Royals rumors: Kansas City interested in Denard Span, Travis Snider

The Kansas City Royals and Dayton Moore are interested in recruiting Denard Span and/or Travis Snider to fill the holes in their outfield. Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reported the news Tuesday afternoon:

Lobby talk: Denard Span and Travis Snider are two free agent OF's the Kansas City Royals have some interest in.

— Michael Silverman (@MikeSilvermanBB) November 10, 2015

Although the Royals have said they are interested in retaining Alex Gordon, Moore is preparing for any eventuality -- including the one where their star left-fielder signs with another team. According to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com, Gordon has garnered interest from the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs at this early stage of free agency.

While Gordon fits the mold for many teams with payroll flexibility, targeting lower-cost options like Span and Snider could be savvy moves for Moore. Span is coming off of his best hitting season (by wRC+) since his rookie season with the Twins, but injuries during that campaign could scare other teams away and keep the bidding down.

Snider, on the other hand, has never really panned out as the top prospect he was once thought to be. While he has shown flashes of brilliance at the plate -- as recently as 2014 with the Pirates -- his defense is below-average at best. Perhaps this makes Snider a good supplement for Jarrod Dyson, but Dyson has proven to be a better offensive player as well.

That being said, the Royals did employ Alex Rios up until very recently, so perhaps there is still room in the Royals outfield for a below-average fielding outfielder. It's still early and general managers are doing their due diligence, so it makes sense to see Moore formulating a contingency plan if the Royals happen to lose Gordon to free agency.