Nicky Lopez and Whit Merrifield give the Kansas City Royals great options on the field
The Kansas City Royals’ new double-play combination is its old double-play combination and vice versa. That’s perhaps the one silver lining of the club having had to adjust course last season due to Adalberto Mondesi’s injuries.
The confidence in the infield defense couldn’t have been higher than it was entering this season with a trio of shortstops — Nicky Lopez, Bobby Witt Jr. and Mondesi — playing different positions along the diamond.
But the Royals are also in a rare position of their fallback option being a middle infield with two Gold Glove candidates a year ago. Mondesi’s ACL tear necessitated Merrifield going from right field to second base, while Lopez will take over as the everyday shortstop.
“It’s very important (to have the right depth when something like this happens),” Lopez said. “I think that’s how the Royals envisioned it. We had three shortstops at one point in the infield, which is something you can’t take for granted because not a lot of teams have that option to put someone at third, short, a third baseman at short, shortstop at second base.”
Lopez, who seemed deserving of a finalist nod last season at shortstop, had been a finalist for the AL Gold Glove at second base in 2020. Meanwhile, Whit Merrifield was a finalist at the same position last season and arguably the top defensive second baseman in the majors.
“It’s one of those things,” Lopez said. “We don’t have to start over. I know what I have in Whit. Whit knows what he has in me. But I’ve been saying from day 1, Mondi makes our team better and defense better. You saw some of the plays he was making earlier this year. It was crazy. And it’s just unfortunate he couldn’t prevent it. It’s just one of those freak injuries.
“It’s just very unfortunate. ... Me and Whit are very in tune. Me and Mondi were in tune.”
At least for now, the Royals want Witt to remain focused on third base as he makes his transition to the majors.
Witt, who MLBPipeline.com named the top prospect in the game this winter, had been drafted as a shortstop and predominantly played that position in the minors. He’ll just play his 18th game in the big leagues on Friday night.
“Right now, he looks really good,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Witt. “We know that he can play shortstop, but we also know that Nicky Lopez played a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop last year as well as what Whit Merrifield did at second base.
“There are options. We’re not taking anything off the table. But right now what Bobby is doing — just getting acclimated to this league, the day-in the day-out, the pressure of being in the majors leagues and being a highly-touted prospect — all of that’s plenty.
Last season, Lopez responded by leading the majors in outs above average (25) and runs prevented (19). He recorded the highest fielding percentage of any shortstop in the AL.
Merrifield, who’d spent most of last offseason preparing to play the outfield, started 147 games at second base last season with Lopez as the everyday shortstop for most of the season. That marked the games he started at one position in a single season in his career.
Merrifield had a seven-game stretch in April where he committed three errors, but he made just five over the final five months of the season.
“I’m definitely more prepared this year than I’d say I was last year at the beginning of the year,” Merrifield said. “Last year, that was just sort of on me that I didn’t really get the reps at second that I needed to, just assuming I was going to be in the outfield every day.
“This year, I didn’t take that for granted and I got some good work in at second. It’s just unfortunate, I’m playing second right now. Because I just feel so bad for Mondi. But things happen and part of my game is being able to fill voids. That’s what I’m doing.”
Merrifield went on to lead all second baseman in double plays turned, ranked fourth among all major-league second baseman in fielding percentage (.988) and finished the season with the third-most defensive runs saved of any player in the majors behind teammate and Gold Glove center fielder Michael A. Taylor and shortstop and Platinum Glove Award winner Carlos Correa.
Last season, the Fielding Bible selected Merrifield as the top defensive player in the majors at the second base position.
As far as continuity, Merrifield thinks it will benefit the Royals in making this mid-season transition. He also contends that can be “over-hyped” in regards to second base and shortstop combinations.
“Nicky and I got a full year together last year, so there’s some familiarity there for sure,” Merrifield said. “There’s familiarity with Mondi. I’m sure it wouldn’t take long to get familiar with Bobby or Dozier or whoever else was going to short or second.”
