Royals Rumblings - News for November 26, 2014

Royals Rumblings - News for November 26, 2014

In his Twitter Tuesday mailbag, Sam Mellinger notes the odd silence from the Royals thus far this off-season.

The silence from the Royals has been a bit different than what we’ve been used to over the years. Maybe it’s a different approach, or maybe it’s a growing organizational confidence that they don’t have to jump at the first opportunity.

David Glass spoke last week, and kinda-sorta said that payroll would go up, but there have been no indications about just what that means...

Add it all together and the Royals should play next season with a significantly higher payroll than they did in 2013, but there has been nobody saying that, not exactly, not on the record. Some of this is strategy, because you don’t want agents using promises of boosted payrolls against you. But if it’s making some fans nervous that’s understandable.

David Lesky at Pine Tar Press thinks the Royals will add a bat through a trade.

Allen Craig – 2014 was a lost season for Craig. He fought injuries and ineffectiveness and was even worse after being traded from the Cardinals to the Red Sox as part of the John Lackey deal. Still, the guy hit .312/.364/.500 from 2011 to 2013, averaging 23 homers per 162 games. If that’s the guy you’d be acquiring, then he’s absolutely perfect for what the Royals do. He doesn’t walk a ton, but he also doesn’t strike out very much, so he’d fit in the middle of the lineup. The issue with Craig is that he has over $26 million remaining on his deal for the next three years, so if he’s the sub-.600 OPS guy he was in 2014, that’s a huge problem for a team running on a budget. He’s a pretty solid first baseman and he can fake it a little in the outfield, so he’s got some versatility that the Royals crave so much. He’d likely be mostly a DH with KC. There’s definitely some reward in the risk on Craig, but as a guy who will be 30 in 2015, I don’t know that there’s quite enough reward.

John Viril at KC Kingdom wonders if Matt Kemp is a possibility for the Royals.

The Royals can use that injury history to demand that the Dodgers eat a significant amount of Kemp’s future salary. If, say, the Dodgers were to agree to assume $6 million per season to turn Kansas City’s obligation to Kemp into a 5 year, $77 million contract, we might just be on the outskirts of a do-able deal...

In return for an impact bat like Kemp, the Dodgers are likely to demand Kansas City’s no. 1 prospect in SS Raul Mondesi along with at least one of Kansas City’s prized minor league arms such as Kyle Zimmerman, Sean Manaea, Miguel Almonte, and Brandon Finnegan. Royals general manager Dayton Moore would have to toss in a couple of lower level prospects to complete the deal.

Sounds easy enough.

Jan Nevius at Kings of Kauffman has a winter ball roundup of Royals minor league performances.

Centerfielder Paulo Orlando has upped his batting average to .324 while batting third for Lara (17-22). In six games last week, he went 10-for-23 with five RBIs and four runs scored. Orlando hit a solo home run in the ninth on Sunday.

The Star has a new book out about the Royals magical 2014 season. Take a sneak peak here.

The Sporting News lists the best off-season trade in franchise history for each team, with the Amos Otis/Joe Foy trade nominated for the Royals.

Grant Brisbee tries to pick the perfect Hall of Fame ballot.

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman mocks the NFL in this press conference performance.

Vox.com has your last minute guide to cooking and hosting Thanksgiving.

Every state's most distinctive Thanksgiving day recipe.

Did Benjamin Franklin really say the turkey should be American's national bird?

Andy Greenwald has his TV guide of hidden gems so you can avoid spending time with your family this holiday season.

"James Smith" is the most common name in America, so I assume one of you has that name.

A bunch of deleted scenes from "Star Wars" have been stitched together by a fan into a documentary that is now available online.

Royals Rumblings will be absent the rest of the week, so have a Happy Thanksgiving. I am sincere when I write I am very thankful to be part of such a wonderful community of Royals fans that trust the process.

Your song of the day is Bob Marley with "Giving Thanks and Praise."