Opening Day Roster

by lordbyronk on Dec 14, 2007 3:58 PM EST Comment 39 comments

If the season started tommorow, what would are opening day roster look like. At this point, there are many things that could change in my mind the most likely is the addition of another starting pitcher. However, if I were manager this would be the roster:

Rotation: Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, Zack Greinke, Luke Hochevar, Kyle Davies

Bullpen: Luke Hudson, John Bale, Joel Peralta
Jimmy Gobble, Leo Nunez, Yashito Yabuta, Joakim Soria

Catchers: John Buck, Matt Tupman

First Base: Ryan Shealy

Second Base: Mark Grudzielanek, Esteban German

Shortstop: Tony Pena Jr., Alberto Callaspo

Third Base: Alex Gordon

Outfielders: Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, Jose Guillen, Ross Gload

DH: Billy Butler

Some of these roster spots are interchangable. Luke Hudson as long reliever could become Davies (if pushed out of the rotation) or DeLaRosa. Reserve outfielder is an interesting dilema. Gator should probably be it, but what do we with Gload if we carry Shealy, or do they battle for 1B in Spring Training and the other is cut? Anyway if you are GMDM for a day, and have some tough decisions to make, which do you choose?

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Subtract Nunez/Hudson

and add Gathright. Otherwise, I'd agree with your proposed opening day roster.

Oh, and I'd add Jason Smith as a batboy.

by DarthYoshi on Dec 14, 2007 4:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

My opening day roster

Starting rotation:

Meche
Bannister
Greinke
De La Rosa
Davies

Bullpen:

Closer - Soria
Setup - Yabuta
Long relief - Bale, Duckworth
LOOGY - Gobble
the Greinke treatment - Hochevar

C - Buck
1B - Shealy/Gload (i'd platoon the two)
2B - Grudzielanek (believe me, he will break down at some point next season. Just a feeling.)
SS - TPJ
3B - Gordon
LF - Guillen (suspended)
CF - DeJesus
RF - Teahen
DH - Butler

Bench - one of the Shealy/Gload platoon, Tupman, Alberto Callaspo, Gathright, German

(Note: this has the potential to be a solid and very cheap bench. Especially if Tupman can prove to be an effective MLB game caller)

I too hope that we can pick up one veteran rental who can eat innings in the rotation (Kris Benson? Matt Clement?). One of the De La Rosa/Davies back-end will fail and will need to be released, traded, or moved to the bullpen.

"I'm tired of all these stupid a$$ questions every day. Why the f**k would I hit Brett for Miller?" The rest is history.

by DC Royal on Dec 14, 2007 4:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Forgot about Peralta

Substitute him for Duckworth.

"I'm tired of all these stupid a$$ questions every day. Why the f**k would I hit Brett for Miller?" The rest is history.

by DC Royal on Dec 14, 2007 4:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

12-man pitching staff

We had it all last year, and there's no reason to think this year would be different. So that leaves only four bench spots (since Billy fills the Sweeney bat-without-a-position slot). I expect Gathright in KC and, oddly enough, German to be sent on his way elsewhere if there's a market for him--his hitting declined in 2007 and he offers no other skill that wouldn't be covered by others. Callaspo is the new backup middle infielder, and Teahen, a season removed from the shoulder surgery which made 3B risky last year (at least according to Buddy), should be able to spell Gordon the 15 or so games he'd get a rest.

by CentralChamps2009 on Dec 14, 2007 5:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don't think we had it all last year

I don't know if we even had a 12-man pitching staff most of the year. And I think we only had a 12-man staff when the talent was thinned down by injury. I expect an 11-man staff. We really need 5 bench spots for:

Tupman (or other bench catcher)
Shealy/Gload (whichever is not starting)
Gathright
German
Callaspo

There would be room (but not need) for a 12th pitcher if we trade German. And, given our bullpen depth, we have no need for a 7th bullpen pitcher.

Soria
Yabuta
Gobble
Peralta
Bale
Nunez/Musser/Braun

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 14, 2007 5:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No reason other than

we have a new manager who managed in Japan and tended to let his pitchers work later into games. It is quite possible that we would see an 11 man pitching staff.

I'd rather be watching baseball.

by Sisquatch Kids on Dec 14, 2007 11:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And the fact that we don't need one

Last year we broke camp with guys like Standridge and Wellemeyer. This year's bullpen is deeper. Unless we have multiple injuries in spring training, there will be absolutely no reason to have a 12-man pitching staff.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 14, 2007 11:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i prefer gload to shealy

by LeoBloom on Dec 14, 2007 8:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think

Same as your roster, except:

Hochevar starts in Omaha, and the 5th spot in the rotation goes to John Bale. Duckworth replaces Hudson.

They go with an 11 man pen, and keep Gathright as an outfielder. That roster has no true reserve outfielder - Gload and German won't cut it out there. Plus Gator is coming off a pretty decent year, and Dayton seems to like him.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Dec 14, 2007 9:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

bale in the rotation

I find that intriguing. I know Moore's mentioned that as a possibility in the past, and he looks to have had some success there in Japan.

Could be a move that pays off, but I'm more inclined to keep him in the pen. I certainly wouldn't be upset if he starts off in the rotation, particularly if he's taking a spot away from DLR or Davies.

Interesting about Duckworth over Hudson. I tend to think Hudson'll rebound a bit. Is there an anti-Sisco Award award? If so, I think he might be able to claim it. Which would be cool, because even though the Sisco Award is in its infancy, Hudson would be a bit of a rarity - a top 5 finisher in the Sisco Award and then an Anti-Sisco Award winner the following year. It would sort of be Jose Lima's Royals career in reverse.

On the other hand, maybe we should just cross our fingers that Kuroda lands in KC, so we don't have to deal with either of those two guys.

by marbotty on Dec 15, 2007 4:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

...or Silva

I find it interesting that people appear to be much more interested in Kuroda than Silva. Even the most glowing reports I've read about Kuroda (including in his scouting report at BP), project him to be a #3 or #4 starter, no better, no worse. That's no better than Silva who is a solid #3 starting pitcher, at least if he has a good defense behind him (which he would have with the Royals). Oh, and Silva is younger and has a hell of a lot less innings on his arm.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 15, 2007 11:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

by DarthYoshi on Dec 15, 2007 1:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Silva

I would rather have Silva, he's a proven commodity in the AL, no one can be 100% sure of what you would be getting in Kuroda, the predictions may come close but no one can be positve

I may be drunk, but tomorrow I will be sober and you, ma'am, will still be ugly. - Winston Churchill

by fats on Dec 15, 2007 1:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And,

given the bidding war happening for Kuroda's services, Silva may well come a little bit cheaper.

by DarthYoshi on Dec 15, 2007 1:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Duckworth

I think Ducky is going to be a suprise to several people this year. He had good numbers before getting hurt last year. I think he will serve in long relief and be added to the backend of the rotation by the end of April

I'd rather be watching baseball.

by Sisquatch Kids on Dec 15, 2007 7:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Here is my take...

Rotation: Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, Zack Greinke, Luke Hochevar, DeLaRosa or Luke Hudson

Bullpen:John Bale, Joel Peralta
Jimmy Gobble, Leo Nunez, Yashito Yabuta, Joakim Soria

Catchers: John Buck, Matt Tupman

First Base: Ross Gload

Second Base: Mark Grudzielanek,

Shortstop: Tony Pena Jr., Alberto Callaspo

Third Base: Alex Gordon

Outfielders: Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, Jose Guillen, Gator

DH: Billy Butler

I am still expecting a couple more moves to change the above...

by grudz69 on Dec 15, 2007 12:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

yea...

Rotation: G. Meche, Z. Greinke, B. Bannister, H. Kuroda (!!!), L. Hochevar
Pen: J. Soria, N. Musser, J. Bale, J. Peralta, Y. Yabuta, L. Nunez, K. Davies

C: J. Buck
1B: R. Shealy
2B: M. Grudzielanek
3B: A. Gordon
SS: A. Callaspo/T. Pena
LF: J. Guillen
CF: D. DeJesus
RF: M. Teahen

Bench: A. Callaspo/T. Pena, M. Tupman, R. Gload, J. Gathright

German and Gobble traded.

And yes, I'm 100% willing to give Shealy another chance, although I'd rather see Huber get that job. I want Callaspo to have the SS job as well, it would be a bit of a downgrade on defense, but the offensive upgrade could be huge.

You know, I hate doing this, because DM isn't done making moves. This will change.

by doublestix on Dec 15, 2007 1:00 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Oh geez!

Butler is the DH! Duh!

by doublestix on Dec 15, 2007 1:00 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

May have to add Jennings to the rotation

Per MLBTraderumors, the Royals are one of five teams interested in bringing in Jason Jennings.

Jennings is one of those pitchers, like Eric Milton before him, who always seems surrounded by trade rumors and hype, always with a bunch of potential suitors lined up, but for which said interest never seemed warranted. What is the infatuation there?

With Milton, at least, there was a string of years of Silva-esque league averageness. Jennings, on the other hand, has had one decent year surrounded by a bunch of seasons that would make Brian Anderson blanche.

Sure, Jennings has been pitching in a tough place in Colorado, but a move to the AL would almost certainly negate any advantage getting away from Coors Field might create.

I hope the R's pass on this one.

by marbotty on Dec 15, 2007 4:59 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Jennings

Jennings, on the other hand, has had one decent year surrounded by a bunch of seasons that would make Brian Anderson blanche.

Not really. If you normalize for park and league his ERA+ have been:

2002 106
2003 97
2004 89
2005 95
2006 130
2007 68
Career 99

So what we have is one season which is in the #1-#2 starter range, three seasons of #3 starter pitching, one season of good #4 quality and one horrible season of #5 starter pitching. His career ERA+ puts him solidly in the middle of the #3 starter range.

If you can pitch over 190 innings with an OPS+ around 100, you're a valuable #3 starting pitcher. What's not to like about that?

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 15, 2007 11:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Plus

He's a groundball pitcher I believe, and our infield defense looks to be pretty dern good. That could really inflate his numbers.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Dec 15, 2007 3:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

signing jennings to a one or two year deal, for around $3-5 million per year makes a lot of sense.

by rockchalk on Dec 15, 2007 5:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I guess it all depends on how tolerant we are

...or rather, how much we're willing to pay for a pitcher who will likely post no better than a 5.00 ERA.

I'd prefer not spending money for that sort of performance -- I think we can get it from some combo of Hochevar, Duckworth, DLR, or Wright (if he's still w/ the organization.)

by marbotty on Dec 16, 2007 1:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

#3 starting pitcher

That is what he has been. How hard is it to tolerate an average #3 SP? And a 99 ERA+ as a KC Royal with half of his games at Kauffman Stadium is about a 4.65 ERA. I wouldn't give him a huge, long-term contract, but that kind of performance is worth a bit of money. And I think it is extremely unlikely that we'd get that kind of performance out of Duckworth, DLR or the pretty worthless Matt Wright.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 16, 2007 8:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think out of spring training it will be

David Dejesus CF
Alberto Callapso 2B
Mark Teahan RF
Jose Guillen LF
Billy Butler DH
Alex Gordon 3B
John Buck C
Ross Gload /Ryan Shealy 1B
Tony Pena Jr SS

Bench: German backing up Callapso, Smith backing up TPJ. Grudz gets traded for more pieces - there is no way GMDM has acquired Callapso and won't play him every day. Gathright backing up in the OF, Tupman backing up Buck, Gload & German can also play OF if needed.

Rotation: Gil Meche, Zack Greinke, Brian Bannister, Jorge De La Rosa (out of options, no?), Luke Hudson - still a big Luke Hudson believer, if he comes to spring training healthy I bet he ends up in the rotation. If not, it's probably Bale or Davies.

Kyle Davies is obviously a wild card as he is a Moore acquisition, but I fail to see how he can put him in the starting rotation after this season's awfulness without major signs of improvement in Spring Training. At least JDLR has shown flashes of brilliance and is a lefty which would be nice to have in our rotation - Davies was consistently awful.

So for the bullpen, I would be comfortable with Soria, Bale, Peralta, Yabuta, Nunez, and Gobble. Bale might break ST in the rotation, but I have serious reservations as to whether he could actually stick.

I will not be surprised to see Moore flip Grudz for a decent reliever to insert team that needs a solid 2B here.

winning records follow good bullpens

by slayor on Dec 15, 2007 3:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

A question about Callspo

there is no way GMDM has acquired Callapso and won't play him every day.

Given that Callaspo's major league numbers have been:

2006 .238/.298/.310
2007 .215/.265/.271

What makes you think that Alberto is ready to be a full-time starter in the majors right now?

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 15, 2007 4:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well

He's hit .337 and .341 the past two seasons in AAA. Seems like he has nothing more to prove in AAA. Maybe he's ready to be a starter, maybe he's not, but it seems like now is the time to find that out.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Dec 15, 2007 8:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps

But it is anything but certain that he could match (or come near to) Grudz's production. Maybe we should give him some AL at bats to see if he's ready for full-time duty before we make him the starter.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 15, 2007 11:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Gritty One

Should not be cast off for organizational filler. We need to get at least a AAA prospect and an A Ball kid or an established middle reliever before we let him go. Otherwise, Gritz should be the opening day 2B unless Callaspo blows us away in ST. Even then, Gritz is great guy to have on the bench.

I'm not getting older....oh, wait, yes I am....and slower.... and weaker. God, this is great!

by philofthenorth on Dec 16, 2007 12:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

well if that's the case...

Then why not put him at shortstop? He's not going to wow us with the glove, but I've seen places that say he could play on the left side of the infield. I love Tony's glove, but if Callaspo can put up a .350 OBP, then that's an enormous upgrade offensively.

by doublestix on Dec 16, 2007 1:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

We need to look at several players

There's no reason to believe that Callaspo is ready to achieve a .350 OBP in the majors in 2008. But he should get significant playing time so we can see how good he actually is. I'd give TPJ at least the first half of the season to see if his hitting improves. If it doesn't, I'd hand the job over to Callaspo to see what how he performs in the field and at the plate in regular duty.

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 16, 2007 8:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Bill James

at fangraphs projects Alberto at a .742 OPS this year with more walks than strikeouts. That's Major Leauge ready.

by howserfan on Dec 16, 2007 10:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I hope Bill is right

I probably disagree with you.

by NYRoyal on Dec 16, 2007 2:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It wouldn't take much to convince me

to give Callaspo a look at SS, and let Pena stay on the team as the utility infielder. That role is one where a team can sorta live with Pena's poor offensive skills.

Yes, Callaspo has to do enough to warrant the look, true enough - but I sure hope Hillman/Moore don't have any preconceived notions that it's not possible for Callaspo to win the SS job...

by loyal2s dad on Dec 17, 2007 5:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Pena sure looks more like a good field, no hit

utility guy to me than a starting SS on a winning team. I just don't think his ceiling is much higher than he had last year. Callaspo deserves a long look at SS. If he needs to be replaced defensive late in the game or a couple of games a week, use TPJ. Callaspo and/or German can play 2B when Grudz isn't in the lineup.

I would like to see KC shop Grudz in spring training. He seems like a misfit in this lineup. If the right deal came along due to injury, KC could create an opening starting spot for German/Callaspo.

by daveyork on Dec 17, 2007 6:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs