Royals Designating Chris Owings Proves the Signing Was a Disaster

Three years removed from back-to-back trips to the World Series, the Kansas City Royals were 58-104 and looking for change. Notable players like Alcides Escobar, Billy Burns, and Jason Hammel departed and were replaced by Billy Hamilton, Jake Diekman, and others. Though some of their offseason signings have sufficed, one that clearly hasn't is super utility-man Chris Owings, who was (finally) designated for assignment on Friday.

In 135 at-bats, Owings hit an impressively bad .135 batting average with a .193 on-base percentage and slugged a measly .222. This lack of production, though, is something the Royals front office probably should have seen coming -- Owings has never been a high on-base guy and his OPS hasn't been above league average since his rookie year in 2013.

With Kansas City on pace to just barely surpass last year's monstrosity of a season, more change was necessary. Owings was designated for assignment, making way for Cheslor Cuthbert -- not a great player by any means, but certainly someone who deserved a chance over Owings a while ago.

Unfortunately for Royals fans, this won't make the season any less unbearable. But, when you're a bad team, you need to appreciate the little victories. This is one.