Whether the Kansas City Royals would be willing to move on from center fielder Kyle Isbel is one of the sneaky storylines of the offseason.
It’s been obvious all along that the Royals have been hoping to upgrade their outfield, which ranked as the worst in baseball this year in terms of wins above replacement. But Isbel’s spot could have been considered safe, as he’s at least a sturdy defender at the most important outfield position.
However, a Monday report indicates that the Royals are at least exploring other options at the center field spot, though the name involved isn’t exactly a massive offensive upgrade.
If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.
Royals among teams linked to Jake Meyers
On Monday, Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that the Houston Astros were receiving trade interest in center fielder Jake Meyers, who has three years of team control remaining, but fits a similar mold as Isbel in terms of defensive skills versus lack of offensive impact.
The Royals were among the teams Rosenthal and Woo connected to Meyers’ market.
“The Astros are open to moving (Meyers) for a controllable major-league starter, according to people briefed on their discussions,” wrote Rosenthal and Woo. “And the interest in Meyers entering his age-30 campaign is considerable, other clubs say.
“The Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and (Tampa Bay) Rays are among the teams exploring upgrades in center field, along with the (Baltimore) Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals.”
Meyers, 29, put up a 103 OPS+ in 104 games this past season. He’s also a rare left-handed thrower/right-handed batter, so in theory, if the Royals wanted to work out some kind of platoon with him and Isbel that also saw one of them getting some time in a corner, there could be a fit.
However, Meyers also sports a 90 OPS+ in his five-year career, and has never had more than 2.4 WAR in a season.
It’s always exciting when you can add a World Series champion to your roster, but if Meyers is the Royals’ “impact” acquisition this winter, it’s reasonable to question how serious this team is about competing for a playoff spot.
More MLB: Royals Lose 27-Year-Old Depth Arm To Braves In Free Agency
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
