Robbie Glendinning Signing Is a Classic Royals Buy-Low Move
While the MLB lockout may prevent teams from acquiring players at the big-league level, they can make minor-league signings in the interim. The Kansas City Royals have executed a few of those transactions, and their latest is infielder Robbie Glendinning. Per Alec Lewis of The Athletic, the pact is for two years.
In his final season with the local Missouri Tigers, Glendinning put up some solid numbers. In addition to posting an OBP of .386, his .463 SLG made for an impressive .849 OPS to cap off his collegiate career. Glendinning was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft later that year, and his statistics in the team's minor league system were legitimate.
The aforementioned .856 combined OPS from 2019 is very good, but there was a serious split between how Glendinning performed in High-A (43 games) versus after he got promoted to Double-A (58 games). In his first sample size, he hit .340 with an insane 192 wRC+ per FanGraphs. At his next stop, those numbers fell to .261 and 118, respectively. Aside from his 29-game stretch in 2017, though, Glendinning has consistently performed at an above-average level per wRC+ standards.
Defensively, Glendinning has the range to play an adequate role around the infield. With the Pirates' minor league affiliates, he spent time at second base, shortstop and third base. The bulk of his playing time was split between third base and shortstop in 2019, and the results were mixed. In 246.1 combined innings at third base, he committed five errors (all in Double-A). In 490 combined innings at shortstop, he committed 13.
If Glendinning can get back to his old form after a couple of years away from competitive and professional baseball, the Royals could have something on their hands. He's still just 26 years old and doesn't turn 27 until October, which coincides with what should be his prime. On the off chance that Glendinning does prove to be the same player as before his surgery and subsequent rehab, Kansas City will be gaining organizational depth. His bat has proven to be solid at low levels and his positional versatility also helps. Add in the fact that his deal is of the multi-year variety, and it's easy to understand why the Royals made this move. It fits them to a T.
Kansas City has a long history of bringing in young players needing a change of scenery or veterans looking to resurrect their careers. Glendinning finds himself stuck in the middle of that spectrum, which makes being a member of the Royals organization a great spot for him. It remains to be seen whether he will provide any added value upon his return but at the very least, the Royals are doubling down on their reputation this offseason.
