Loose Thoughts on the Rest of the Season
by djk royal on Jul 25, 2008 6:06 PM EDT
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PrintWith the 2008 season nearly two thirds complete the question becomes how to utilize the remaining games to prepare for next season. I have bulleted a number of items below which could and in some cases should be done to accomplish this objective.
- Move Soria to the rotation: This has been debated ad nauseaum but if it is going to happen now is the time. Soria pitched 69 innings last year and could increase to 99 innings this year and still be in the "safe zone" regarding injury. He has pitched 45 innings so far this year leaving 54 available innings for the 10-11 starts he could hope to make yet.
- Create roster room: The lack of options for position players has hurt the teams flexibility this year. Gathright (career 630 OPS in 1,100 AB's), Gload (739 career OPS) and Pena (571 career OPS) could be DFA'd or traded. It might be surprising how many would clear waivers. They all may have a niche in pro baseball but not for a non-contending team. Grudz could also be traded for a marginal prospect and a salary savings of nearly 1.5 million.
- Utilize new roster flexibility: Play Butler at 1b to develop and evaluate his defense. Call up Shealy and DH him everyday to evaluate if his bat speed makes him a viable long term option. Utilize Mitch Maier as a 4th outfielder. With his defensive reputation he could lock down the 4th outfield spot for the next 6 1/2 years.
- Hold onto Miguel Olivo unless you receive a great trade offer. If I understand correctly he contains a player option for next year. He will likely decline it and if his at bats over the past two years are sufficient we would receive a sandwich pick (ala David Riske).
- Move Mike Moustakas to catcher. He has the arm and body type to become a great defensive catcher and this would only make his bat all the more valuable. Keith Law is a huge supporter of this idea. Right now he is a marginal infielder. It would be great if he could spend the next two years learning the position and take over in 2011 when we no longer control John Buck.
- DFA Jimmy Gobble: He is making over $1.3 million which would only go up in arbitration next year so we would probably be non-tendered anyway. If DFA'd someone would probably claim him to get a lefty out and we would at least save a 1/3 of the salary for this year. Between this savings and the Grudz salary savings noted above that is an additional $2 million to throw in the Greinke/Gordon extension fund.
- Move Kila Kaaihu up to AAA to replace Ryan Shealy. Let's see what he can do at the next level the rest of the year. He has earned it.
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Move Mike Moustakas to catcher. He has the arm and body type to become a great defensive catcher and this would only make his bat all the more valuable. Keith Law is a huge supporter of this idea. Right now he is a marginal infielder. It would be great if he could spend the next two years learning the position and take over in 2011 when we no longer control John Buck.
This is not really a viable option catchers just don’t fall off trees. Corner OF is much more of a option for him and his Arm would be great for it.
Utilize new roster flexibility: Play Butler at 1b to develop and evaluate his defense. Call up Shealy and DH him everyday to evaluate if his bat speed makes him a viable long term option. Utilize Mitch Maier as a 4th outfielder. With his defensive reputation he could lock down the 4th outfield spot for the next 6 1/2 years.
I would keep Joey G on the DL as long as possible to get a extended look at Maier, also splitting time with Billy/Shealy is likely gonna happen in September. Shealy needs one last look before being DFA’d
I would trade Olivo though. Brayan Pena is a decent defensive catcher replacement. If this team still needs Olivo to DH next year then that is a bad sign that progress isn’t being made.
It will be interesting to see if Soria is gonna start the move to the rotation this year. I wouldn’t expect it I think those were put in his contract for a move by ‘10 just a guess though.
Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?
Moose to catcher
“This is not really a viable option catchers just don’t fall off trees. Corner OF is much more of a option for him and his Arm would be great for it.”
If anything, the fact that catchers ‘don’t fall from trees” is reason why we should move Moose to catcher. If we can get a catcher than can post a .800 OPS or better, that would be a huge boost to our offense. I have no idea whether Moose can move to catcher or not physically, but it certainly isn’t unprecedented for an infielder to move behind the plate in the minors. I believe Brandon Inge and Craig Biggio both did it.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
I agree, it's not unheard of
but your two examples also didn’t stick at catcher, so that brings down the argument, in my eyes.
by I need more Esteban on Jul 26, 2008 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions
inge is likely the starting catcher for the tigers next year....
and they moved biggio b/c they didnt want to kill his speed….which was one of his major assets.
TPJ...you're dead to me
by billybeingbilly on Jul 26, 2008 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm still unclear as to
Whether Olivo has free agency eligibility, and if he declines his option, if we would still retain his rights.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
One of two things is true:
Either (a) Olivo’s agent is a complete moron for giving something away in return for a player option which is meaningless, or (b) the existence of the player option is a de facto waiving of the team’s reserve clause rights (which a smart agent would actually have negotiated in, recognizing that Olivo would be one day short of free agency).
We have to remember that the club can always waive its reserve clause rights. The union certainly would never object to such a thing.
Sarcasm™. It's the new gravy.
Moving Moustakas to catcher is risky and could really hamper his development
His greatest skill is his hitting. If he has to learn a radically new position (switching to catcher is the biggest, hardest possible position change), it could really hamper his development as a hitter.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
Good point
If, after a few minor league seasons, he appears to not have the hitting upside that everyone though he’d have, then maybe we can think about moving him to catcher. This would be a premature move for a top prospect which could really stunt his growth as a player. That’s a really risky way to handle the best prospect in the system.
This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.
by Scott McKinney on Jul 25, 2008 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
A catcher has a lot to do mentally, scouting reports, call the game, etc. Moose needs to concentrate on hitting. His Arm definitely projects as a RF arm.
Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?
+1
Moose Tacos could be a longtime fixture in RF for us if he pans out. The other main option I would see is if we move Gordon for whatever reason, then Moose can become our new 3b of the future.
The Tools Of
Ignorance are usually a last resort for a player who cannot be of sufficient value any other way. The wear and tear of the position significantly reduces the offensive potential of virtually anyone who takes on the role. Moustakas should try any other position before he pursues this option.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Jul 27, 2008 10:06 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
If you have a player...
whose body type and abilities dictate he’s a good fit for a difficult position on the defensive spectrum you should probably let him fail there and then move him to an easier position (i.e. RF) instead of vice versa. Joe Mauer is so valuable because he’s a catcher. If he was a right fielder he probably wouldn’t be nearly as highly regarded.
That's true for most positions
but for a guy who has never played catcher usually to don’t wanna just toss him into it. Especially for one who is just learning how to be a player.
Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?
From what I read about him he used to be a catcher.
I forget what site it was on but it said the Royals front office didn’t want to try him there because they were afraid it would delay his arrival to KC by at least a year.
I agree though it would be a difficult transition and there is risk involved. It is just something I would due to try to maximize his value.
i remember that as well...
it was either that or one of the draft experts said that they thought he should move there.
TPJ...you're dead to me
by billybeingbilly on Jul 26, 2008 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions
I might want to take a look at Chris Hayes if I was KC
I know it is a large leap from AA to the ML but the kid is doing really well at AA. Players only hitting .221 against him w/ 1.6 GO/AO with a .95 WHIP, 1.71 BB/9 vs 5.7 K/9. Might be a viable ROOGY option. If not looks as if he is definitely ready for AAA next year.
Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?
Question
Do we get a compensatory pick if Olivo declines the option, seeing as he’s a day away from FA?
I wouldn’t move Soria due to the added injury risk.
Agree pretty much with everything else you said. Need to shit or get off the pot with Shealy.
One man with courage makes a majority - Andrew Jackson
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Jul 26, 2008 12:00 AM EDT reply actions
it depends on how Olivo's stats match up this year
His stats last year were good enough to classify him as a Type B free agent (based solely on that year), but it’ll depend on how Olivo does relative to the AL catchers this year as well.
If the Royals think Olivo can maintain his Type B status through the rest of the year, then they will almost certainly be better served by letting him walk at the end of the year (which I am pretty sure will happen—I think it is a mutual option for 2009 and I doubt Olivo would pick it up) than by trading him to the Yankees or whoever for whatever we can get.
Yeah,I more meant
if his service time trumped the option. I do agree, however, that assuming he’s a B it would make more sense to keep him than to try to trade him; I’m not really sure how great the Yankees’ system is after the Nady trade. Montgomery (he was the Riske sandwich pick, correct) looks pretty good (albeit very small sample size).
One man with courage makes a majority - Andrew Jackson
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Jul 26, 2008 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't believe that is the case with Olivo, but I'm not 100% sure either
I personally am ecstatic that we got Montgomery in addition to a year of excellent relief pitching by Riske, hopefully the Olivo signing will turn into a similar situation for us.
Regardless of who we trade with, I doubt Olivo would fetch us more than a halfway decent prospect, something a sandwich pick in the 2009 draft could easily eclipse.
agreed
One man with courage makes a majority - Andrew Jackson
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Jul 26, 2008 9:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Great post
to add to it:
After TPJ clears waivers, send him to AZ to start working on his transition to pitcher.
"I've seen the future and it's much like the present only longer." - Dan Quisenberry
You obviously forgot
That Mike Sweeney can play the pants off Catcher and must be immediately signed.
Pecota, watch over us.
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