Three Moves the Royals Should Consider Before the End of May

For most Royals, the expectations that the team would be 24-16 and a 0.5 game out of first place as we approach mid-May weren’t on the top of mind. Even for a guy like me who always tries to find the positive in this team didn’t think we would be this hot to start! We all knew the Royals spent some money on good players this offseason, but many didn’t know the Royals would be in arm’s length of first place with a +53 run differential, which is 5th in all of Major League Baseball. The rotation has been electric, the bullpen has been sneaky good, and the lineup has found a way to produce enough runs, especially late in games, to keep tallying up the wins.

Despite all the success, there are a few areas where this team could improve. The bottom half has struggled to produce outside the top four in the lineup. There are also a couple of arms in the bullpen that have found it difficult to find success. So, as we get through the rest of May, what are some possible moves the Royals need to consider to continue their success thus far. 

Designate Garrett Hampson for Assignment, Call Up Nick Loftin

I mentioned this on Twitter several times, but many have been in the same boat. It’s hard to figure out what positive Garrett Hampson brings to the roster. After producing a near 1.0 WAR season last year, the Royals took a flier on Hampson on a cheap one-year, $2 million deal to fill a bench role for this team. He thought his defensive utility could be utilized, and he could platoon some of the lefties. So far, that experiment hasn’t turned out as the front office has hoped. 

Hampson is currently striking out at 37.2% clip, and as a guy known for his speed, it has been a long time since he’s swiped a bag. Hampson has been mostly utilized as a late-inning defensive substitution. Given his speed and better production, Dairon Blanco has also passed Hampson as the go-to utility bat to play in the outfield. Figuring out where Hampson fits on this team is becoming extremely tough. The Royals had optioned Nick Loftin when Michael Massey became healthy, which I understood then. It was early in the season, and they wanted to see what they had with Hampson. At this point, it feels like we are at a point where the Hampson experiment is coming to a close. Like in the big leagues, Loftin has continued to hit and be productive in AAA. He has the same defensive versatility as Hampson.

Loftin in Omaha is slashing .320/.404/.404 with a .804 OPS, four doubles, seven RBI, and two stolen bases. He’s obviously got nothing left to prove in the minors. If the Royals want to continue their current success, it makes too much sense to DFA Hampson and bring Loftin back up to show. I never like calling for a guy to be DFAd, but unfortunately, it is the most sensible move with where this roster is now. 

Option Nelson Velazquez to Triple-A, Call Up Drew Waters

Nelson Velazquez’s struggles are apparent to everyone. Unfortunately, he seems lost at the plate (although he hit a double last night). In a fifteen-game stretch from April 20th to May 9th, Velazquez had 46 plate appearances that led to a .071/.152/.119 slash line with three hits, one RBI, two walks, and fifteen punchouts. It hasn’t been pretty. He hasn’t produced any production for the Royals out of the DH slot. 

When you start to dive into the underlying numbers, they don’t get much better for Velazquez. According to Baseball Savant, he’s in the 1st percentile in Whiff% (Woof), 12th percentile in K%, and 52nd percentile in Chase%. When he was having success in 2023 for the Royals, he was low in all of those areas. What is more concerning is he isn’t hitting the ball hard. In 2023, he had top percentiles in Average Exit Velocity, Barrel%, and Hard-Hit%. This year he’s in the 20th percentile in Average Exit Velocity, 36th percentile in Barrel%, and 31st percentile in Hard-Hit%. 

Velazquez needs a reset and time for adjustments to figure things out and is struggling against major-league pitching. Luckily for the Royals, he has one option left. Sending him to AAA for a stint might not be the worst thing. He is still just 25 years old. Conversely, guys like CJ Alexander, Drew Waters, and Nick Pratto are swinging it well, although Pratto is sporting some very high K rates. 

Waters seems the likely candidate who could help the Royals the most. He’s currently slashing .314/.405/.524 with .929 OPS, three home runs, 11 doubles, 15 RBI, and seven stolen bases. That’s good for a wRC+ of 142. The even better news is he’s only striking out 26.4% of the time and walking 11.6% of the time. We already know that Waters has the defensive ability to play really good OF, especially his arm. He could easily push Renfroe into a DH-only or bench bat-type role, which might benefit Renfore and the team. 

Return Matt Sauer to the New York Yankees

It’s hard to find some positives in Matt Sauer’s game. Even early on, when he was having some success, there were some red flags that things might come crashing back down to earth. Questions on where he fits in the bullpen have become even more frequent with the emergence of Daniel Lynch IV, who filled in as a spot starter for Alec Marsh and then pitched two really good innings out of the pen for the Royals. 

Sauer has a 6.08 ERA across 13.1 innings. He’s walked ten batters and struck out only six for a 4.05 K/9 and 6.75 BB/9. That’s not great. Sauer has also been mostly utilized in low-leverage roles. As many probably remember, the Royals traded Dylan Coleman to clear a roster spot to take Sauer in the Rule 5 Draft. Per the draft rules, the player has to last the entire season on the big league roster or be returned to the team. Sauer has upside due to his plus fastball and slider combo, but the 25-year-old needs more work in the minor leagues. 

It wouldn’t hurt the Royals to return Sauer to the Yankees and call up one of the many successful relievers in Omaha. Will Klein, Sam Long, and Walter Pennington have all been very good. Everyone remembers Pennington’s success this spring as well. He looks more than primed and ready to take a role in the Royals bullpen. The Royals bullpen has been very good this year, but you can never have enough good arms down there. This move would help bring them even more firepower.