Royals working toward one-year deal with center fielder Billy Hamilton
The Royals are expected to be relatively quiet at the winter meetings.
But they didn’t start out that way.
Kansas City reached a pending agreement on a one-year, $5.25 million contract with center fielder Billy Hamilton early Monday morning, a source confirmed to The Star. The AP reported that the agreement could give Hamilton a chance to earn an extra $1 million in incentives.
Meeting with reporters Monday in Las Vegas on the opening day of the winter meetings, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said the team is nearing a contract with Hamilton, but he emphasized the agreement isn’t done. It’s expected the final contract would include a mutual option.
“There’s a certain type of player that we think is really important (in order) to put together a successful and impactful outfield unit,” Moore said. “We gotta be able to cover Kauffman Stadium.
“There’s a very select few that have the ability to play center field in Kauffman Stadium well. If you can acquire a player or players like that, you have to be aggressive. That’s how we feel.”
The Royals envision Hamilton’s speed and defense as an apt fit for an everyday center fielder inside a spacious home ballpark. He would top a suddenly crowded outfield depth chart that also includes Brian Goodwin and Brett Phillips, two players acquired during the 2018 season.
Hamilton, 28, possesses some of the best speed in the game, stealing 277 bases since arriving in the big leagues in late 2013. He has 264 steals since the start of 2014, the most in the majors. He has never been a formidable hitter, posting a career .245/.298/.333 line. He batted .236 for the Reds in 2018 and reached base just shy of 30 percent of his plate appearances.
But Hamilton also rates as an elite defensive center fielder. He finished fifth among all major-league outfielders in outs recorded above average, according to Statcast.
“The potential signing of Billy Hamilton affects the outfield situation in the following way: Number one, it makes us a lot better, especially defensively,” Moore said. “And it gives us two things that show up every single day — defense and speed.
“We want to put a team on the field that can really play defense and steal a lot of bases (and) put the game in motion, which requires a lot of action-type players.”
Hamilton falls into the skill-set of players the Royals have long coveted during Moore’s regime. Speed. And defense. It’s a formula the Royals have employed for several years and returned toward in the final months of a sour 2018 season.
The Royals eyed Hamilton as far back as high school, though Moore stopped short of saying they inquired about trading for him in the past. The Cincinnati Reds drafted Hamilton in the second round in 2009. He made his debut there in 2013 and spent six seasons there before the Reds non-tendered him last week.
“We’ve always liked him. We’ve always talked about him,” Moore said, later adding. “We conveyed that to him out of high school. You’re the type of guy we like.”
Hamilton’s playing time will be determined as manager Ned Yost pencils in the lineup every day, but the Royals wouldn’t be adding $5 million-plus to the payroll for a weapon off the bench. With Hamilton likely to occupy center, it would push Phillips into a backup role or a logjam in right field that also includes Jorge Bonifacio and Jorge Soler. Phillips and Bonifacio have options remaining. Soler is also a candidate for designated hitter.
A contract with Hamilton would push the Royals near $88 million in payroll for the 2019 season, and the team has a preference to keep the final number between $90 million-$92 million. Thus, any subsequent moves are likely to arrive later in the offseason rather than the winter meetings.
“For where we are in the offseason right now and what we have remaining with our payroll, I’d be surprised if any player jumps out and takes a deal at that level at this point,” Moore said. “Those types of players who take a lesser deal, usually it’s a little closer to spring training.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2018 at 11:21 AM.