Signing Eric Hosmer: Pros, cons, and predictions

In this five-part series, theScore's MLB editors break down the pros and cons of signing the top free agents in this year's class, and predict where they'll end up. Today, we're looking at Eric Hosmer, a one-time All-Star who spent the last seven seasons with the Kansas City Royals.

Pros/cons

Defense and durability

If a suitor interested in making a big, long-term investment is worried about Hosmer's durability, there's no need. The 28-year-old has appeared in 1,048 games and surpassed the 158-game mark in four of his seven seasons. Among first basemen, only Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Indians has appeared in more games (though he split his time between first, catcher and designated hitter, while Hosmer played 1,028 of his games at first).

Hosmer's also been a model of consistency when it comes to defense, never posting a fielding percentage below .991 and logging 8,950 1/3 innings. Though he doesn't get a sparkling evaluation from advanced metrics such as Defensive Runs Saved (minus-21) and Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-29), Hosmer has played well enough in the field to earn four Gold Gloves.

Career year

Hosmer delivered in his final year with the Royals before hitting free agency for the first time. He appeared in a career-high 162 games and posted other career highs in hits (192), runs (98), walks (66), batting average (.318), on-base percentage (.385), and OPS (.882). He won his first Silver Slugger, finished 14th in MVP voting, and was top five in all of baseball in WAR (4.1) among first basemen. Is Hosmer's high quality of production a walk-year thing, or has he really figured it out?

Inconsistency

While Hosmer was fantastic for the Royals in 2013, 2015, and 2017, he's had a hard time staying consistent, which could make teams skeptical about a long-term agreement.

A few of Hosmer's offensive metrics are concerning too. In 2017, his hard contact rate dipped below 30 percent for the first time in his career (29.5 percent). Over the past two seasons, his ground-ball percentages of 58.9 in 2016 and 55.6 in 2017 were tops in the majors among first basemen. Hosmer was also fourth in baseball among first basemen in grounding into double plays (20) last season, and his exit velocity of 89.6 mph ranked 52nd in the big leagues.

Best fits

Boston Red Sox

• The Red Sox and Hosmer match up well. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has already mentioned Boston's need for offense, and the club should address first base. Mitch Moreland posted a 99 OPS+ with 34 doubles for the Red Sox last season, but he's a free agent. The current projected starter at the position, Hanley Ramirez, failed to replicate his 2016 campaign, driving in 49 fewer runs and producing an OPS 116 points lower in 2017. Hosmer owns a career .889 OPS with 17 RBIs in 24 games at Fenway Park, and Jon Heyman of FanRagSports reported early in November that the Red Sox are expected to pursue him.

St. Louis Cardinals

• Like the Red Sox, St. Louis needs more offense. While the Cardinals appear to have their sights set on Giancarlo Stanton, Hosmer could also be a viable option. His agent, Scott Boras, has reportedly been in touch with the Cardinals. The club could move Matt Carpenter back to a super-utility role if it lands Hosmer.

Kansas City Royals

• Home, sweet home. With the Royals at risk of losing Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, and Mike Moustakas this offseason, the 2015 World Series champions could shift their focus to the future and rebuild. But the club may not be thinking that way quite yet. Heyman reports that the Royals sat down with Boras at the GM meetings and are hopeful they can retain Hosmer. Kansas City may need to overpay to keep its homegrown product, as the team did when Alex Gordon became a free agent after 2015, but an agreement is possible.

Prediction

Hosmer signs a seven-year, $161-million deal with the Royals.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)