Royals Rumblings - News for December 8, 2014

Royals Rumblings - News for December 8, 2014

Andy McCullough writes about the trade interest Greg Holland and Wade Davis are drawing as the Winter Meetings open up.

Davis also benefits from a more classic pitcher’s profile, a 6-5 frame that doesn’t raise the eyebrows of scouts. Holland stands 5-10 and utilizes a violent delivery. Rival evaluators worry about his potential for a breakdown. He missed a good chunk of September due to a sore triceps.

The number of suitors for Holland is limited by several factors, rival evaluators say. The interested club must be close to contention, willing to spend on a niche resource and uninterested in the newfound prevailing logic on relief pitchers. In each of the last four seasons, the closer on the World Series champion began the season in another role. More and more, the concept of a "proven closer" has been discredited.

The Dodgers employ a surplus of outfielders and their leaky bullpen hampered them in the playoffs. Houston and Toronto are also thought to be in the market for a closer. If a club misses out on free-agent reliever David Robertson, they could open up the phone lines to Kansas City.

Andy also has his preview of the Winter Meetings for the Royals.

A team who misses out on Lester may be inclined to up their offer for a player like Santana, Brandon McCarthy or Francisco Liriano.

The Royals have had discussions with all three players, in addition to pitchers Brett Anderson and Jason Hammel. Santana still appears to be best fit, considering his success here in 2013 and his interest in again playing in front of one of baseball’s best defenses. But he desires a five-year deal and, as a rule, the Royals prefer to limit their pitching deals to three years. They showed flexibility on that front with a four-year contract for Jason Vargas, but the Royals and Santana have yet to achieve much momentum.

Jon Heyman says Justin Upton may be a "fit" for several teams, including the Royals.

The Royals contingent may be hungover after a wild party on Sunday night.

Life in San Diego: #Tigers' contingent headed to Brad Ausmus' home for dinner; Royals' group headed to Mike Sweeney's.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 8, 2014

Milk and cookies for all!

Luke Hochevar hopes to begin throwing off a mound in January. I know ten million reasons to hope it goes well. Hochevar has some interesting incentives in his recent two year deal (that does include the Dayton Moore special - the mutual option.)

hochevar has incentives for non-closing relief work (500K), closing (500K) and starting ($2M) on $10M 2-yr #royals deal.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 5, 2014

Starting?

John Dewan finds that Jarrod Dyson was the third-best bunter for a hit in baseball last year.

The Royals signed three to minor league contracts, according to Baseball America -  RHP Juan Flores, RHP Dany Geraldo, and SS Ismaldo Rodriguez. None show up in Baseball Reference, so I assume they are made up.

Dave Cameron of Fangraphs updates his "Trade Value" list.

9. Salvador Perez, C, Kansas City

Previous Rank: 7
Jonah Keri Rank: 19

His second half was miserable, posting a 61 wRC+ after the list was published, and he was an easy out in October, so perhaps I’m being stubborn by not moving him down further. But when you look at what Russell Martin got, and then you remember that Perez is due just $18.6 million in total over the next five years, it’s easy to remember why he ranked so highly over the summer.

Lorenzo Cain and Yordano Ventura also show up on the list.

The Royals took home four GIBBYs over the weekend, or "Greatness in Baseball" from MLB. Greg Holland, Wade Davis, Dayton Moore were honored individually and the Royals entire team was honored for "Best Post-season Storyline."

Eric Hosmer, TV host.

And don't forget to tune in for the #MLBNSocialAwards on Dec. 14 at 8pE, hosted by @HeidiWatney and the @Royals' @TheRealHos35!

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 7, 2014

YEAAAARRRGHHHH!!!!

Dustin Palmateer of Baseball Prospectus writes about the toothlessness of the current international spending caps.

White Sox Vice President Kenny Williams is considering resigning to pursue a position with the Blue Jays as club president.

Unless the Chiefs have some Royals Devil Magic in them, their season may just about be over after their disappointing third loss in a row.

The first college playoff seedings are out and PEOPLE HAVE OPINIONS ABOUT IT! Here's your complete bowl schedule, full of Belk.

The LA Galaxy send Landon Donovan to retirement with a MLS Cup as they defeat the New England Revolution in the championship and Dan Shaugnessy of the Boston Globe trolls so hard.

Speaking of trolls, this letter shows Albert Einstein's advice to fellow scientific pioneer Marie Curie on how to handle her trolls. Shake it off!

The greatest books of all-time, as voted on by 125 of our greatest modern writers, does not include "Throwback" by Jason Kendall and Lee Judge.

Someone intentionally caused a gas leak at a convention of "Furries." I'll need all your alibis.

Your song of the day is David Bowie with "Let's Dance."