The Royals’ plan for right field became clearer Monday: Jorge Soler, be ready
Jorge Bonifacio walked into a batting cage at Werner Park, donning a bright blue Kansas City Royals hoodie. In a couple of hours, he would remove the top in favor of a Omaha Storm Chasers uniform, the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate.
Bonifacio was the first man to fall out of the race for the big-league right field job, sent to the minors earlier this month along with teammate Brett Phillips. And the final piece fell Monday — the Royals released Brian Goodwin in favor of offering a roster spot to recently-signed Lucas Duda.
As the Royals broke for spring training in February, that was the trio — Bonifacio, Goodwin and Phillips — thought to be competing to occupy right field inside Kauffman Stadium. As of Monday, none will be on the opening day roster.
Which opens up a lot of outfield innings for one player in specific.
Jorge Soler.
“Obviously Soler’s gonna be in the lineup,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “We feel like we can continue to match up well there. We got other guys that can move to all three outfield spots as well, but Jorge Soler from the very beginning is gonna be in that lineup each and every day. That goes without saying.”
Moore met with reporters before the Storm Chasers beat the Royals 3-2 on a walk-off sacrifice fly in an exhibition game Monday in Omaha. Werner Park welcomed a stadium-record crowd of 9,351 for the game. Soler was 2 for 2 with a double.
Soler was always guaranteed a spot in the Royals’ order, provided he was healthy. He hit cleanup in a full-go lineup Monday in the exhibition finale. But it was presumed he could see some at-bats as the designated hitter, perhaps even the bulk of his plate appearances.
Maybe. Maybe no longer.
Royals manager Ned Yost was noncommittal on how much time Soler will spend in the outfield. “I’m gonna mix and match,” he said, before pointing out that Chris Owings and Whit Merrifield will see innings in right. But Soler undoubtedly will factor more into the mix with Goodwin, Bonifacio and Phillips not on the 25-man roster.
Soler batted .265 with nine home runs in 223 at-bats in 2018, a season ravaged by injury. The bat remains his top strength and the reason the team targeted him in a trade with the Cubs involving All-Star relief pitcher Wade Davis two years ago. Roaming Kauffman Stadium is a challenge given its spacious dimensions, even with Gold Glove-caliber defense neighboring the position with Billy Hamilton in center and Alex Gordon in left.
“From a year ago, he’s much improved,” Moore said of Soler’s defense. “We feel like he’s gonna be able to do extremely well out there. That being said, we got Whit Merrifield, and we got Chris Owings. And we have a lot of depth here in Triple-A if that’s how we decided to go in the future. But Jorge Soler needs to be in the lineup every single day, so that’s how we’re going to start.”
The Royals possess versatility in Merrifield and Owings that all but ensures the lineup will rotate. Terrance Gore is another outfield option. When Soler is in right, Duda could serve as a designated hitter. Asked about Monday’s move, Moore said, “We wanted to get a left-handed power bat (in the lineup).”
But ultimately the move shows the Royals are comfortable implementing the succinct strategy Yost offered.
Mix and match.
Royals, Omaha affiliation will continue
The Royals and Omaha will extend their affiliation through 2022, the two sides announced before Monday’s game. The Storm Chasers have been the Royals’ only Triple-A affiliate since they entered Major League Baseball in 1969.
“The continuity is really important to us,” Moore said. “To be able to have this partnership is amazing. We work really, really well together. We understand each other. We know each other’s goals.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 5:34 PM.