ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Let the game of musical chairs begin. Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi got his season started Tuesday night by playing pepper with the outfield wall at Tropicana Field, a great sign for the club.
That also means the Royals will likely have to mix and match lineups more often now that Mondesi is back as the everyday shortstop.
With Nicky Lopez having shown he can contribute enough offensively to warrant being on the field, that likely means Whit Merrifield could be back to a familiar pattern of bouncing between the outfield and second base.
Though his presence in the outfield on a regular basis would certainly only bolster the club’s overall defense.
“Going from infield to outfield is a much easier transition for me,” Merrifield said earlier this month after his first start in the outfield. “I was talking to Mike (Matheny) earlier, and the only thing that takes me a little bit to get back is my footwork and throwing to the bases, just because it’s a totally different mindset.
“In the infield you try to get it and get rid of it. In the outfield, it’s more about getting your feet under you, stretching your arm out and letting the ball carry to the bag. That’s the only real transition that takes me a little while to get used to.”
The day after making that comment, Merrifield had an outfield assist when he threw out Yoan Moncada of the Chicago White Sox at home plate in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tie game.
Entering Wednesday night, Merrifield had started 44 games at second base this season and two in right field.
Twice he’d moved to right field during as part of late-game defensive substitutions, such as Tuesday night when Lopez entered the game in the seventh at second base and Merrifield bumped to right field in place of Jorge Soler.
Last season, Matheny has described Merrifield’s defensive ability in right field as “elite.” In the few chances Merrifield has had in right this season, he has continued to impress.
“It was early in his first game in right and a ball goes up looping towards right-center field and I’m like, ‘Ah, you gotta be kidding me. He blooped one in there.’ Whit comes out of nowhere and catches it easy,” Matheny said recently.
“I’m like, ‘Where? Who? How’d that happen?’ It was like a, wow, really good jump. He’s natural out there. He’s doing a great job at second base too. We’re watching him improve everything there, doing a nice job.”
Merrifield’s speed and ability to get jumps on the ball off the bat also factors into the way outfield coach/first base coach Rusty Kuntz positions Merrifield compared to other right fielders. Merrifield has started at center field in the past.
“There’s a number of times in just those couple games when we watched some balls get caught down the right field line very shallow that he got to pretty easy,” Matheny said. “A lot of that is because of how aggressively Rusty can position him, knowing Whit’s instincts.
“You’re putting a guy who has been a center fielder at the major-league level into the outfield. Usually when you do that, you’re improving your overall ability to cover the outfield. He looks good to me.”
MULTIPLE MOVING PARTS
Lopez played such sparkling defense at second base last year that he garnered recognition as a Gold Glove Award finalist. He and Mondesi combined to give the Royals a formidable defensive double play combination.
The Royals will have to figure out what Merrifield potentially playing more right field means for Soler, who has started 26 games in right field this season.
Soler, who led the American League with 48 home runs in 2019, has struggled this season. He entered Wednesday slashing .178/.258/.325 with four home runs in 46 games.
The Royals have utilized Soler in the outfield to free up the designated hitter position for Salvador Perez on days when he doesn’t catch. Ryan O’Hearn has also started at DH.
When Hunter Dozier returns from the injured list, that will also factor in as he has started in the outfield (13 games) and third base (25 games).
Dozier also struggled prior to going on the IL after a collision with Jose Abreu in Chicago. Dozier has slashed .139/.202/.339 with five home runs in 33 games.
In his brief stint in the majors since being recalled after Dozier’s injury, Kelvin Gutierrez has gone 9 for 29 (.310) with one double and one RBI in nine games.
Utility infielder Hanser Alberto has started at both second and third base and has a good track record of hitting left-handed pitching. Alberto batted .394 against left-handed pitching the past two seasons.
