Lorenzo Cain played the first 20 games of the Royals season this year. For a guy who had never played more than 140 regular season games, that was a lot. Now, there were some off days in there, but still, he played the first 20 games of the season without taking a day of rest when his teammates played. On April 27, the Royals played the final game of a three-game series against the Angels, and Cain was given a break. That was a good time for it because the Royals had a scheduled day off the next day. At that point, Cain was hitting .203/.289/.284 with two home runs he hit early in the year and no other extra base hits.
Since then, Cain has hit .348/.386/.515 with three homers and two doubles. Yes, all three of the home runs came in one game and that’s still just two doubles, but the numbers are there. His season line is now up to .271/.333/.393. Yesterday, he only had the one hit in five at bats, but he hit the ball hard and it took a really nice play to keep him off the bases in one of his at bats.
So what’s my point?
It’s that Lorenzo Cain needs some days off in order to play at the level he played during the 2015 season. And don’t think that I’m blaming his terrible start on Ned Yost for not sitting him because I’m not. That’s on him. I’m just saying that moving forward, some days off are necessary for Cain. This isn’t a new thing for Cain.
Last year, he played the first 12 games (and was out of this world good) before getting a day off. He struggled right after that, so it doesn’t really prove my point, but stick with me. After that one day, he played 16 games following an off day given to him by his manager and hit .354/.414/.581 with six doubles, a triple and two home runs to go along with 13 RBI and 16 runs scored. That’s really good. He wasn’t quite as great when just following any old off day. Including scheduled off days, he hit .321/.377/.540 the game after. He hit seven of his 16 home runs in that time and scored 29 of his 101 runs in that time. He also drove in 20 of his 72 runs.
It’s only fair to point out that he wasn’t quite so prolific after days off in 2014, hitting .283/.368/.424. Of course, the OBP and SLG were higher than his season marks, so he did add some production even if the average dropped off a bit. It was also a different time. That was when he was “can he play a full season” Lorenzo Cain. Now he’s “finished third in the MVP voting” Lorenzo Cain.
It’s also probably fair to point out that a lot of players can benefit from a day off here and there, so Cain is no different. Except he does play one of the more demanding positions on the field. He also has an injury history, fair or not. And he’s also tired and his feet hurt. After the World Series, Rusty Kuntz went on one of the hot stove shows on local radio and talked about how the Royals were planning to play Cain in right a fair amount with Jarrod Dyson in center. I’m not sure if Dyson’s spring training injury put a pin in those plans or if they just didn’t want to shift people around so much, but they haven’t done it. I think they should go back to that plan personally. They have to find a way to rest Cain.
The issue now, though, is that the two guys who would be there to rest Cain aren’t great options. I actually think Dyson is really just fine and in a slump, but it’s a bad slump and he’s had his moments defensively too. Orlando has hit well this season in very limited opportunities, but I don’t personally believe much in him. And I say that even after his great day yesterday with his season line up to .333/.346/.471. I don’t mind them riding it out while he’s hitting well, but I don’t believe in him.
See, resting Cain relatively often (think once every 10-13 games or so) is a great way to boost outfield production because it keeps him rested and producing. If more players on the team were producing, this article would be an interesting footnote to see what Cain does when he gets rest. But many are not producing regularly. So in addition to Cain getting some rest, I would reach into one of the areas of depth for this team and finally turn over right field (and maybe sometimes center field) to a guy who has been with the organization since 2010, Brett Eibner.
Eibner isn’t going to be a star. You typically aren’t 27 years old and on your third stint in AAA if you’re on the path to stardom. But I do think he can give the Royals some quality plate appearances, some power and play some decent defense in the process. Our resident prospect guru, Clint Scoles, has told me that the routes are sometimes an adventure for Eibner, but he generally makes the play. He has a good arm and can even play a competent center.
Offensively, he can work a walk and has hit for a very good average in Omaha each of the last two seasons. You may recall that Eibner was the star of spring training in 2015 before struggling this year. I’ve said before and I still believe that there’s something stopping this organization from promoting Eibner because he would have been up at some point with all the issues in right field if there wasn’t. They need to look past that. As I mentioned last week when I “fixed” the Royals, I’d be fine with Jorge Bonifacio coming up as well, but I think he’s better served continuing to develop since the Royals have an option like Eibner in the minors.
So you want to boost that outfield production to help the offense get jump started? Give Cain regular rest and dip into that farm system to get a bat who I think can help the big league team right now. The Royals are starting to get Cain some more regular rest. Now it’s time to enact part two of the plan. No, it won’t turn the Royals into a five runs per game offense, but I think the effects will be both noticeable and positive and could help the Royals catch those pesky White Sox.