Isaac Collins

The Royals have been fairly active this offseason on the trade market and have already worked out deals that brought outfielder Isaac Collins (alongside righty Nick Mears) and lefty setup man Matt Strahm to Kansas City. They’ve explored bigger trades than those throughout the winter as well, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported recently…

The Royals have been fairly active this offseason on the trade market and have already worked out deals that brought outfielder Isaac Collins (alongside righty Nick Mears) and lefty setup man Matt Strahm to Kansas City. They’ve explored bigger trades than those throughout the winter as well, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported recently…

"We want a neutral ballpark where if you hit a ball well, it should be a home run," said Royals general manager J.J. Picollo. According to Stacast's Park Factors, Kauffman Stadium ranked 6th in baseball as an offensive park. However, this ranking was largely due to its having the second-largest outfield in baseball, which promotes doubles and triples. It ranked 25th in baseball as a home run park, which is the fourth-lowest mark of any stadium that has been in use for at least the last three seasons. The team will keep centerfield at 410 feet, but will shorten the power alleys from 389 feet to 379 feet, and "the fences will continue on that path, 9 to 10 feet shorter, nearly all the way to the corners." This will not only help established power hitters like Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez hit more home runs, but should be a nice boost for young players with plus power like Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. However, batting average hitters with fringe power, like Isaac Collins and Jonathan India, may see a slight regression with a smaller outfield for extra base hits to fall in.

Mitchell was eligible for arbitration for the first time despite being limited to 443 major league plate appearances to date. Just 78 of those came last season, as he opened up with a strained oblique and then injured his shoulder after returning, necessitating shoulder surgery. The Brewers can't have much idea what they'll get out of him at this point, but since they traded Isaac Collins and they don't seem overly eager to bring in outfielders, an opportunity should be there for him if he can stay healthy. He's hit .254/.333/.433 thus far in his career and racked up 3.3 fWAR in less than one full season of playing time.