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Young Royals fan has simple request for Eric Hosmer's free agency

blake schuster
Yahoo Sports Contributor

The championship core of the Kansas City Royals is getting ready to disband. With the Royals being a small market team, and baseball contracts being what they are for top players, it was always going to end like this.

Catcher Salvador Perez is signed through 2021, but stars like Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer are all due to hit free agency after this year. There is virtually no scenario where the Royals can keep them all. Which is great news for teams with money to spend, but bad news for fans in Kansas City who had to watch this team try and fail to reach the postseason one last time.

Most KC fans have already dealt with shock and denial. Some have felt the pain and guilt. And at least one young fan has turned to bargaining.

As far as requests go, this is a hard one to find any qualms with. The last team you ever want your favorite player to join is the New York Yankees. Kansas City fans in particular have an extensive knowledge of what that’s like. From Roger Maris and the days when New York pilfered the best players from KC, to Carlos Beltran and Johnny Damon, too many fan favorites have left the midwest for Yankee Stadium.

Fortunately for this young fan, and Royals fans in general, if there is any player GM Dayton Moore would like to keep, it’s Hosmer. Arguably the face of the franchise now, Hosmer helped lead Kansas City back to baseball relevance and has remained one of the bright spots in an otherwise bland season for the Royals. Unfortunately for Moore, Hosmer is having one of his best years at the plate slashing a career-best .319/.385/.496 with 24 home runs and a career-high 65 walks. Add in the fact that Hosmer is represented by Scott Boras and it’s clear the Royals are going to have a tough negotiation ahead of them.

Which is what most fans are prepared for. And if Hosmer isn’t going back to Kansas City in 2018, then you really can’t blame him. If he goes to the Yankees, on the other hand, well, at least we know he’ll still have one friend in midwest.

The Royals are getting ready to lose a number of players to free agency, potentially including star first baseman Eric Hosmer (AP Photo)
The Royals are getting ready to lose a number of players to free agency, potentially including star first baseman Eric Hosmer (AP Photo)

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!