Royals Rumblings - News for December 2, 2016
Jeffrey Flanagan writes that the bullpen will be the top priority for the Royals at the Winter Meetings.
Bullpen: Moore has made it clear that his No. 1 priority this offseason will be to create the type of shutdown bullpen the Royals have relied upon in recent years. Joakim Soria had a rough season in 2016, closer Wade Davis was hurt in the second half and Kelvin Herrera faded from overuse down the stretch. But Moore believes he has internal solutions (prospects Matt Strahm and Josh Staumont) and just needs an arm or two to restore the bullpen to greatness. The Royals will be looking for a cost-efficient addition.
David Lesky at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City wants to be creative with the bullpen.
And now that brings me back to a variation on my starter-by-committee that I had last year. To catch you up if you missed it around this time last year, my idea was to fill out the remainder of the Royals rotation with pitchers who could rotate between the rotation and the bullpen. The idea behind this is that it would keep them fresh for the full season because their total workload is limited and it could help split the payroll burden between the rotation and the bullpen.
I still think that would be a good idea, but given what we know, I’d rather find at least one free agent starting pitcher who probably shouldn’t be a starting pitcher. A guy like Andrew Cashner would have made sense, but the Rangers gave him $10 million to be a starter for some reason. The Royals should be targeting pitchers who you can’t count on for seven innings, but you probably could use for three innings each in two relief appearances per week. Given the innings constraints the rotation will likely have, the work will be there and they can also be used in a more traditional role if needed.
Lee Judge has another Rusty Kuntz quiz.
Q. How can a home run kill a rally?
A. After a home run the bases are empty so the pitcher doesn’t have to pitch out of the stretch or slide step and the defense doesn’t have to pinch the middle infielders toward second base to be ready for a steal attempt. A home run allows the defense to reset and start over.
Beau Estes at Kings of Kauffman has a few trade ideas for the Royals.
ESPN’s Buster Olney reported Tuesday that Cincinnati is willing to entertain deals on all of their players, including center fielder Billy Hamilton. Which intrigued us here at Kings of Kauffman
Hamilton finally started to show signs of a breakthrough last season, posting career highs in average (.260), on-base percentage (.321) and OPS (.664). Of course he’s always possessed elite speed, having stolen more than 55 bases in each of the past three seasons. And he’s become one of the National League’s best defensive center fielder, ranking seventh in Defensive Runs Saved last year despite playing just 115 games. Oh, and he just turned 26.
Baseball America ranks Royals pitcher Josh Staumont as the 18th best prospect in the Arizona Fall League.
Royals 2017 season tickets and group sales went on sale this week.
Former Royals Vince Coleman and Amos Otis will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
Ken Rosenthal argues the new labor deal could be bad for players.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield looks at how the luxury tax penalties will affect big spenders.
The Braves get pitcher Jaime Garcia from the Cardinals.
Is Justin Turner a good fit for St. Louis?
The Nats and Pirates intensify Andrew McCutchen trade talks.
Jon Heyman gives the latest on the Chris Sale trade talks.
Pirates infielder Jung-Ho Kang is accused of fleeing the scene of a DUI crash.
Dave Cameron at Fangraphs writes about issue of price controls and the international market.
Is Jonathan Judge the next big stat guru in baseball?
Your Piesman Trophy finalists.
Former Chiefs receiver Joe McKnight is shot and killed in New Orleans.
Netflix will now allow you to download movies for off-line viewing.
The most iconic beer from every state.
The top baby names of 2016 are inspired by pop culture.
Your song of the day is George Harrison with What is Life.