element of strong plate discipline and pitch recognition with a low 18.5% whiff rate.

Then, of course there’s the positional versatility, that in a flexible lineup like manager Matt Quatraro likes to deploy, can be of real use.

Last season, Ibáñez appeared at all four infield positions and even spent some limited time in the corner outfield. As Royals fans are well aware of, beyond utility needs, their two most prominent weak spots are second base and the corner outfield.

Lastly, there’s the underrated need for contedning teams of having guys in the lineup from top to bottom who are capable of entering a game at any point when the lights are at their brightest and contributing, which Ibáñez has proven he’s capable with during his postseason runs with the Tigers.

In two postseasons in the Motor City, he’s sported a .300 AVG, .800 OPS and 121 wRC+. And who could forget his all important three-run triple in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the 2024 AL Wild Card series to help sink the Houston Astros.

Given his right-handedness and his past track record – most notably the 2023 season where he played a career-high 114 games with a career-high 383 plate appearances and sported a 103 wRC+ – there’s also reason to dream on him being more than just a bench bat if all goes well.

There’s always a need for second base help, with the underwhelming duo of Jonathan India and Michael Massey not really staking their claim to the position in 2025 and there’s plenty of right-handed platoon opportunities in the corner outfield for a previously lefty-heavy unit.

For $1.2 million and just a one-year commitment, this feels like a no-risk, no-brainer of a waiver claim for the Royals that the Dodgers simply handed to them on a silver platter.