The Kansas City Royals know their outfield is at the top of the list for offseason reevaluation.
Counting on a big leap from Jac Caglianone in his first full season isn’t going to be enough. Kansas City’s outfield ranked dead last with -1.1 fWAR this season — in fact, they were the only team in the negatives.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the New York Yankees were first in outfield fWAR thanks in large part to Aaron Judge’s brilliance. But while they can’t pry Judge from the Bronx, perhaps there’s another impactful Yankees outfielder who could make sense for the Royals this offseason.
Center fielder Trent Grisham was a throw-in for the Yankees in the Juan Soto trade in December of 2023. However, in a near full-time role this season, he clubbed 34 home runs and set himself up for a nice payday in free agency.
On Monday, Jeremy Greco of SB Nation suggested that Grisham could be the Royals’ No. 1 target this offseason as they attempt to restructure their outfield.
“Grisham will be entering his age-29 season, so he’s not yet old, but he’s also not so young with such a dazzling history that he can expect to be paid like a stud over a long contract,” Greco wrote. “He has positional versatility in that he can play any outfield position.
“Seeing a Yankee lefty crush a career-high in home runs, you might fear he’s benefiting from the infamous short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium, but according to Statcast, 25 of his 34 home runs would still have been out in Kauffman (Stadium). More homer-neutral parks like Target Field in Minnesota or Wrigley in Chicago would have allowed him to still hit 27 of his bombs.”
Grisham had a .235/.338/.464 slash line this season, setting new career-highs in OPS and WAR. His ability to play any outfield position (with two Gold Gloves in center to his name) would make him a valuable asset in Kauffman, where the outfield is vast and bat-first players often struggle on defense.
We’ll get a better sense of Grisham’s market value when the Yankees decide whether or not to tender him a $22 million qualifying offer. But if he receives and rejects that offer, we’ll know that the Royals will have to offer him a fairly decent chunk of change to come to KC.
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