Mondesi traded to Boston


Following the departure of long-time Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar, the team was hoping Mondesi was the long-term answer at the position. Unfortunately many prospects are over hyped by the fans and the media, Mondesi seemed to be one of them. According to an article by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors from 2012: "He doesn't have flashy tools, but they play up because he has good baseball instincts." While in the Royals minor league system, Mondesi showed plenty of big league potential. Before Mondesi was in the picture with the Royals, I often said the team should have signed Alcides Escobar to a long-term deal, probably because he was my favorite player during the 2010’s Royals baseball era. Now Looking back, it might not have been a bad idea if the team did so. The team back in the day didn't have Bobby Witt Jr. or Nicky Lopez to play the shortstop position. The Escobar deal, if it was the right length of deal and salary would have ended at the right time for either Witt Jr. or Lopez to play the position with players like Brady Singer, Nick Pratto, MJ Melendez and others developing into big league ballplayers. Kansas City unfortunately didn't go that route, nor did I ever expect them too. Many Royals fans believed Mondesi had the potential to become a superstar in the big leagues; but due to his injuries, he could never reach that potential. After seven plus years with the Royals, the team finally believed it was time to move on from the shortstop. Boston, following the departure of Xander Bogaerts, and Trevor Story being out for an extended period of time due to injury, the Red Sox traded for Mondesi and a player to be named later. Kansas City's return for Mondesi, I believe will help boost the team's bullpen this upcoming season. The Royals acquired 29-year old Josh Taylor, who’s also had injury issues in the past but has been an arm the Red Sox could turn to the past few seasons after being acquired from the Diamondbacks in 2018. Kansas City's return for Mondesi, could be a great one for the pen. According to nesn.com in 2021: "Josh Taylor made his 20th consecutive scoreless appearance last night, breaking the Red Sox record for a left handed pitcher." It's unclear whether the Royals are planning to add another bullpen arm into the mix this offseason but the team has definitely made a statement by adding Yarbrough, Chapman and Taylor to the pen. The 2023 season for the Royals will definitely be a fun one to watch as the team has definitely been more competitive during the offseason than in the past.


















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