Phillies All-Star Free-Agent Addition Was Reportedly Royals Target, Too
In this story:
The Kansas City Royals have added two outfielders in the last week, but they evidently weren't satisfied.
On Monday, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired two-time All-Star outfielder Adolis García, who was unceremoniously non-tendered by his longtime team, the Texas Rangers. However, the Phillies weren't García's only suitor.
According to a Wednesday report from Francys Romero, a baseball journalist who has a penchant for breaking news involving Cuban-born and other Hispanic players, the Royals were in on García even after their other outfield pickups, and are still looking into making a splash.
If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.
Other outfield options after García miss
In Lane Thomas and Isaac Collins, the Royals added two outfielders who have had legitimate success at the major league level, though admittedly, neither has done it for multiple seasons. Conceivably, that could have been the end of their search, especially knowing that they won't have the budget to sign someone like Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker in free agency.
However, Kansas City seems to be in the business of stockpiling talent, as the lineup fell off a cliff from spots six through nine for most of the season, so at this point, they should have an eye toward acquiring anyone, outfielder or not, who can lengthen the order.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has seemingly been the Royals' white whale in free agency, as a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic earlier this week asserted that Kansas City was still making an effort to land the All-Star.
However, Boston has held firm on wanting Royals ace Cole Ragans in such a deal, per Rosenthal. That's a lopsided value proposition in the Red Sox's favor, and the Royals are right to wait Boston out and see if the price tag drops.
Beyond Duran, though, we don't have a particular sense of who the Royals could acquire that would project to be better than both Thomas and Collins at least nine times out of 10. Phillies free agent Harrison Bader and Houston Astros center fielder Jake Meyers were good this past season, but have had their ups and downs.
More MLB: Royals' Isaac Collins Hints Kansas City Got A Steal In Brewers Trade
Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
Follow jrobertsbsbl