KC Royals have no interest in bringing back Eric Hosmer, who was DFA’d by Cubs

There were many great moments from the Royals’ successful five-year run that started a decade ago.

One that often gets overlooked came in the final game of the 2017 season. The Royals’ core of Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer and Alcides Escobar were about to become free agents, and more than 32,000 fans came to Kauffman Stadium that day to bid farewell to the quartet.

In the first inning, Hosmer hit a home run to left field and the crowd went wild.

That capped the finest season of Hosmer’s career as he batted .318 with 31 doubles, 25 home runs and 94 RBIs. He won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards and was 14th in the MVP vote.

After the season, the Royals offered Hosmer a seven-year, $147 million contract. Hosmer instead signed with the San Diego Padres, but he never found the same success he had with the Royals.

In the last nine-plus months, Hosmer has played with three teams. The Padres in August traded him to the Red Sox, who released Hosmer after the season.

Before the 2023 season, Hosmer signed with the Cubs, but they designated him him for assignment on Friday. He was batting .234 with two home runs in 31 games.

The Padres will pay Hosmer more than $12 million this year and the next two seasons. CBS Sports noted Hosmer will receive the league minimum from the Red Sox for the 2023-25 seasons, while the Cubs only owe him the league minimum in 2023.

Money wouldn’t be an issue if the Royals wanted to bring back Hosmer, who is 33 years old. But Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Wednesday on KCSP (610 AM) the team has no interest in a reunion.

The Royals already have two first basemen on the roster: Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Pratto.

“I have not discussed that with anybody, but I mean if you just take a quick look at the roster, we have Vinnie and Pratto playing first and DHing,” Quatraro said on “Fescoe In the Morning.” “I would imagine my initial reaction would be no. The unfortunate thing is you have roster limitations too.

“So, you bring somebody in, then what you’re talking about is not as an everyday player that’s going to take somebody else’s spot that needs the at-bats or need the innings pitched, so that’s the kind of thing you have to balance.”

Quatraro was asked about Hosmer’s experience as a World Series champion and if he could be a good presence in the clubhouse.

“I understand your point, but that’s not like a designated roster spot,” Quatraro said. “We don’t have a spot for the tale-teller, or that kind of thing. That’s not to take anything away from Hosmer and his career, obviously a tremendous Major League career, but we haven’t even discussed that at all.

“Just in you asking that question, the first thing that comes to mind is we’re playing two young guys in Vinnie and Pratto at first, and they DH, it does not seem like it would be a natural fit.”