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Here we are in the third day of the SBNationwide sim--in which I am the General Manager of the Shadow Royals and most of the other teams are run by representatives from those other sites--and the Shadow Royals have been changed relatively drastically, remade in my vision. The Shadow Royals write-ups for the previous days can be found here: Day 1 and Day 2.
Here is a quick recap of what happened during the first two days:
Orders of business
- extended Qualifying Offer to James Shields, which was declined
- exercised Wade Davis's $7MM option for 2015
- bought out Billy Butler's 2015 club option for $1MM
- non-tendered Jayson Nix and Aaron Crow
- offered arbitration to the rest of the rostered arbitration-eligible Royals
- Ned Yost promoted to Special Advisor in Charge of Wild Game
- Brian Bannister hired as manager
Trades
- sent Jason Vargas and pitching prospects Christian Binford and Cody Reed to the Cubs for Edwin Jackson, Luis Valbuena and $4MM in 2015/$2MM in 2016
- sent Greg Holland to Red Sox for Allen Craig, prospect Brian Johnson, and $1.5MM in 2016/$3.5MM in 2017
- shipped Tim Collins off to Milwaukee for prospect Ariel Pena
- acquired Jordan Zimmermann and outfield prospect Brian Goodwin for a gaggle of prospects: Kyle Zimmer, Hunter Dozier, Ryan O'Hearn, and Ramon Torres
- sent Jeremy Guthrie, Omar Infante and $2.2MM in 2016 to Toronto for R.A. Dickey and his caddy/catcher Josh Thole
Free Agent Signings
- Luke Hochevar - three-year deal totaling $12MM guaranteed, some of which comes from a club option with a buyout; contract structured as follows: $2.5MM in 2015, $3.5MM in 2016, $4MM in 2017, $4.5MM club option for 2018 with $2MM buyout
- Luis Mendoza - split minor-league deal that becomes $700K if added to the 25-man roster
- Jonny Gomes - one-year deal for $2.5MM
- James McDonald - minor league deal
As we entered Day Three of the simulation, word trickled in regarding the Shadow Royals first move of the day.
Free Agent Signing #5
The Royals agree to terms on a one-year deal with left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher in the amount of $1.3MM.
Free Agent Signing #6
The Royals agree to terms on a three-year deal with Jason Frasor. But I Don't Know What To Do With Those Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs will get $1.75MM in 2015, $2.25MM in 2016, and $2.5MM in 2017.
Free Agent Signing #7
The Royals sign Scott Baker to a minor-league contract.
The 25-man roster currently looks something like this:
| Position | Player | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Catcher | Salvador Perez | 1.75 | 2 | 3.75 | 5 | 6 |
| Catcher | Josh Thole | 1.4 | Arb-4 | FA | ||
| First Base | Eric Hosmer | 5.2 | Arb-3 | Arb-4 | FA | |
| Second Base | Luis Valbuena | 3.1 | FA | |||
| Shortstop | Alcides Escobar | 3 | 5.25 | 6.5 | FA | |
| Third Base | Mike Moustakas | 2.7 | Arb-2 | Arb-3 | FA | |
| Left Field | Alex Gordon | 14 | 13.25* | FA | ||
| Center Field | Lorenzo Cain | 2.3 | Arb-2 | Arb-3 | FA | |
| Right Field | Jarrod Dyson | 1.3 | Arb-2 | Arb-3 | FA | |
| Outfield/DH | Allen Craig | 5.5 | 7.5** | 7.5** | 13** | |
| Outfield/DH | Jonny Gomes | 2.5 | FA | |||
| Utility Infield | Christian Colon | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Arb-1 | Arb-2 |
| Utility | Lane Adams | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Arb-1 | Arb-2 |
| Starting Pitcher | Jordan Zimmermann | 16.5 | FA | |||
| Starting Pitcher | Yordano Ventura | 0.5 | Arb-1 | Arb-2 | Arb-3 | Arb-4 |
| Starting Pitcher | R.A. Dickey | 12 | 12*** | |||
| Starting Pitcher | Edwin Jackson | 7^ | 9^ | FA | ||
| Starting Pitcher | Danny Duffy | 2.6 | Arb-2 | Arb-3 | FA | |
| Relief Pitcher | Wade Davis | 7 | 8^^ | 10^^ | FA | |
| Relief Pitcher | Luke Hochevar | 2.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 4.5^^^ | FA |
| Relief Pitcher | Kelvin Herrera | 1.5 | Arb-2 | Arb-3 | Arb-4 | FA |
| Relief Pitcher | Louis Coleman | 0.7 | Arb-2 | Arb-3 | FA | |
| Relief Pitcher | Joe Thatcher | 1.3 | FA | |||
| Relief Pitcher | Jason Frasor | 1.75 | 2.25 | 2.5 | FA | |
| Relief Pitcher | Francisley Bueno | 0.5 | 0.5 | Arb-1 | Arb-2 | Arb-3 |
| Buyout | Billy Butler | 1 |
That brings the Shadow Royals total payroll to $98.6MM of the allotted $101MM. Added so far on minor league deals are Scott Baker, Luis Mendoza, and James McDonald, though other offers are out there.
A quick recap of the prospects gone is as follows: Kyle Zimmer, Hunter Dozier, Christian Binford, Ramon Torres, Ryan O'Hearn, and Cody Reed.
The prospects that have come back in trades are: Brian Goodwin, Brian Johnson, and Ariel Pena.
I'm not quite done, but I'm pretty close.