Ex-Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar, who is having a resurgent season, nears milestone
Former Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar could be considered for a national award when the season ends.
That may be a surprise to fans who lost track of Escobar after he left the Royals following the 2018 season. He signed with the Orioles, who released him in March 2019. Escobar then joined with the White Sox, but he never made it out of Triple-A and was cut in early August.
Escobar played in Japan a year ago but came back to the U.S. and signed a minor-league deal with the Royals in May. He appeared in 35 games with Triple-A Omaha before being dealt to the Nationals in early July, shortly before Washington traded eight players, including star shortstop Trea Turner.
While the Nationals went into a rebuild mode, the 34-year-old Escobar has enjoyed a renaissance. Escobar is batting .287 with 20 doubles, 15 walks and 27 RBIs in 72 games. His on-base percentage of .336 is the highest of his career, other than a 10-game stint as a rookie in 2008.
That’s why he should get consideration for the Comeback Player of the Year Award.
“I’ve matured a lot,” Escobar told the Athletic’s Maria Torres last month. “I’ve changed just watching Juan Soto bat. He’s incredible. … I learned a lot playing in Japan last year because they play really good baseball there. It’s very disciplined.”
While the Nationals have won just 25 games since July 1, Escobar is ending the season with a flourish. In the last 30 days, he has 36 hits, tied for the sixth-most in MLB and he’s scored 23 runs, which is tied for seventh-most. Escobar has reached base in his last 15 games.
Here’s another important stat: Escobar should reach 10 years of service time on Friday. That means he’ll be eligible to receive a full pension from Major League Baseball when his playing days end.
“Players who reach 10 years of major-league service time are statistical superheroes,” the MLB players union wrote. “Fewer than 10% in baseball history have played for a decade or more.”
Escobar, the 2015 American League Championship Series MVP, will join a number of former Royals teammates in reaching 10 years of service time. Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Jarrod Dyson and Danny Duffy, who were all part of the 2015 World Series championship team, each reached that milestone this year.
Getting to the rare 10-year mark wasn’t all Escobar aimed for in his return to the majors. He wanted to show he belonged in the big leagues and is grateful the Nationals gave him an opportunity.
“That’s what I was waiting for, just one chance to prove that I can keep playing at major-league caliber,” Escobar told Torres. “I’ve shown it already. They’ve given me the confidence to play every day and I’ve taken advantage of every opportunity.
“I’ve done a good job and I hope to keep doing that for what’s left of the season to show not only the Nationals but also the rest of the league that I can play at this level. I can keep playing in the major leagues.”
Nationals manager Dave Martinez told MLB.com that Escobar has mentored some of Washington’s younger players in addition to playing well.
Martinez kept the door open to Escobar possibly returning to the Nationals in 2022.
“It’ll be a conversation we’ll definitely have at the end of this season about possibly bringing him back here,” Martinez said. “But I love him. Like I said, his attitude’s been tremendous and he’ll do anything, hit anywhere, do whatever you ask him to do.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 9:29 AM.
