Kansas City Royals Sign Former Marlins, Rockies Utility Man Garrett Hampson
The Kansas City Royals have signed utility man Garrett Hampson to a one-year contract, the team announced Wednesday evening.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the deal is worth $2 million.
Hampson spent last season with the Miami Marlins, hitting .276 with a .729 OPS and 1.3 WAR across 93 games. The 28-year-old split most of his time between shortstop and center field, but he also played right field, left field, second base, third base and designated hitter.
The Marlins non-tendered Hampson on November 17, making him a free agent. It marked the end of a one-year stint in South Beach for Hampson, who spent the prior five seasons with the Colorado Rockies.
Hampson is a .241 hitter since breaking into the big leagues in 2018, racking up 333 hits, 29 home runs, 113 RBI and a .676 OPS across 517 games.
Over the course of his career, Hampson is hitting .261 with a .746 OPS against left-handed pitchers, compared to his .231 batting average and .639 OPS against right-handed pitchers. In 2022, he hit .296 with an .836 OPS versus lefties while batting .164 with a .455 OPS versus righties.
In 2023, however, Hampson flipped his splits by batting .280 with a .736 OPS against righties and batting .264 with a .707 OPS against lefties.
Kansas City already has young, everyday players at two of Hampson's primary positions – Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop and MJ Melendez in the corner outfield – but he is typically best served as a bench player and flexible injury replacement regardless. Fangraphs is projecting Hampson to come off the Royals' bench in 2024, barring any other moves this offseason.
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