Royals want to retain Gordon, but have options if he walks

By foxsports
Published

Will the Kansas City Royals keep left fielder Alex Gordon, or will he depart for a new organization now that he's hit free agency?

That's obviously the biggest question surrounding the World Champions at the moment. Gordon, the heart and soul of the Royals for the past few years, could effectively be out of the realm of possibility for K.C. considering how much he may command on the free agent market. 

GM Dayton Moore was quoted by Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com recently as sounding rather uncertain about the Royals' chances of keeping him in town. However, Moore said, should Gordon depart the Royals would be covered as far as corner outfield defense is concerned: 

Also, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN the Royals have spoken with the Colorado Rockies regarding their outfielders and could potentially line up on a trade for one of Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon or Corey Dickerson should Gordon depart. 

"I don't know. We'll see. I don't know the answer to that.

I don't know because I don't know what [the asking price] will ultimately be. We're still in the market for an outfield bat. But we also know this: If we do nothing in the outfield, we'll still be very good defensively at the corner outfield -- we'll have speed and upside with Jarrod Dyson, Paulo Orlando and Brett Eibner and Reymond Fuentes. Jose Martinez isn't the defender those guys are but has offense. We'll see."

As the winter months roll along, the market for Gordon will likely expand and grow - and if that happens, the Royals may be faced with the reality of having to find a suitable replacement for Gordon's services on offense AND defense.