MLB Free Agency: 5 potential landing spots for Alex Gordon

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals patiently awaited Alex Gordon’s development, giving him the benefit of the doubt when most teams would have labeled him a bust and moved on. They were greatly rewarded for that by turning Gordon into a cornerstone of their roster for the past four season and building around him to win a World Series title in 2015.

The Royals are hoping that their patience with Gordon will be rewarded by the outfielder returning to the fold in 2016 and beyond. The team will make certain that they utilize their 5-day exclusive negotiation window in order to convince Gordon that Kansas City is home and that he needs to stay.

Gordon’s decision to walk away from a one-year guarantee of $12.5 million isn’t necessarily a statement that he wants to leave. It simply makes a point that he wants a long-term deal to ensure that he doesn’t miss out on securing a long-term deal before an injury derails that.

Kansas City will undoubtedly extend a qualifying offer to Gordon, valued at $15.8 million in 2016. That may be a way to at least extend the negotiation window and allow the team to plan out a long-term deal that allows Gordon to end his career as a Royal. At the worst, they recoup a draft pick if Gordon selects another offer elsewhere.

The Royals lack the depth to replace him immediately and they won’t be players in the markets for Heyward or Upton, so working out a long-term deal with Gordon is perhaps their only option if the team wants to avoid taking a big step backwards in 2016.

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