Before we start saying “he’s been a roadblock since he re-signed this offseason”, that is not fully accurate. While the Kansas City Royals had options on paper, production wise they didn’t. Alcides Escobar filled a temporary need they had this year.
While it would have made sense for the Royals to utilize that position with a different player, for Phase 1 of the rebuild those players didn’t quite fit the mold.
What I mean by this is simply, Adalberto Mondesi and Nicky Lopez was not quite ready to fill in as the Royals everyday shortstop.