KC Royals - Offseason

[SubGod22]

No multi-year deal for Melky in the works

KANSAS CITY -- General manager Dayton Moore was very pleased about center fielder Melky Cabrera's bounceback season but doesn't see a long-term deal coming out of it immediately.

"We'll probably go a year at a time at this point, but he was a terrific player for us and we're very proud of what he accomplished and we'd be very open to Melky being here long term," Moore said. "But I don't see anything right now. I think he's at a point in his career where he wants to look at things. He's just a year away from free agency."
Cabrera, who had a team-high 201 hits with a .305 average and 18 homers, was signed as a free agent last season but he was on the open market only because the Braves unconditionally released him after a lackluster season. He's still under the Royals' control for 2012 but, as Moore suggests, he probably wants to test free agency. That also would give him great incentive for another big season.

Giavotella expects quick recovery from surgery

KANSAS CITY -- When the Royals announced that second baseman Johnny Giavotella underwent hip surgery last Thursday, it came as a surprise because there had been no outward indication of any injury.

"It actually surprised me, too," Giavotella said as he recuperated in New Orleans where he lives, "because the pain was constant but it wasn't too bad to where I thought something was torn. But it was just one of those things where I could get it fixed and get it out of the way."
Giavotella, a rookie who was brought up on Aug. 5, played through the end of the season and finished strong, with a .375 average in his last eight games.

[SubGod22]

For Want Of A Pitcher, Part 3.

Busy with work, busy with family, busy writing for Grantland, blah blah blah. You don’t want to hear the excuses. Anyway, the World Series will be over shortly, and Dayton Moore’s track record suggests that he might not wait long after that to make a big move, so let’s get a move on here.


While there are a finite number of free agent pitchers available, the list of pitchers who could be acquired in a trade is endless – any pitcher is available for the right price. I am going to focus on the 30 or 40 most likely trade targets, and if I miss someone, so be it. The way I see it, there are four types of starting pitchers the Royals could go after:


1) Veteran starters who are still effective, but who are overpaid on their current contracts, and therefore might be acquired for little to no value in terms of prospects.


2) Starting pitchers who are on teams that are clearly rebuilding, and should presumably be available if a competitive offer is made.


3) Starting pitchers on those rare teams that have more starters than they need – I’m thinking primarily teams like Atlanta, Tampa Bay, maybe Oakland. In theory, these teams would consider trading anyone in their rotation, but precisely because they can field offers on all their starters, they have the leverage to wait on the right offer before pulling the trigger.


4) Elite, superstar pitchers who might nonetheless be available because their current team is going through a state of flux. (Sort of the Zack Greinke trade in reverse.) These pitchers would require a massive haul of prospects in return, but would also change the face of the franchise overnight.


I’ll start with the first group of pitchers, the overpaid-but-still-valuable group. I’ve said this before, but the Royals are better positioned to add talent than many people realize, because they have the two most valuable commodities in the game: prospects and payroll space. They had the lowest payroll in the game this past season at around $35 million, and even factoring in scheduled raises for guys like Billy Butler and Joakim Soria and Jeff Francoeur, and arbitration-induced raises for guys like Alex Gordon and Luke Hochevar, the current Royals roster is unlikely to cost the team more than about $50 million in 2012.


We know the Glass family can afford a payroll of at least $75 million – the team had a payroll of $76 million in 2010 and $74 million in 2009. This gap affords the Royals the option of substituting payroll space in lieu of prospects, and gives them the opportunity to add a starting pitcher simply by electing to take on a bad contract.


A bad contract such as…

Definitely worth the read. Rany brings up some interesting names and thoughts on them.

[SubGod22]

Why Slotting for the MLB Draft Is Bad For The Royals

According to the Associated Press, one of the last major issues to be resolved in the discussions regarding a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in major league baseball is that of a hard slotting system for the amateur draft. For whatever reason, Commissioner Bud Selig is obsessed with it.

It is Selig and his disdain for teams going against his ‘suggested slot amounts’ that give us the ridiculous wait until the last possible moment to announce signings scenario each summer. Teams are either afraid to or simply told not to announce above slot signings until near the end of the signing period for fear of incurring the wrath of the Commissioner.

Frankly, that Selig is so much in favor of a hard slot system is more than enough information for me to be against it.

He definitely has a point.

[SubGod22]

Trio of Royals nominated for Gibby Awards

KANSAS CITY -- Jeff Francoeur, Melky Cabrera and Eric Hosmer had great seasons -- no Royals fans would dispute that.

Now the fans have a chance to help those players win GIBBYs -- the annual Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards. Fan voting ends Dec. 4, and you can vote up to 25 times per category. Winners will be announced Dec. 16 from 8-10 p.m. CT on MLB Network and MLB.com.
Francoeur is nominated as the top defensive player, Cabrera as the best breakout player and Hosmer as the rookie of the year.

Ryan Lefebvre is "frontrunner" to be Twins radio voice

KANSAS CITY -- Royals broadcaster Ryan Lefebvre is "the frontrunner" to become the play-by-play radio voice of the Minnesota Twins, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Lefebvre, who just completed his 13th season with the Royals, joined them in 1999 after beginning his big league broadcasting career with four seasons calling Twins games on the radio and TV. The Twins' job became available with the retirement of long-time announcer John Gordon.
For the past four seasons, Lefebvre has been the Royals' primary television voice, working with the late Paul Splittorff and Frank White as analysts and Joel Goldberg as pre- and postgame host. Before that he worked radio games with Denny Matthews, who has been with the Royals since their inception in 1969.

Would suck to lose Ryan as he does a great job for KC. Not sure who we'd replace him with if he does go back to Minnesota.

Big moves unlikely as Royals focus on value

KANSAS CITY -- If the Royals go shopping in the free-agent market this winter, they'll be strolling down the aisle marked "starting pitchers" and, most likely, rummaging through the bargain bin.

The Royals need to upgrade their rotation with a top-of-the-line starter, but they're unlikely to bid for high-priced pitchers such as Rangers ace C.J. Wilson or Mark Buehrle, their longtime White Sox nemesis. The free agency period began Saturday at 11:01 p.m. CT.
"We'll certainly look at free agency," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said, "but we'll look from within first and we feel like we've got some very talented young pitchers in [Luke] Hochevar, [Danny] Duffy and [Felipe] Paulino, and we liked the way Luis Mendoza threw the ball all year. He was exceptional in the Pacific Coast League. [Everett] Teaford came on strong and we expect Mike Montgomery to be in the mix, so we feel like we've got some candidates within. And we're going to explore trade possibilities to add a starter."

This is the best way for them to go. The FA market is slim and prices are going to be extremely high. There's talent in the organization and the best bet is to use it one way or another.

Chen, Francis on the free-agent market - Not a surprise. Chen will be offered a deal. Probably one year for a small amount. He's solid enough that if he accepts it, we're good. If he doesn't, we get a draft pick. Win/Win for KC.

Royals exercise option on closer Soria

KANSAS CITY -- Joakim Soria's 2011 season wasn't up to his usual standards, but the Royals obviously see him as one of the game's premier closers.

So it was no surprise that the club picked up his 2012 option for $6 million on Monday, the deadline for the contract action. The Royals could have declined the option for a $750,000 buyout.
Soria will be in the fourth year of a six-year deal he signed with the Royals on May 17, 2008. Remaining are club options at $8 million for 2013 and $8.75 million for 2014.

Gordon, Francoeur among Gold Glove finalists

KANSAS CITY -- Left fielder Alex Gordon and right fielder Jeff Francoeur are the only Royals among the finalists for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

Shortstop Alcides Escobar, who had a spectacular season defensively after being obtained from the Brewers in the Zack Greinke trade, was not an American League finalist.
For the first time since the Gold Glove Awards were established in 1957, three finalists in each league were announced for each position and a winner will be picked for each of the three outfield positions instead of three outfielders overall. Another first: The winners will be announced on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. CT on Tuesday.

Shortstop Jesus should have been one as well, but he'll get his in time.

[SubGod22]

For Want Of A Pitcher, Part 4.

Moving on to a list of more classic trade targets – established starting pitchers on teams who are (or should be) rebuilding:


Pitcher: Jeremy Guthrie, BAL
Contract Status: Final year of arbitration, eligible for free agency after 2012. Made $5.75 million in 2011
Likely cost (in terms of prospects): Low to moderate


Guthrie led the American League with 17 losses in 2009, and repeated his accomplishment this season. Those losses obscure the fact that he’s been a perfectly fine pitcher since joining the Orioles as a waiver-wire pickup in 2007. Over the last five years, Guthrie has averaged 31 starts and 196 innings a season, with a 4.12 ERA and a 106 ERA+, meaning his ERA, after adjusting for his home ballpark, has been about 6% better than the league average over that time. He’s a good pitcher toiling for a lousy team, in the toughest division in baseball.


He has shown no signs of decline. While his ERA last season was 4.33, his peripherals were virtually unchanged. Guthrie is a little homer-prone, but throws strikes and controls the running game well. He’s a better version of Bronson Arroyo, who I discussed last time – Guthrie gives up fewer homers and has proven himself against much tougher competition.


Guthrie’s only under contract for one more year, the Orioles aren’t going anywhere, and a move to the AL Central might do him some good. I can’t imagine that the price tag would be that high – he’s Jeremy Freaking Guthrie. As a low-cost, short-term solution, the Royals could do a lot worse.

The 2nd name intrigues me and would most fans on here...However, Rany makes you think and provides some good info.

[SubGod22]

Staying The Course Isn't Waiting Until Next Year

If you have been a regular reader to this site (thanks, by the way) and more particularly a regular reader of my contributions here, you will know that I have been wrestling with whether the Royals are or should do something to become a contender in 2012. We have looked at previous ‘bad teams’ that bounced into contention seemingly overnight and tried to decide if prospects should be hoarded or traded.

Truthfully, there is no right answer. I was going to write that, of course, the 2011 Royals are a much better team than the 2008 Royals were – the same 2008 team that Dayton Moore thought was a Mike Jacobs and Coco Crisp away from contention. Except, the 2008/2009 Royals had Zack Greinke, Gil Meche and a on-top-0f-his-game Joakim Soria. Even that ‘fact’ can be debated and, if so, then so can the question of contending in 2012 or not.
That said, I woke up this morning with shocking clarity on the subject. A clarity which, I’m sure, will last at least until the middle of the week.

Dayton Moore and the Royals should, for the most part, stand pat. That does not mean that the Royals are necessarily giving up on 2012 and, once more, spending a season ‘playing for next year’.

That runs counter to one of my main premises that prospects are currently horrifically overvalued in baseball. For every Eric Hosmer there are two Justin Hubers. Every Alex Gordon is counterbalanced by an Andy Marte. There are handfuls of Ken Harveys for every Billy Butler and bushel baskets full of Kila Ka’aihues for every Travis Hafner. That said, I would rather bank on Mike Montgomery and Wil Myers than trade them for James Shields…at least for now.

I think even the most optimistic Royals’ fan would admit that a number of things have to go right for Kansas City to be a true contender in 2012. The list is long, possible, but long:

Can't really argue with this as he brings up a lot of good points. And I'm hesitant to give away too much of what we have on the farm for the current crop of possible available pitchers.

[SubGod22]

Hosmer wins Special Achievement Award

KANSAS CITY -- Eric Hosmer had been up with the Royals for barely a month when manager Ned Yost had the feeling he'd already spoken volumes about the rookie first baseman.

"I don't want to keep harping on the fact that I think he's going to be a special player," Yost said in early June. "He's going to be. There's no way around it."

Special enough in his first season to win the Royals' 2011 Joe Burke Special Achievement Award, as voted by the Kansas City Chapter, Baseball Writers' Association of America. The award is named for the longtime Royals general manager and president and goes to a player who contributed above and beyond what was expected or deserved special recognition for an outstanding season.

Gordon takes home first Gold Glove

KANSAS CITY -- Alex Gordon, a third baseman for the Royals until last year, is now among baseball's elite outfielders.

Gordon won the Rawlings Gold Glove as the American League's best defensive left fielder on Tuesday night. The vote was by the league's managers and coaches.

He was selected over the New York Yankees' Brett Gardner and the Tampa Bay Rays' Sam Fuld. Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur, also a finalist, lost out to the Baltimore Orioles' Nick Markakis.

Gordon adds Les Milgrim Award to hardware

KANSAS CITY -- For Alex Gordon, it was a busy and very rewarding 12 hours.

Late Tuesday night, the Royals' left fielder received his first American League Gold Glove Award. On Wednesday morning, Gordon won his first Les Milgram Award as the Royals' Player of the Year.

The winner is chosen annually by the Kansas City Chapter, Baseball Writers' Association of America. The award is in memory of Les Milgram, a Kansas City businessman who helped convince Royals founder Ewing Kauffman to invest in the expansion franchise.

[SubGod22]

Gordon Defeats Gardner

A couple of years ago, Alex Gordon found himself in Omaha, learning a new position. It seemed like an odd move by the Royals… A last gasp of sorts. Something to make their once prized prospect stick in the major leagues. It reeked of desperation.

And it paid huge dividends.

Gordon was honored on Tuesday night with the Gold Glove award for his defensive contribution for the Royals in left field.

Those of us who write with a sabermetric bent are supposed to mock the Gold Gloves. Believe me, I’ve done my share. And I’m pretty sure voters got this one wrong. But I don’t care. I figured Brett Gardner was a lock for the award. He plays left like a center fielder, meaning he gets a great read, covers a ton of ground and runs exceptional routes. He also has a strong arm. If you’re being honest with yourself, Gardner is a superior defensive player over A1.

In the end, I think it was Gordon’s assist numbers that pushed him over the top in the eyes of the voters. It’s not every day a left fielder racks up 20 assists. The Royals outfield was a huge story in 2011. Not just in Kansas City, but their play collectively gained national attention. From the assist numbers (particularly at the plate) to their strong offensive output, to the circus reel catches of The Frenchman in Seattle, to Melky’s base running gaffes, people noticed the Royals outfield in 2011. This award can be seen as a tip of the cap to the group as a whole, I suppose.

And while there will be many who will claim Gardner was robbed, he certainly is the better defender, it’s not as if Gordon is a slouch in left. He’s certainly second best, with a bullet. So if he beats a Yankee and picks up an award, I’m pleased. (Besides… This is a Royals blog. If you want to read someone complain about the outcome, do a quick Google search.)

[RoyalShock]

Major props to the Dominator. He deserved it!

Now, Dayton, get him signed long term!

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Why Slotting for the MLB Draft Is Bad For The RoyalsHe definitely has a point.

I wish Selig would die or resign.

[SubGod22]

I wish Selig would die or resign.

:highly_amused:

[SubGod22]

Looks like Ryan will be staying in KC!!!

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Lets hope he keeps the bunt talk down a notch or two

[RoyalShock]

Can we send Bob Davis to Minnesota now?

[SubGod22]

Can we send Bob Davis to Minnesota now?