Royals want to stay athletic in outfield, hope to retain Alex Gordon, Ben Zobrist

The blueprint will not change. As the Royals attempt to fill holes in both their outfield corners, the team intends to fortify its defense and not commit to any plodding sluggers.

“I think that the preference would be to maintain athleticism,” assistant general manager J.J. Picollo said. “Because we’ve seen how it can impact games and how much it’s helped us to be athletic. So I would think that it’s going to be a goal of ours.”

These comments are far from surprising, though it does present a window into the outfielders the Royals may pursue this winter. While the team will maintain contact with Alex Gordon and Ben Zobrist, rival executives have speculated that outfielders such as Gerardo Parra or Denard Span could fit the Royals’ profile.

At this point, on the second day of the GM Meetings at the Boca Raton Club and Resort, there is little actual news to report. The executives spent most of Tuesday locked inside meetings, receiving updates on various aspects of the game’s health. This week serves as a prelude to the rest of the winter.

It is too early to say if the Royals can sign either Gordon or Zobrist. The market for each player should be robust, but neither has taken definitive shape. The conventional wisdom states the Royals have a better chance of signing Zobrist, a 34-year-old in line for a shorter deal than Gordon, the 31-year-old franchise cornerstone.

The versatility of Zobrist makes him attractive to dozens of clubs. He replaced Gordon in left field upon his arrival from Oakland in July. When Gordon returned from injury, Zobrist displaced Omar Infante at second base. With Infante still under contract for next season, general manager Dayton Moore indicated the pair could coexist on the same roster.

“Ben’s very versatile, can play different positions,” Moore said at a news conference last week. “As we get deeper into the winter, and we realize the players that are or are not available to us, we’ll be able to massage that and make it work. But we’re confident that both players have an opportunity to be productive on this team next year.”

The Royals still owe Infante $17.75 million through 2017. The team attempted to move Infante last winter, but found few takers. It is unlikely a market will form for Infante after his showing last season.

Before he lost his job to Zobrist, Infante was the least-productive every-day hitter in baseball. His .552 on-base plus slugging percentage ranked last among players with at least 450 plate appearances. The Royals still effused praise for his defensive play, and expressed optimism for a revival in 2016.

“We expect Omar to rebound and have a terrific year,” Moore said. “We thought although his production wasn’t as good as it was a year ago, we thought he was moving better, we thought he was throwing better. We think he has quality years ahead of him.”

The Royals believe the same about Zobrist. But rival executives have voiced concerns about how Zobrist’s body would hold up during the life of the contract, even with a shorter pact. Zobrist underwent knee surgery in April and sat out for a month.

The appeal for Zobrist is his defensive versatility and his offensive ability. He punched up an .816 on-base plus slugging percentage during the regular season with the Royals and an .880 OPS in the postseason.

If the Royals miss out on Gordon and Zobrist, look for them to hunt for flexibility. The team continues to speak highly of reserve outfielders Jarrod Dyson and Paulo Orlando. Like those two, both Span and Parra have experience around the outfield.

Span, 31, played only 61 games for the Nationals this season because of injuries to his abdominals and his hip. He may lack interest in leaving center field, the terrain occupied by Lorenzo Cain, but a healthy Span offers a quality dose of speed and on-base ability.

Parra, 28, saw his production crater after joining the Orioles on the last day of July. He posted an .886 OPS to start the season with Milwaukee, but saw that number sag to .625 with Baltimore.

At this early juncture, the Royals have made no decisions. They will continue to cast a wide net in hopes of rebuilding their outfield. But they remain wary of lengthy, expensive deals — the sort that may be required to sign either Gordon or Zobrist.

“We’re not going to operate in a way that’s reckless, and puts us in a place where we can’t sign some of those young players to long-term contracts,” Moore said. “So we’ve got to make sure that we operate very efficiently and in a way that’s not going to hamstring us later.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Royals want to stay athletic in outfield, hope to retain Alex Gordon, Ben Zobrist."