Here’s why the Kansas City Royals feel Jarrod Dyson fits their current club so well
The Kansas City Royals latest addition who’s a familiar face, speedy outfielder Jarrod Dyson, took over his introductory video conference call with reporters mere moments after he sat down. Affable and rambunctious, he immediately made his presence felt and his voice heard.
Dyson, 36, signed a one-year contract Friday to return to place and a franchise he cares deeply about, where he persevered, realized his big-league dreams after having been a 50th-round draft pick and won a World Series championship.
“I’m glad to be back home,” Dyson said Saturday morning. “... I’m going to try to spread my wings around here with the young guys, take them under my wing and show them what it takes to be a winner.”
Royals general manager Dayton Moore and manager Mike Matheny have repeatedly proclaimed their belief in the team’s readiness to win again, and they covet everything Dyson brings on the field and in the clubhouse, particularly with a youthful team that hasn’t experienced much winning.
Dyson seemed as eager to share his experience and knowledge as he did to play.
“I’m always loud,” Dyson said. “I’m always talking. I love baseball. I love to teach that game to the younger guys. That’s my way of giving back to the younger guys.”
The Royals starting outfield of left fielder Andrew Benintendi, center fielder Michael A. Taylor and right fielder Whit Merrifield appears fairly well set.
A veteran of 11 previous MLB seasons, the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Dyson isn’t too wrapped up in his role or playing time. After all, he made some of his largest impacts for the Royals while not being an everyday fixture in the starting lineup.
In 2014, Dyson played in 120 games and started 66. He batted .269 with a .324 OBP and a .327 slugging percentage. He stole 36 bases, scored 33 runs and registered 24 RBIs. He registered a 2.4 wins above replacement (WAR) as calculated by Fangraphs.com for that season.
In 2015, he played in 90 games with 55 starts, slashed .250/.311/.380 with 26 steals, 31 runs scored, six triples and 18 RBIs. He recorded a 1.4 WAR as calculated by Fangraphs.com.
In 2016, his most recent season with the Royals, Dyson played in 95 games and started 83. He batted a career-high .278 with a .340 OBP, .388 slugging percentage, 30 steals, 46 runs, eight triples and 25 RBIs. He registered a 2.7 WAR as calculated by Fangraphs.com.
In recent years, he’s played a bench role for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox.
“No matter where you go to it’s the same goal, winning,” Dyson said. “That’s the goal, winning. Whatever I have to do. Whatever role I have got to play, I’ve got to play it because everybody has got a role they must play in this game. Whether you’re coming off the bench, you’re starting every day, you’ve got a role and you’ve got to play it to the tee up here.”
Last season, he appeared in 32 total games — 21 for the Pirates and 11 for the White Sox — and slashed .180/.231/.180 with five RBIs and six stolen bases in 32 games (66 plate appearances) during the pandemic-shortened season.
Dyson said he’s healthy and feels good. He believes he’s the same type of player Royals fans saw earlier in his career with one small difference.
“I feel like I’m just smarter,” Dyson said. “That’s about it. I feel like I still got my tools. I feel like I ain’t lost a step. I feel like I’m aging backwards. I never feel like I’m old, too old to play this game. I think I told Dayton I probably could run until I’m in my mid-40s or something like that.”
Adding in multiple ways
Moore lauded Dyson’s speed, approach at the plate and ability as an outfielder, and Moore pointed out that a player doesn’t last as long as Dyson has without being a special talent.
“Just knowing what he’s about, how he plays, the energy he gives, his excitement that he brings to the ballpark every single day, we felt that we needed that energy,” Moore said. “We needed that experience. There’s very few players I admire more than Jarrod Dyson.”
Moore had it in his mind to bring Dyson even prior to last summer when a trade by the Pirates landed Dyson on the AL Central Division-rival White Sox.
Matheny said that conversations about Dyson were ongoing within the organization throughout the winter largely because of how he’d contribute to the clubhouse dynamics as a voice espousing the importance of selflessness.
Matheny was also quick to push back against the idea that Dyson’s intangibles outweighed his ability on the field.
“I think that would be minimizing the skill set,” Matheny said. “It’s an and proposition for me. We need what he brings. You’re talking elite-caliber speed and elite-caliber defense when we need to make a move — that combined with the intangibles, not putting one in front of the other.”
Much like he did in his conference call, Dyson made his presence felt almost immediately upon arrival at the Royals facility in Arizona.
Matheny heard his newest outfielder as well as players and staff reacting to him well before he saw Dyson. Matheny called it “a beautiful thing.”
Often intense and a self-described “grinder,” Matheny has leaned into Dyson’s boisterous ways and embraced the difference in their demeanor. In their one-on-one conversation, Matheny admitted he’s “no good at being the guy who has a lot of fun,” but encouraged Dyson to be himself.
“It lifted our entire clubhouse when he showed up yesterday,” Matheny said. “You’re talking about a guy that can do that, right. Then come in and bring the skill set that he brings, which is very unique too. Man, what a great addition to our club.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Here’s why the Kansas City Royals feel Jarrod Dyson fits their current club so well."
