"The Royals are built on pitching and defense, so that’s a big chunk of the payroll for someone who doesn’t fit either of the franchise’s two main focuses. Plus, opening the DH spot would give the Royals flexibility in both their day-to-day lineups and offseason planning. Signing Carlos Beltran this past winter, for instance, would’ve made a lot more sense if he could rest his legs as the DH some days." - Sam Mellinger's column in the Kansas City Star, 3/19/2014
"Even managers who have a full-time designated hitter see the value of having more flexibility in their lineup. The Rangers, for example, were happy to have Vladimir Guerrero as their DH in 2010. Without him last season, manager Ron Washington spread the playing time around. Texas went to the World Series in both years." - MLB.com, 8/6/2012
It's no secret, there is a trend towards part-time DHs in baseball. The Royals might be propelling themselves towards following that trend after they declined Billy Butler's 2015 Option.
But, the question should be "Does this 'flexibility' help teams?"
One place you can look to help answer this question? the hitting stats produced by a team's DHs.
I will start with 2014 as an introduction (for your reference, SOPS+ is OPS+ compared to the average DH. Also you'll see the PA tot/percentage for the player with the 3rd most PAs at DH but the name of that player isn't being displayed in tables for size reasons).
tm | pa | ab | h | hr | avg | obp | slg | ops | sops+ | 1dPA | 2dPA | 3dPA | 1d% | 2d% | 3d% | r% | 1dh | 2dh |
DET | 661 | 586 | 191 | 35 | .326 | .396 | .561 | .958 | 159 | 494 | 107 | 30 | 75% | 16% | 5% | 5% | V. Martinez | Cabrera |
BOS | 678 | 591 | 156 | 38 | .264 | .351 | .511 | .862 | 133 | 574 | 33 | 26 | 85% | 5% | 4% | 7% | Ortiz | Napoli |
HOU | 632 | 567 | 138 | 38 | .243 | .315 | .494 | .809 | 117 | 487 | 45 | 19 | 77% | 7% | 3% | 13% | C. Carter | Castro |
BAL | 651 | 597 | 166 | 26 | .278 | .332 | .464 | .796 | 116 | 385 | 156 | 36 | 59% | 24% | 6% | 11% | Cruz | De. Young |
CHW | 640 | 564 | 145 | 27 | .257 | .339 | .452 | .791 | 115 | 319 | 145 | 117 | 50% | 23% | 18% | 9% | Dunn | J. Abreu |
TOR | 647 | 575 | 150 | 25 | .261 | .337 | .445 | .782 | 112 | 191 | 141 | 79 | 30% | 22% | 12% | 36% | Encarnacion | Lind |
MIN | 654 | 589 | 154 | 24 | .261 | .327 | .438 | .765 | 108 | 177 | 110 | 85 | 27% | 17% | 13% | 43% | Vargas | Morales |
LAA | 654 | 593 | 150 | 27 | .253 | .311 | .442 | .753 | 104 | 180 | 132 | 108 | 28% | 20% | 17% | 36% | Pujols | Cron |
CLE | 632 | 574 | 139 | 23 | .242 | .306 | .415 | .721 | 96 | 143 | 89 | 81 | 23% | 14% | 13% | 50% | Swisher | Santana |
TBR | 656 | 576 | 132 | 16 | .229 | .315 | .389 | .703 | 92 | 212 | 143 | 57 | 32% | 22% | 9% | 37% | DeJesus | Joyce |
TEX | 640 | 570 | 134 | 19 | .235 | .305 | .396 | .702 | 91 | 202 | 80 | 63 | 32% | 13% | 10% | 46% | Choo | Moreland |
NYY | 634 | 575 | 132 | 18 | .230 | .290 | .372 | .662 | 80 | 312 | 105 | 63 | 49% | 17% | 10% | 24% | Beltran | Soriano |
KCR | 638 | 576 | 143 | 6 | .248 | .307 | .332 | .639 | 76 | 449 | 80 | 43 | 70% | 13% | 7% | 10% | Butler | Willingham |
OAK | 667 | 595 | 128 | 15 | .215 | .294 | .343 | .637 | 75 | 151 | 140 | 71 | 23% | 21% | 11% | 46% | Callaspo | Jaso |
SEA | 633 | 568 | 108 | 15 | .190 | .266 | .301 | .567 | 56 | 215 | 182 | 39 | 34% | 29% | 6% | 31% | Hart | Morales |
Overall, AL teams used their primary DH for 46% of their PAs at DH. 7 teams used their primary DH more than 46% of the time. The top 5 offensive teams at DH were amongst the top 6 teams in PAs for their primary DH. The only teams to give their primary DH more than 300 PAs while producing below average hitting results? The Yankees and Carlos Beltran, and the Royals and Billy Butler.
The "flexible" teams produced 3 above average DH squadrons (Blue Jays, Twins, Angels) and 5 below average DH squadrons (Indians, Rays, Rangers, Athletics and Mariners).
What about a longer term trend, then?
Since 1997, the top 16 DH seasons by a team
tm | yr | pa | ab | h | hr | avg | obp | slg | ops | sops+ | 1dPA | 2dPA | 3dPA | 1d% | 2d% | 3d% | r% | 1dh | 2dh |
BOS | 2013 | 681 | 587 | 182 | 33 | .310 | .398 | .560 | .958 | 163 | 575 | 37 | 32 | 84% | 5% | 5% | 5% | Ortiz | Napoli |
DET | 2014 | 661 | 586 | 191 | 35 | .326 | .396 | .561 | .958 | 159 | 494 | 107 | 30 | 75% | 16% | 5% | 5% | V. Martinez | Cabrera |
BOS | 2007 | 706 | 586 | 191 | 35 | .326 | .436 | .606 | 1.042 | 159 | 636 | 48 | 6 | 90% | 7% | 1% | 2% | Ortiz | M. Ramirez |
BOS | 2005 | 702 | 588 | 171 | 44 | .291 | .393 | .587 | .980 | 151 | 666 | 14 | 9 | 95% | 2% | 1% | 2% | Ortiz | Mirabelli |
CLE | 2006 | 680 | 565 | 167 | 45 | .296 | .409 | .600 | 1.009 | 148 | 543 | 52 | 34 | 80% | 8% | 5% | 7% | Hafner | Kouzmanoff |
BOS | 2006 | 708 | 576 | 160 | 50 | .278 | .405 | .594 | .999 | 145 | 640 | 26 | 22 | 90% | 4% | 3% | 3% | Ortiz | Loretta |
CLE | 2005 | 674 | 578 | 168 | 37 | .291 | .386 | .561 | .946 | 143 | 568 | 34 | 25 | 84% | 5% | 4% | 7% | Hafner | Liefer |
SEA | 2000 | 690 | 577 | 187 | 38 | .324 | .425 | .577 | 1.002 | 143 | 652 | 14 | 11 | 94% | 2% | 2% | 2% | E. Martinez | Javier |
TEX | 1999 | 671 | 566 | 183 | 43 | .323 | .416 | .604 | 1.021 | 143 | 547 | 65 | 34 | 82% | 10% | 5% | 4% | R. Palmeiro | J. Gonzalez |
CLE | 2004 | 675 | 569 | 170 | 34 | .299 | .398 | .562 | .960 | 142 | 533 | 55 | 32 | 79% | 8% | 5% | 8% | Hafner | Phelps |
SEA | 1997 | 699 | 562 | 177 | 26 | .315 | .440 | .518 | .958 | 142 | 644 | 17 | 7 | 92% | 2% | 1% | 4% | E. Martinez | Griffey Jr |
BOS | 2011 | 677 | 588 | 181 | 29 | .308 | .394 | .531 | .925 | 141 | 590 | 30 | 16 | 87% | 4% | 2% | 6% | Ortiz | Lavarnway |
TEX | 2008 | 696 | 565 | 170 | 22 | .301 | .421 | .494 | .915 | 139 | 416 | 79 | 70 | 60% | 11% | 10% | 19% | Bradley | Catalanotto |
CHW | 2006 | 683 | 556 | 156 | 42 | .281 | .406 | .561 | .967 | 138 | 593 | 51 | 13 | 87% | 7% | 2% | 4% | Thome | Konerko |
BOS | 2004 | 706 | 610 | 179 | 38 | .293 | .380 | .567 | .947 | 138 | 522 | 80 | 35 | 74% | 11% | 5% | 10% | Ortiz | M. Ramirez |
SEA | 2001 | 702 | 577 | 176 | 24 | .305 | .415 | .515 | .929 | 138 | 573 | 51 | 20 | 82% | 7% | 3% | 8% | E. Martinez | Martin |
The range for primary DHs in these 16 seasons is 60% (08 Rangers) to 95% (05 Red Sox). The best DH season since 1997 for a team where no player had a majority of the teams PAs at DH? the 2012 Yankees, who gave Alex Rodriguez 26% of their PAs at DH, Derek Jeter 17%, Raul Ibanez 15% and the rest of the team 42%. That year ranked as tied for 24th best out of 254 post-1997 DH seasons.
How about the 16 worst DH seasons for a team since 1997?
tm | yr | pa | ab | h | hr | avg | obp | slg | ops | sops+ | 1dPA | 2dPA | 3dPA | 1d% | 2d% | 3d% | r% | 1dh | 2dh |
ANA | 2001 | 637 | 572 | 121 | 8 | .212 | .277 | .285 | .562 | 46 | 95 | 94 | 67 | 15% | 15% | 11% | 60% | Wooten | O. Palmeiro |
SEA | 2014 | 633 | 568 | 108 | 15 | .190 | .266 | .301 | .567 | 56 | 215 | 182 | 39 | 34% | 29% | 6% | 31% | Hart | Morales |
SEA | 2008 | 640 | 589 | 130 | 15 | .221 | .273 | .334 | .608 | 58 | 291 | 82 | 39 | 45% | 13% | 6% | 36% | Vidro | Clement |
SEA | 2012 | 638 | 574 | 123 | 11 | .214 | .287 | .310 | .597 | 60 | 321 | 188 | 45 | 50% | 29% | 7% | 13% | Montero | Jaso |
NYY | 2013 | 650 | 576 | 109 | 16 | .189 | .276 | .307 | .583 | 62 | 289 | 78 | 65 | 44% | 12% | 10% | 34% | Hafner | Wells |
SEA | 2010 | 644 | 582 | 113 | 21 | .194 | .269 | .340 | .609 | 62 | 221 | 114 | 100 | 34% | 18% | 16% | 32% | Branyan | Bradley |
SEA | 2006 | 639 | 575 | 134 | 17 | .233 | .298 | .358 | .656 | 63 | 325 | 141 | 92 | 51% | 22% | 14% | 13% | Everett | Broussard |
BAL | 2005 | 631 | 569 | 119 | 19 | .209 | .276 | .364 | .640 | 65 | 163 | 146 | 111 | 26% | 23% | 18% | 33% | Gibbons | Sosa |
BAL | 2004 | 661 | 592 | 143 | 12 | .242 | .298 | .353 | .651 | 66 | 147 | 90 | 84 | 22% | 14% | 13% | 51% | Newhan | J. Lopez |
KCR | 2009 | 648 | 583 | 122 | 24 | .209 | .281 | .374 | .655 | 67 | 419 | 68 | 46 | 65% | 10% | 7% | 18% | Jacobs | B. Pena |
MIN | 2006 | 629 | 574 | 148 | 9 | .258 | .312 | .364 | .676 | 68 | 205 | 105 | 71 | 33% | 17% | 11% | 39% | R. White | Kubel |
HOU | 2013 | 634 | 566 | 112 | 17 | .198 | .276 | .337 | .613 | 70 | 190 | 150 | 80 | 30% | 24% | 13% | 34% | C. Carter | C. Pena |
TBD | 2004 | 649 | 571 | 127 | 18 | .222 | .304 | .366 | .670 | 70 | 141 | 117 | 79 | 22% | 18% | 12% | 48% | Huff | Fick |
SEA | 2011 | 635 | 558 | 126 | 9 | .226 | .317 | .333 | .650 | 72 | 266 | 79 | 73 | 42% | 12% | 11% | 34% | Cust | Carp |
TOR | 1999 | 669 | 610 | 152 | 24 | .249 | .306 | .411 | .718 | 72 | 197 | 100 | 89 | 29% | 15% | 13% | 42% | W. Greene | Hollins |
ANA | 1997 | 682 | 595 | 141 | 15 | .237 | .318 | .358 | .676 | 72 | 175 | 126 | 90 | 26% | 18% | 13% | 43% | Murray | Phillips |
The 2001 Angels don't just have the worst SOPS+ at DH for any team since 1997. They have the worst SOPS+ at DH for any team ever. They also have the lowest percentage of PAs for their "primary" DH of any team ever. The 2001 Angels are the only team to not have a single player bat 100 or more times at DH. Here's how their DH playing time/production was distributed.
Name | G | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Shawn Wooten | 27 | 95 | 91 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | .242 | .263 | .297 | .560 |
Orlando Palmeiro | 30 | 94 | 77 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | .208 | .304 | .234 | .538 |
David Eckstein | 14 | 67 | 56 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | .232 | .338 | .250 | .588 |
Glenallen Hill | 16 | 66 | 66 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | .136 | .136 | .182 | .318 |
Scott Spiezio | 20 | 62 | 55 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | .164 | .242 | .200 | .442 |
Tim Salmon | 12 | 52 | 45 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 13 | .222 | .327 | .467 | .794 |
Garret Anderson | 12 | 52 | 52 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | .308 | .308 | .481 | .788 |
Benji Gil | 14 | 33 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .172 | .242 | .172 | .415 |
Wally Joyner | 9 | 31 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | .346 | .452 | .500 | .952 |
Jose Fernandez | 7 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .095 | .174 | .143 | .317 |
Darin Erstad | 4 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .000 | .167 | .000 | .167 |
Adam Kennedy | 5 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .267 | .313 | .333 | .646 |
Jeff DaVanon | 5 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .182 | .250 | .455 | .705 |
Troy Glaus | 2 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .143 | .333 | .143 | .476 |
Bengie Molina | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
Jose Nieves | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 |
Jamie Burke | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
Team Total | 153 | 637 | 572 | 121 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 48 | 132 | .212 | .277 | .285 | .562 |
Yes, they had two guys with K:BB ratios over 20 at the DH position (rookie Shawn Wooten, who hit at every position he played that year except DH and Glenallen Hill, who was released in June 2001). Their most productive DH was Wally Joyner, who also OBPed .260 at First Base and was also released in June 2001. Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson also produced a little at DH when Orlando Palmeiro was unleashed in the outfield.
So yes, a DH corps that hit 212/277/285 in the same year where 2 players hit 60+ home runs. The Angels also released Jose Canseco in March 2001 in case you thought their only option involved 4th outfielders and backup infielders.
The Angels traded for Brad Fullmer in time for their 2002 Season. David Eckstein only batted 65 more times as a DH.
As for some of the bad DH squads... The 2014 Mariners had random injury-prone dudes and were so bad that acquiring a slumping Kendrys Morales improved their production from DH. The 08 Mariners fielded Jose Vidro at DH. The only teams on this list who gave a majority of their PAs at DH to anybody? 2012 Mariners, 2006 Mariners and 2009 Royals (the Mariners make this list a lot). The Royals gave 65% of their PAs at DH to Mike Jacobs and got a hitting line of 209/281/374 from their DHs. They managed to give out 145 PAs of sub-.500 OPS hitting to Jose Guillen, Brayan Pena and John Buck in 2009.
If we cover 1973 to 1996, the best DH season by a team without a full-time DH is the 1979 California Angels, who gave 41% of their PAs at DH to Don Baylor and 29% to Willie Aikens. Out of 35 seasons where DHs posted a SOPS+ above 130, 34 of 35 involved a DH making a majority of the PAs at that position. 181 of the 286 above average DH seasons involved a DH making a majority of the PAs (63%). 190 of 296 below average DH seasons involved no DH making a majority of PAs (64%).
Now, the strong pro-DH flexibility argument regarding lists showing that DH production is far better for teams with a regular DH than teams which split the position up amongst several players would probably be close to "well, if you have good hitters at DH, you play them more there and the teams splitting up a lot can't find anybody but full-time DHs are still going out of style"
So, let's see how the trend is looking for full-time DHs.
Yr | 1d-pa | 2d-pa | 3d-pa | 1d% | 2d% | 3d% | r% |
2014 | 4491 | 1688 | 917 | 46% | 17% | 9% | 27% |
2013 | 4925 | 1707 | 896 | 50% | 17% | 9% | 23% |
2012 | 4582 | 1658 | 949 | 50% | 18% | 10% | 21% |
2011 | 5896 | 1117 | 600 | 64% | 12% | 7% | 17% |
2010 | 5280 | 1298 | 797 | 58% | 14% | 9% | 20% |
2009 | 5531 | 1490 | 789 | 60% | 16% | 9% | 16% |
2008 | 4950 | 1666 | 864 | 53% | 18% | 9% | 19% |
2007 | 5531 | 1648 | 769 | 59% | 18% | 8% | 15% |
2006 | 4824 | 1615 | 932 | 52% | 18% | 10% | 20% |
2005 | 4453 | 1686 | 1038 | 48% | 18% | 11% | 22% |
2004 | 4321 | 1681 | 960 | 46% | 18% | 10% | 25% |
2003 | 4840 | 1629 | 1130 | 52% | 18% | 12% | 18% |
2002 | 4388 | 1898 | 1019 | 47% | 20% | 11% | 21% |
2001 | 4318 | 1717 | 977 | 47% | 19% | 11% | 24% |
2000 | 4104 | 1875 | 1025 | 44% | 20% | 11% | 26% |
1999 | 5132 | 1643 | 786 | 55% | 18% | 8% | 19% |
1998 | 5368 | 1764 | 818 | 57% | 19% | 9% | 16% |
1997 | 4999 | 1588 | 919 | 53% | 17% | 10% | 21% |
1996 | 5817 | 1719 | 962 | 58% | 17% | 10% | 16% |
1995 | 5364 | 1615 | 640 | 60% | 18% | 7% | 14% |
1994 | 4597 | 1023 | 450 | 65% | 15% | 6% | 14% |
1993 | 6192 | 1396 | 747 | 63% | 14% | 8% | 16% |
1992 | 5597 | 1715 | 872 | 57% | 17% | 9% | 17% |
1991 | 6170 | 1574 | 781 | 62% | 16% | 8% | 14% |
1990 | 4583 | 1901 | 919 | 47% | 20% | 10% | 23% |
1989 | 4263 | 1783 | 998 | 44% | 19% | 10% | 27% |
1988 | 4844 | 1979 | 1083 | 50% | 21% | 11% | 18% |
1987 | 4626 | 2090 | 1002 | 47% | 21% | 10% | 22% |
1986 | 5302 | 1892 | 983 | 55% | 19% | 10% | 16% |
1985 | 5247 | 1775 | 910 | 54% | 18% | 9% | 18% |
1984 | 5939 | 1936 | 803 | 61% | 20% | 8% | 11% |
1983 | 6069 | 1567 | 782 | 62% | 16% | 8% | 13% |
1982 | 6094 | 1455 | 811 | 62% | 15% | 8% | 14% |
1981 | 3824 | 908 | 603 | 60% | 14% | 9% | 17% |
1980 | 4044 | 2215 | 1236 | 41% | 23% | 13% | 23% |
1979 | 4783 | 1683 | 1050 | 50% | 17% | 11% | 22% |
1978 | 4701 | 1634 | 1104 | 49% | 17% | 11% | 23% |
1977 | 5110 | 1699 | 1001 | 53% | 18% | 10% | 20% |
1976 | 4086 | 1657 | 870 | 50% | 20% | 11% | 20% |
1975 | 4672 | 1359 | 724 | 56% | 16% | 9% | 19% |
1974 | 4363 | 1462 | 690 | 52% | 17% | 8% | 22% |
1973 | 5122 | 1316 | 689 | 61% | 16% | 8% | 15% |
Or, to put it in chart form.
So there has been a dip from 2011 to 2014. Back in 2011, the following players received 70% of their teams PAs at DH: Vladimir Guerrero (89%), David Ortiz (87%), Victor Martinez (71%), Billy Butler (92%), Hideki Matsui (71%) and Johnny Damon (87%). Also, Bobby Abreu got 69% of Los Angeles PAs at DH. Out of those 7 players, 4 are retired (Guerrero, Matsui, Damon and Abreu) while the other 3 (Ortiz, Butler, Victor Martinez) were full-time DHs in 2014. I suspect the retirements of Damon, Guerrero, Matsui and Abreu involved more about their ages than a long-term trend at DH.
You could also note that 2011 was a bit of an outlier year, but the average primary DH got near 60% of his teams PAs from 2007 to 2010 before the 2011 aberration.
So people using the change from 2011 to 2014 as a sign of a longer term trend should be aware that the only times where primary DHs made up less than 50% of PAs for the 12/14/15 combined primary DHs were in the following years: 1976, 1978/1979/1980, 1987, 1989/1990, 2000/2001/2002, 2004/2005, and 2014.
Twice, AL Teams have had two streaks of 3 consecutive years where they didn't use their primary DHs for a majority of their DH plate appearances. Here's a little bit on how those trends changed.
From 1980 to 1981, AL primary DHs went from 41% of the PAs at DH to 59.5%. Several things happened from 1980 to 1981: Greg Luzinski went from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Chicago White Sox. Don Baylor and Al Oliver became near full-time DHs. Hal McRae and Richie Zisk got even more playing time at DH. In 1980, four teams gave 55%+ of their PAs at DH to their primary DH. That number went from 4 to 7 in 1981. Ken Singleton and Andre Thornton joined the DH party in 1982. Dave Kingman arrived a few years later. The league had 4 consecutive years of primary DHs getting 59% of PAs from 1981 to 1984.
From 2002 to 2003, Oakland went from 13th to 3rd in playing time for their primary DH once they hooked Erubiel Durazo up as a DH. But the overall change in the AL didn't swing towards full-time DHs until 2007 when Gary Sheffield went to the Tigers and Jose Vidro came to the AL.
Trends are not inevitable. An AL Team could be employing Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera, Torii Hunter, Mark Trumbo, Jose Bautista/Edwin Encarnacion or Chris Carter as a full-time DH next year or in a few years. Some of those guys will be used at DH to try and recoup some of their salary or to cover for their habit of becoming hurt too often. The DH didn't need a high offense era to find full-time DHs in the 1980s. It just needed players whose defense wasn't good or who wouldn't be playing without the position.
The full-time DH was called a dinosaur in 2012 and was called "dying" in 2010. Some of the reasoning involves DHs not getting long-term deals, as if DHs ever got long term deals at any defined time in time. In the summer of 2014, the Royals/Butler 2 week long hot streak was used as a backbone for an anti-DH column, which treated the DH akin to how partisans from one party speak about the other party. It wouldn't surprise me if some note a possible short-term trend to repeat their desire to just get rid of the DH in favor of a system used rarely outside of the National League (the only other league in the world to not use a DH is the Japanese Central League). Just because there's more strategy in games without a DH doesn't mean that the strategy is better. Sometimes NL strategy means batting Jayson Nix in a World Series game. It's 2014, The DH is here, get over it. But thats another topic.
So, we heard the story, but what about the Royals?
Should they just parcel the position up amongst guys on their bench and resting regulars?
No.
Why emulate a trend that is going to make an offense worse? The argument for a parceled DH position will involve resting various guys more. I have some reason to doubt that the problem with the Royals offense can be solved with giving Salvador Perez a half-day off. Not to mention that the Royals hitters who start the most often are well-thought of defensively. Alex Gordon will win a Gold Glove. Perez probably will. Alcides Escobar might. Lorenzo Cain wasn't allowed to win a Gold Glove out of compassion to the competition. Hosmer is an incumbent gold glover as well. Out of the 7 Royals to play 1000 innings in the field, 5 are credible Gold Glove contenders. The other 2 are Omar Infante and Mike Moustakas. I'd be surprised if Mike Moustakas had an above-average streak over a period of 80 games since 2012. Omar Infante's injuries are typically not injuries that coexist with swinging a bat (and Omar, when he's healthy, isn't really a great hitter either).
So one effect of parceling out time at DH with this current team could involve taking Gold Glovers gloves off of the field. Or having a limited rotation of possibilities mostly involving bench bats which may or may not hold down the spot.
What should they do?
Well, there'll be a few DH types getting qualifying offers. Nelson Cruz will be worth some money for a period of time. Victor Martinez will disappoint some other team.
At the same time, there's still gonna be players whose bats are better than their gloves available and in a market where some seriously think that the current trends of DH usage will hold for years, DH types could be cheaper than their value.
We can talk about specific names. There'll be free agents and players available to trade. I'm not sure how deep I should go down that wormhole right now. If Billy Butler is the best signable option, he should be signed. If he isn't and there's a signable better option, sign the person who is a better option. It's not really complex.
But when it comes to what I want out of the 2015 DH position. I want a primary DH who can credibly make a bunch of starts at the position. Like 100 or 120 starts at DH for that player without inducing much pain in the viewing public. Some DH days can be given to rest a position player starter whose bat is valuable. But if you see what works and what hasn't worked, it's a smart move to try and get as close to what has worked as you can get at this time.
You can talk about building on speed and defense to back up the idea of having a flexible Designated Hitter. But if you have 8 speedy good defender types, what does having a regular DH hurt that in the scheme of things? Does it break up a continuity of groundball hitters who struggle to reach 15 home runs in a season? are the 10 games a year (14 if you reach the World Series) in NL parks valued that much more than the 152 (or as many as 169 if we count the playoffs) games in AL parks? If KC has speedy guys who occasionally get on base, then the job of a DH-type player to knock those speedy guys in shouldn't be too complex.
When it comes to the topic of "Full-time v. part-time". I lean towards Full-time. I say lean because some people will probably insist every DH who isn't starting 80% of the games for a team is a part-time DH. After all, if you set the bar that high, it might make the non-full-time contributions look better compared to full-time DHs. When I say full-time, around 350 PAs is a nice minimum. More if the player is really good.
Do I have confidence that this team isn't gonna parcel out the DH spot to a bunch of guys? Nah. The trend, no matter how counterproductive, is the trend and the trend is tempting. If the Royals bench improves enough over the offseason to make such an arrangement viable, that'd be helpful. But I don't value flexibility over ability. If there's a guy whose best value to the team involves being a designated hitter, it's not some moral failing on his part.
Just because this 2014 team had a regular DH who didn't hit is no reason for them to go from a "workable idea that didn't work" to a "workable idea that doesn't usually work". There's no need to get too reactionary or to misplace priorities. Shop around and find someone who could be a credible option. Obviously Frank Thomas or Vladimir Guerrero aren't walking through that door. But perhaps find someone who can hit and has been undervalued by their current team.
But whatever you do. Don't start Glenallen Hill at Designated Hitter. Spiders. dude.