KC Royals - Offseason

[SubGod22]

Frenchy happy to have Sanchez aboard in KC

KANSAS CITY -- Even though Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur will miss having Melky Cabrera next to him in center field next season, he feels the addition of pitcher Jonathan Sanchez is a plus.

"I like it," Francoeur said. "I didn't want Melky to go, obviously, but at the same time you know where we struggled some last year, and if you get a guy like Sanchez and he can cut his walks just a little bit, and the way he attacks with his slider and throwing 95 (mph), he can do some good things."

Sanchez was obtained for Kansas City's starting rotation, along with Minor League lefty Ryan Verdugo, in a trade that sent Cabrera to the Giants on Nov. 7.

Francoeur, in his National League days, couldn't hit Sanchez if he swung a 2-by-4 or even a 2-by-8. "I did not do very well, I think I was 2-for-18 off him," Francoeur said.

Also, some interesting attendance numbers at the bottom of the article. Can't wait for spring!!!

[SubGod22]

Royals Report Card 2011: Part One.

Unlike the last several off-seasons, the Royals are unlikely to have a lot of transactions this winter. The transactions they do make might be particularly significant, like the Cabrera-Sanchez trade, but they’re also likely to be rare. This is a testament to the job Dayton Moore & Co. have done over the last few years; they’ve built a roster that, with the exception of the rotation, doesn’t have a lot of holes to fill.


With the trade of Cabrera, the Royals’ starting lineup is completely set, and if there is any intrigue at all – who starts at second base, who are the backup outfielder(s) – the intrigue is going to come from internal battles. I suppose the Royals could sign a utility infielder, but they might be better off just going with Yamaico Navarro. And alas, Willie Bloomquist has already signed elsewhere.


The bullpen is stacked; if there’s a transaction involving a reliever, it’s more likely to involve one departing than arriving. Really, the only need the Royals have this winter is for another starting pitcher, which is why I spent the better part of a month writing about it. (Come on, Dayton. Give Roy Oswalt what he wants.)


So there may not be much of a need to write about Royals personnel moves over the next three months. Which gives me the chance to clear up a backlog of other columns, starting with the annual report cards for each player that I should have started six weeks ago. I apologize if these seem dated. Just think of it as my way of keeping Royals talk alive during these cold, sunless months we refer to as the off-season.


As usual, I’ll be grading every player who played a substantial amount for the Royals in 2011, a number of top prospects, and a bunch of off-field personnel. Grades are given out on a B- curve; a player who met his pre-season expectations exactly, but did not exceed them, gets a B-.


I’ll start today with the catchers:

[SubGod22]

Random - And Late - Thoughts

It’s been a crazy week at work. So I present to you some random thoughts. Warning: Some may not be especially timely…

On Stadium Sponsorship

Last week, it was rumored the Royals were close to agreeing a deal for naming rights to Kauffman Stadium. The rumor picked up so much steam, the team was compelled to issue an official statement.

“Amid a variety of reports that the Royals were nearing an announcement today, we felt it necessary to address the situation. Since the renovations were completed prior to the 2009 season, our organization has been open to listening to proposals with regards to a naming rights partner, but at this time no agreement has come to fruition. With that said, there is nothing else to comment on regarding naming rights.”

This is one of those issues that cuts to the heart of the sports fan. It’s because we are so invested in our team. Our team. It’s part of us. Even though we don’t physically own a share, or for some of us even a season ticket, we have an emotional or spiritual ownership here. The idea that the stadium (our house, our place of worship, our sanctuary…) could be besmirched with a corporate logo is enough to offend the sensibilities.

[SubGod22]

Royals Report Card 2011: Part Two.

I normally save the off-field personnel to the end, but there are special circumstances here:

Nick Kenney, Kyle Turner, and the Rest of the Training Staff: A+

Two years ago, the Royals’ Head Athletic Trainer was Nick Swartz. He had been the team’s trainer for nearly 20 years.

That April, Joakim Soria was allowed to pitch through some shoulder pain. His pain worsened, and he went on the DL in early May for nearly a month. Around the same time, Mike Aviles, who had tried to play through some tenderness in his forearm, was finally diagnosed with an injury to his elbow that required Tommy John surgery.

In late May, Coco Crisp missed some time with a sore shoulder, which it turns out he had been suffering since spring training. He tried to play through the pain, the injury got worse, he rested some more, he played some more, the injury got worse, and finally on June 19th he was seen by Dr. James Andrews, who diagnosed a torn labrum that required season-ending surgery.

Two days later, Gil Meche took the mound despite some soreness in his shoulder, which he had noticed after throwing 132 pitches in a complete-game shutout his previous time out. Meche gave up nine runs that day, but was allowed to stay in the rotation, even after giving up four runs in five innings on June 26th, even after he complained of a dead arm. On July 1st, with that dead arm, Meche threw 121 pitches against the Twins, and was allowed to face the heart of the Twins’ lineup with the game tied in the sixth inning. He would make just 15 more starts in his career, just two of which were Quality Starts.

While acknowledging that the above decisions cannot all be blamed on the trainer – in particular, Trey Hillman and Bob McClure still haven’t answered for their complicity in the murder of Meche’s career – it was a breathtakingly terrible performance by Swartz. You may remember this.

Swartz was let go after the season, and the Royals hired Nick Kenney, who was previously the Assistant Head Trainer for the Indians, as his replacement. The Royals also brought in a new Assistant Head Trainer (Kyle Turner), a new strength and conditioning coach (Ryan Stoneberg), and this year even brought in a new team physician (Dr. Vincent Key).

In 2010, the Royals’ health performance was improved. Some injuries were unavoidable; Meche was already damaged goods, and Jason Kendall’s shoulder finally told the tale of his 15 years as a consummate warrior behind the plate. But you could already sense a change afoot.

In 2011, the Royals had one of the most injury-free seasons you’ll ever see.

Five different Royals – Billy Butler (159), Alcides Escobar (158), Melky Cabrera (155), Jeff Francoeur (153), and Alex Gordon (151) – all played in over 150 games. In the history of the franchise, only two other Royals teams had five players play in that many games in a season – the 1976 and 1977 Royals. Good company to be in.

[SubGod22]

Second Base - Promise or Sinkhole?

Virtually every off-season discussion surrounding the Kansas City Royals has centered (rightfully so) on starting pitching. The acquisition of Jonathan Sanchez was just step one in what most Royals’ fans assume will be at least a two, maybe even three, step process. With the bullpen well stocked and eight of nine positions locked in, Dayton Moore certainly should be spending the bulk of his time focused on improving a starting rotation that was second worst in the American League last season.

That said, what about the ninth position? I refer to second base, of course.

While most people believe and I tend to agree that Johnny Giavotella will get the first crack at being the team’s regular second baseman in 2012, he is hardly a sure thing. While Johnny possesses a minor league resume that is probably better than those carried by Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Salvador Perez, he lacks the one thing all three of those players possess: a plus defensive skill.

Save for a magical stretch in mid-summer, Escobar hit sporadically at best for most of the year, but because he played a premium defensive position and played it very well, Alcides came home with a fWAR of 2.2. Salvador Perez hit well for the Royals in his limited time, but more importantly displayed the type of defensive abilities behind the plate that will keep him in the lineup and allow him to be a positive impact even if he does not hit. The jury is out on what type of defender Cain will be in the majors, but all indications are that he will be a plus defender if not more. At one point there was some talk about Cain’s routes to the ball, but those were mostly due to his relatively late start in baseball and I heard little about that being a problem this past season in Omaha.

Bottom line, all three have at least one ‘plus’ skill and all three have athletic upside. Giavotella, who made some spectacular defensive plays in 2011, is never likely to become more than an average second baseman, if that. His body type does not lead one to envision the ever elusive ‘projection’ that we prospect hounds crave and Johnny is not tremendously athletic. All of those things lead us to a player that will have to hit and hit early or the organization will begin looking elsewhere. Alex Gordon could hit .195 as a rookie and you could still look at him and say ‘that guy should get better’. If Giavotella hits .195 in his first 300 at-bats this year, people are rightly going to start thinking ‘well, this is who is’.

[SubGod22]

Coleman part of bright outlook for KC bullpen

KANSAS CITY -- Baseball is a game of adjustments. Pitching is often rooted in the art of deception. Royals reliever Louis Coleman has consistently shown he's pretty good at both.

Coleman was part of a rookie-dominated bullpen for Kansas City in 2011, often serving as a seventh-inning guy. Manager Ned Yost wasn't big on specific roles for his relievers, aside from using Joakim Soria as closer, but usually Coleman was brought in late in the game with the score close. Often it stayed that way.

That success puts Coleman in the midst of the Royals' bullpen outlook for 2012.

[SubGod22]

Royals unveil updated uniforms

The powder blue jersey, so popular with fans that it has been the biggest seller at retail shops, is now a bolder version of the color to more closely match the original uniforms worn by earlier teams in the heyday of George Brett, Frank White and Kevin Appier.

"Our blue really wasn't what we wore back then," said Kevin Uhlich, the Royals' senior vice president-business operations. <BR>In addition, the "Royals" script in front has been changed from dark blue to white with a blue outline and the number on the front is now dark blue instead of white. The powder blues usually are worn for day games at home.

Out are the caps with the powder blue crown. The traditional royal blue cap will be worn instead.

The American League MVP vote takes place in crazyville

Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers won the American League Most Valuable Player award for 2011. If you are of the belief that pitchers should be able to win the MVP, then he was the right choice. It seems that most voters did agree with that philosophy so the award was bestowed upon a deserving candidate. However, after picking Verlander, the voters apparently started getting drunk and throwing darts. Here is how the vote went down:

He definitely has a valid point when he talks about the obvious East Coast Bias...

Let's Talk Value

Yesterday it was announced that Justin Verlander won the 2011 American League Most Valuable Player award. That followed up last week’s announcement stating he was the best pitcher in the American League with the Cy Young to prove it. A lot of people are outraged by the selection, but I don’t necessarily agree with them. I vehemently disagree with the group who believes the award shouldn’t go to a pitcher. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m not actually sure if I disagree with the sentiment or not, but until it’s put into the rules that a pitcher CANNOT win the award, they’re eligible and should be considered with the position players. I also disagree with those who believe Verlander simply didn’t deserve the award. If they gave votes to bloggers and I was lucky enough to have one, I wouldn’t have voted for Verlander. But I don’t have a problem with his selection. My issues with this are the arguments people are making for certain players and how the process is probably broken and needs to be re-examined.

I’m going to stay away from Verlander for a second and talk about the single most telling point about how damaged this process is. Michael Young received a first place vote for most valuable player. I’ll admit that Michael Young had a pretty good season for the Rangers and was part of a division champion. Based on WAR as calculated by Fangraphs, here are a few position players Michael Young was behind in 2011: Howie Kendrick, Jhonny Peralta, Alexei Ramirez, J.J. Hardy, Peter Bourjos, Yunel Escobar, Melky Cabrera and Erick Aybar. Now let’s take a look at position players on his team who fared better in this admittedly single statistic: Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton. Of course anytime you have the opportunity to vote for the fifth most valuable player on the team for the MVP of the whole league, you just have to do it. The man who voted for Michael Young was Evan Grant. You guessed it, he writed for the Dallas Morning News. I’ll leave that without comment and move on.

I don't fully agree with what he says, but there are definitely some major head scratchers in the voting...

[SubGod22]

MLB, union announce five-year labor deal

NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association entered an enhanced period of cooperation on Tuesday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on a new five-year Basic Agreement, ensuring 21 years of labor peace for the sport.

The deal will last through Dec. 1, 2016, and includes mandatory testing of blood for human growth hormone for the first time at the Major League level beginning in Spring Training; 15 teams in each league by the 2013 season; another layer of playoffs and two more Wild Card teams as early as this coming season; changes in the First-Year Player Draft that could lead to a worldwide Draft by 2014; and expansion of the use of instant replay.

The new agreement now needs to be formalized in writing and ratified independently by the players and owners.

This new deal will hurt teams like KC and other small markets. The HGH testing is a good thing and I like that the penalties are severe. But limiting what small market teams can spend in the draft is going to really hurt the competetive balance issue and I could see this causing a number of problems when it's time for a new deal in 2016. Selig may have just killed the labor peace with this deal.

Hosmer headlines Legacy Awards recipients

KANSAS CITY -- There will be a hometown flavor when the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum hands out its annual Legacy Awards. First baseman Eric Hosmer of the Royals was named the American League Rookie of the Year.

The awards will be presented in ceremonies at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Gem Theater in Kansas City. The event is part of the Buck O'Neil Centennial Celebration in memory of the beloved baseball ambassador who would have been 100 on Nov. 13.

Hosmer and the National League's top rookie, Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel will receive the Larry Doby Award.

[ShockTalk]

Yup, I don't understand the Luxury Tax on spending over a limit for signing draftees either. Would seem like the bottom teams, generally smaller markets, would be drafting first each round and having to pay to get those higher draft choices...... twice. Once to the player and to the "tax". If forced to pass on a few choices because they couldn't afford both the signing bonus and tax, the rich clubs would have no problem getting those players later. Guess I'm not sure how this really works in favor of better balancing.

[SubGod22]

Give (Labor) Peace A Chance

Baseball killed the World Series in 1994, but with the signing of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, we are guaranteed 21 years of labor peace. An unheard of stretch in the modern era of the game.

Labor peace is nice, but we’re Royals fans here. We want to know how this version of the CBA affects our team. The short answer: It’s not good. Not good at all.

The most sweeping change that will be discussed has to do with the draft.

Each team will have a bonus pool for the first 10 rounds of the draft. Their bonus will be unique given the number of picks they hold and all picks will be assigned a dollar amount. According to Jeff Passan, the total money that will be in the draft pool for next year will be around $200 million. Baseball has longed for a “hard” slot system. For them, this is the next best thing. And this time, the penalties have some serious teeth.

-0-5% over bonus pool – 75% tax on overage
5-10% – 75% tax on overage and loss of 1st round pick
10-15% – 100% tax on overage and loss of 1st and 2nd round picks
15%+ – 100% tax on overage and loss of 1st round picks in next two drafts

This neuters the Royals and Dayton Moore. Chop!

Baseball likes to talk about their competitive balance (Look! The Yankees didn’t make the World Series!) but the reality has always been an uneven playing field. That’s not to say there aren’t other ways for teams to compete. Tampa has been Exhibit A about how to draft and develop talent (and how to use that talent to add.) Since Dayton Moore arrived, the Royals have become much more savvy about the draft and have certainly used the system to their advantage, frequently going above slot to sign their draft picks.

The new system with the stiff penalties, effectively levels the playing field that has been the draft.
Last year, the Royals top 10 picks were slotted at $4.8 million. The Royals – powered by the $7.5 million bonus paid to Bubba Starling – powered right through that number. By the time the dust settled, they handed out checks to their top 10 picks totaling $11.4 million. They went over slot by just 249%. If the new system had been in place last summer, the Royals obviously would have received the harshest penalty. They would have forfeited their first round picks in 2012 and 2013 and paid a 100% tax on the overage, which would have amounted to a bill of $6.6 million.

Suffice it to say, I don’t think the Royals would have been that aggressive had this system been in place.

He goes over some of the other things as well. Not good for KC.

CBA Has Its Flaws

As excited as I’ve wanted to be with today’s official announcement that a Collective Bargaining Agreement has been reached by MLB and the MLBPA, ensuring at least five more years of labor peace, I’d be lying if I said I was completely happy with this deal.

There are things to like, no doubt. I love the fact that the signing deadline for draft picks will be a month earlier now, and the expansion of instant replay. But to be honest, there’s a lot of short-sightedness in this deal as well — mainly regarding the restrictions placed on the amateur draft.

For years now, Bud Selig and his brain trust have been steadily pushing the idea of changing the face of the amateur draft — mainly in an attempt to limit the spending of teams by suggesting slot recommendations for each pick, an idea about as flimsy as a piece of notebook paper.

Now teams will have a budget to spend, and if they exceed that budget, they’ll not only be taxed for it, but also run the risk of losing future draft picks as well. For instance, a team that splurges more than 15% above MLB’s spending allowance will not only have to pay 100% in taxes, but also will forfeit first-round picks in each of the next two seasons.

The owners, who are always about saving moolah, and Bud Selig wanted this deal badly. Kudos to them for managing to get their way by Collectively Bargaining concessions to the MLBPA in other areas of the agreement, such as limiting free agent compensation, in order to get their way.

But many organizational people however, — I’m talking about the baseball people involved in player transactions, scouting, etc., and not owners — did not want this deal to happen.

And while there are people who feel that this plan will be the cure-all, I have to say I wholeheartedly disagree.

[SubGod22]

Royals, Chen agree to two-year contract

KANSAS CITY -- Bruce Chen is back in the house, the Royals' house that has been his home for the last three years. Now, he can settle in through 2013.
Chen and the Royals on Wednesday night finalized a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $9 million, plus the possibility of $2 million more in incentives. The base salary would be $4.5 million each year. "Bruce has been our most consistent pitcher over the last two years," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "He's someone we count on -- for not only his leadership, but his ability to be a consistent performer in our rotation."

That may be a little high, but I'm ok with having him for two more years. He's a great presence with our younger pitchers and has been awfully darn consistent his three years here. As long as he continues to give us chances to win, I'm fine with this. Does this mean KC is probably done with pitching? Unless some great opportunity comes around anyway? Hochevar, Paulino, Duffy, Sanchez and Chen look to be what they're expecting. Crow will still get a shot. I still wouldn't mind Holland getting a look. Smith, Mendoza, Teaford and Monty will have a shot as well. Need one or two of these guys to step up and move their development forward another notch or two.

[ShockerGorilla]

C'mon Chen!!

[SubGod22]

Being Billy Butler

When’s the last time you heard the name #Countrybreakfast or even his less common name, Billy Butler? It’s been awhile and it seems that Royals fans forget about him in their projections for the upcoming seasons. I do the same thing. A lot of that is due to the fact that he’s just so darn consistent that you feel like you can count on him to put up the same numbers year in and year out as a force in the middle of a Royals lineup. Now that the Royals are getting better and their offense looks like it’s just about ready to become what is known around baseball as good, it seems like he’s sort of gotten lost in the shuffle. I’d like to make him appear again.

You know, it’s funny. At some point in the middle of the season, the rhetoric about Butler was that people were sick of him because the power just wasn’t coming around. Of course, he finished the year with a typical Billy Butler line of .291/.361/.461. Those numbers were down a little bit from the previous season while his OPS+ was the same as during his breakout year of 2009. See, people need to remember that offense was pretty supressed in 2011, so certain slash lines don’t look quite as impressive, but they actually are just as good as previous seasons’ counterparts. Still, up until July 26, the doubters were somewhat right. Butler simply wasn’t hitting enough for a guy who had one job - to hit. Through July 25, Butler was hitting .285/.373/.413 with just seven homers and 41 runs batted in through 99 games (93 starts due to interleague). I’m not someone who puts a ton of stock into RBI, but with the players hitting ahead of Butler all season, 41 was a ridiculously low number.

This Could Be The 2012 Royals

Last year, I did a monthly speculation on what the Opening Day roster would be. Obviously, it changed dramatically from month to month and likely will again this year. Certainly this projection is open for debate and likely to change, but….

In reality, baseball’s off-season has barely even begun, but the possibility exists that Dayton Moore’s activities this winter may already be done. The signing of Bruce Chen to a two year deal makes me believe that the Royals dipped their organizational toe in the off-season waters and determined that there was little chance of rationally acquiring a starting pitcher for a better value than Chen.

If Moore was truly planning or even hoping for a big splash via either free agency or a trade then it would seem unlikely that he would have forfeited the compensation draft pick that would come with another team signing the mighty Chen. If the Royals thought that it was more than a remote possibility of getting a top of the rotation type starter, then you almost have to believe the draft driven Royals would have waited before signing Chen and forsaking the extra draft pick next summer.

Can't really argue with his roster. We'll see what happens with the rotation and if they want to send someone to Omaha to develop them as a starter or keep them in the pen.

[SubGod22]

Royals anticipate quieter Winter Meetings

KANSAS CITY -- Compared to last year, the 2011 Winter Meetings are likely to be relatively calm for the Royals.

In 2010, of course, the Hot Stove was fired by many rumor logs involving pitcher Zack Greinke. Actually, the rumors remained rumors until 10 days after the annual clambake ended at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. That's when Greinke was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers in a whopper trade. The Brewers wound up in the playoffs, but the Royals gained their 2011 starting shortstop in Alcides Escobar, their apparent 2012 starting center fielder in Lorenzo Cain and two top pitching prospects in Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress.

This year's gathering in Dallas will be more low-key.

[pinstripers]

sign Broxton.