Simply put, the Kansas City Royals have zero time to spare.
After their series loss against the fourth-place Minnesota Twins this weekend, the Royals miraculously still have a shot at the playoffs. They’re four games back of the sputtering New York Yankees for the final wild card spot in the American League, with the Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers to overtake as well.
At this point, every roster spot is of vital importance. If someone isn’t pulling their weight, they need to be sent packing. And while not every player can be quickly replaced by someone with a better shot at contributing, there’s one Royal who could be supplanted in a heartbeat.
John Rave is a 27-year-old rookie outfielder who spent six seasons in the minors before making his debut this year. He’s now appeared in 53 games, and he’s unfortunately playing about how you’d expect a minor league journeyman to perform.
Rave is slashing .200/.301/.322 in 135 plate appearances. That would be bad enough from a corner outfielder, but the defense also hasn’t been remarkable (one defensive run saved), and a misplay may have cost the Royals the game in Sunday’s 5-3 loss.
In general, the Royals’ outfielders have been dreadful this year. We can’t sit here and blame Rave for all the problems. Yet, there comes a time when you have to try something different, and that time has arrived.
Going back to Drew Waters at this point isn’t ideal, but at least the switch-hitter has been productive at Triple-A recently. He owns an OPS of .836 in 27 games for the Omaha Storm Chasers.
There’s also MJ Melendez, who was supposed to be the starting left fielder all along, but who has twice been optioned to Triple-A after a dreadful year at the big-league level.
At some point, Jac Caglianone will return from the injured list. He’s on track to begin a rehab assignment this week. But there’s no reason for the Royals to wait that long to make a change, especially when Caglianone has yet to prove he’s ready to hit major league pitching.
There may be no perfect solution, but as long as Rave is part of the problem, the Royals can’t justify keeping him on the active roster, when every game at this point could be the difference between October and a seat on the couch.
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