Royals make outfield addition that should make Guardians fans scratch their head

Earlier this offseason, the Kansas City Royals signed Lane Thomas to a one-year deal that made it seem like the former Guardians outfielder was going to be a big part of their plans.

That may have changed Saturday thanks to a confusing roster move that screams "2016" more than "2026."

On Saturday, the Royals fortified their outfield by signing outfielder Starling Marte to a one-year deal. The move came completely out of left field given there had been almost no reporting about Marte's future over the offseason before he signed his deal with Kansas City.

Kansas City makes confusing move to sign washed outfielder who was never on Guardians' radar

Perhaps the most telling thing about Marte's free agency is that there was really never any connection between him and the Guardians.

While the Guardians didn't end up signing any outfielders to big league contracts this offseason, they kicked the tires on a variety of cheap, veteran options. And Marte was never one of them — for good reason.

While the 37-year-old posted a serviceable .270 batting average last year with nine home runs, he only played in 98 games due to injuries. He hasn't played in more than 100 games since 2022 thanks to groin issues, a neck strain and migraine.

Signing Marte seems like a bit of an overcorrection for the Royals, who regressed last season and ended up missing the postseason in large part due to the struggles from their outfield.

That said, Marte is pretty much a full-time designated hitter at this point in his career, so he won't cause too much of a disruption to the Royals' new-look outfield picture.

Along with adding Thomas, the Royals also swung a trade with the Brewers for Issac Collins, though he's pretty much the polar opposite of Marte.

When Marte was at his best, he was a Gold Glove winning, All-Star swinging center fielder. But those times have long passed him by, and now he's an aging veteran with pretty ho-hum advanced metrics.

Marte's signing is also a cautionary tale in that sometimes the best move a team can make is not making a move in the first place.

The Guardians' outfield struggled enough last seaon that a move for Marte would have sense on paper, but doing so would have meant they were putting up a road block for some of their younger players.

Instead the Guardians elected to turn the keys over to the young guys in their outfield, and it seems like a much better position than where the Royals currently find themselves in.