The Royals have traded Adalberto Mondesi. Here’s why ... and what they’re hoping for
Adalberto Mondesi was forecast for greatness, and perhaps that remains attainable. But it won’t be with the Royals.
On Tuesday, the Royals announced Mondesi had been traded to the Boston Red Sox for relief pitcher Josh Taylor, and one of the reasons is because the team has lined up its next potential superstar at shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr.
“We’re trying to keep our long-term objectives in mind,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “One is that we want to see Bobby Witt Jr., play shortstop as long as he possibly can. We weren’t going to move Mondesi just for that reason. We wanted to get something back in return.
“But Bobby is clearly our shortstop and it paves the way for him to play as much as he can at shortstop.”
Witt made the Opening Day roster in his first major league season in 2022, starting at third base. Shortstop opened up when Mondesi suffered a torn ACL after 15 games. Witt played 98 games at short and 55 at third base on his way to being voted the Royals player of the year.
Injuries have been an issue throughout Mondesi’s career. In 2021 he appeared in 35 games, missing large portions of the season with an oblique strain and hamstring strain. Injuries to his shoulder and groin cost him large swaths of games in 2018 and 2019.
The most games Mondesi played with the Royals in a season was 102 in 2019. He shared the American League lead in triples that season with teammates Witt Merrifield and Hunter Dozier with 10 each.
But there were stretches when Mondesi lived up the promise of being named the team’s top prospect in 2015 and 2016 for his combination of speed and power.
Despite playing in only 75 games in 2018, Mondesi hit 14 home runs and slugged .498. In the pandemic shortened 2020 season, Mondesi played in 59 of the team’s 60 games, led the AL in stolen bases and hit nine home runs.
But his place with the Royals was uncertain. With the team committed to Witt, would Mondesi play third base? The outfield? Picollo cited depth at shortstop with Witt, Nicky Lopez and Maikel Garcia as another reason to make the move.
“There are teams looking for shortstops right now,” Picollo said. “We’re in a good spot when it comes to depth at shortstop.”
Picollo said the Royals have had Taylor on their radar for several years. Taylor, 30, missed last year with a back injury. He’s spent three seasons in the majors, all with Boston, and from 2019-21, he made 121 appearances with 129 strikeouts for an 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
In 2021, the left-handed Taylor had a streak of 26 scoreless appearances over 21 2/3 innings, and he pitched in six of the Red Sox’s 11 postseason games, posting a 2.25 ERA.
“That’s a player we’ve tried to acquire in the past,” Picollo said. “It’s a very good depth piece for us to have and it creates a lot of competition in our bullpen. ... It allows us to put a bullpen together that can lock down any lead that we have after the sixth inning.”
The Royals added two more potential bullpen arms earlier in the week when they traded center fielder Michael A. Taylor to the Minnesota Twins for lefty Evan Sisk and right-hander Steven Cruz.
Sisk, 25, went 5-1 with a 1.57 ERA in 50 appearances between Class AA Wichita and AAA St. Paul in 2022. Cruz, 23, is a 6-foot-6 power thrower who recorded 72 strikeouts in 56 innings at Wichita last season.
Center field options now include Kyle Isbel and Drew Waters. Isbel played all three outfield positions last season, including 49 of his 106 games in right. Waters, acquired in a trade from the Braves last July, made his big league debut with the Royals and also played the majority of his games in right.
One move that Picollo did not discuss: the reported acquisition of reliever Aroldis Chapman, the 13-year veteran and seven-time All-Star. Picollo comments publicly on deals that are completed. This one is not.
“I can’t really comment on it other than to say we do have interest in him,” Picollo said. “If that comes to fruition we’ll get on a call and talk about it at a later date.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 2:54 PM.