Royals Add Another Outfielder, Sign Rick Ankiel

During my fantasy draft last year, I had the enviable decision of drafting either Rick Ankiel or Johnny Damon. It was my pick and I needed an outfielder and Ankiel and Damon, in my opinion, were the best on the board.

Do I draft the almost sure thing in Damon or do I draft Ankiel, who was entering his walk year and was in line perhaps for a career year? I really agonized over this decision.

I even sent my friend Tom (resident St. Louis Cardinals fan) a text during a corporate meeting to ask him what type of year he thought Ankiel would have. When it came down to it, I decided to go with Ankiel.

Whoops-a-daisy.

Ankiel was terrible for the Cardinals in 2009. He was hurt all the time and even when he did play he was pretty unproductive. In 122 games, he hit .231 with 11 home runs and just a .285 OBP.

Even though Ankiel has been largely unproductive since the start of the second half of the 2008 season, he was still able to land a major league contract and even perhaps a starting job in 2010.

Ankiel agreed to terms with the Kansas City Royals on Friday to a one-year, $3.25 million contract. There is also a mutual option for $6 million for 2011.

Ankiel becomes the second outfielder signed by the Royals this winter. Earlier in this offseason, the Royals signed Scott Podsednik presumably to play center field.

With Jose Guillen being a liability in right field and more of a DH at this point, I am guessing Ankiel will be the Royals’ starting right fielder in 2010. If you are a team like the Royals, you don’t pay a guy $3.25 million to sit on the bench.

Ankiel could easily make the switch from center to right. While his range isn’t what it used to be, he still maintains one of the strongest arms in the game.

I still remember the throw he made from the warning track in center field in Colorado to nail a runner going to third. He was one of the more impressive throws I have seen.

Offensively, Ankiel’s OPS has dropped three years in a row (.863-.843-.672). From what we have seen from Ankiel over the last couple of years, the Royals can’t expect much from him.

His .285 OBP last year almost fits right in with what the Royals are trying to do offensively. With Ankiel, Guillen, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Jason Kendall, the Royals have a lot of guys who refuse to walk in their lineup. Not a way to win games in this day and age of baseball.

Ankiel will be entering his eighth season in the major leagues and has a career .251 average with 49 home runs and a .311 OBP with the Cardinals.

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