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Royals Rumblings - News for December 9, 2014
Andy McCullough reports from the first day of the Winter Meetings, with a vexed Dayton Moore. Vexed!
Dayton Moore confronted a vexing situation here on the first day of the Winter Meetings....
Asked whether the free-agent market or trade market was more plentiful with hitters, Moore said, "It’s not very good either way."
He added, "The one thing on the market right now is pitching. There’s going to be pitching available in spring training."
Moore indicated the team may have to pluck from the pile of back-end free-agent starters, a group that includes veterans such as Jake Peavy, if they whiff on the higher-profile candidates.
Oh boy, here come the roster shenanigans.
#Royals Dayton Moore reiterated the fact he's still not in a hurry to break up HDH. Notes team may go w/ 13 pitchers in 2015.
— Josh Vernier (@JoshVernier610) December 9, 2014
McCullough adds that the Mariners may out-bid the Royals for the services of Melky Cabrera. The Royals sound wary of handing anyone a five-year deal, as Cabrera is seeking. Nori Aoki is still a fallback, however:
One potential snag in a reunion — outside the obvious caveats about finding an actual deal the two sides could agree upon — is Aoki’s discontent about his playing time.
He has told friends he disliked being removed as a defensive replacement so often during the final weeks of the season. Aoki views himself as a player capable of aiding a club for all nine innings. This is not an unreasonable or controversial stance. But it could affect any potential negotiations with Aoki and the Royals.
Its not just Wade Davis and Greg Holland drawing trade interest in the Royals bullpen.
Royals not just receiving interest in Holland & Davis. Also getting hits on Kelvin Herrera, whom one exec described as a "potential closer"
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) December 8, 2014
Moving Herrera doesn't get the Royals the salary relief they desire, so a trade is unlikely.
Dayton Moore has looked in on Mets starting pitcher Dillon Gee.
Colby Rasmus is on #royals list of outfield options. Defense and power a plus. Lefty struggles and low OBP, not so much.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 8, 2014
The 28-year old right-hander had a 4.52 FIP with the Mets last year.
The Royals have shown interest in Braves outfielder Evan Gattis.
When the Royals showed interest in Evan Gattis a few weeks ago, the #Braves asked for Yordano Ventura. KC will likely not deal Ventura.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 8, 2014
LOL. Nice try Braves.
David Hill at Kings of Kauffman writes that Royals pitching prospect Miguel Almonte had a nice outing for Gigantes in winter ball.
Alex Gordon is a bad, bad man.
Leaderboard of the Day: Most Outfield Assists, Last 3 Seasons. pic.twitter.com/6IVfbTjA4A
— Mark Simon (@msimonespn) December 8, 2014
Madison Bumgarner was named Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year", beating out "Royals fans."
Ned Yost should be a motivational speaker.
Ned Yost, motivational speaker. RT @MLB Royals manager Ned Yost is a master of deflecting criticism. pic.twitter.com/CXpxxcVAjs"
— Royals Review (@royalsreview) December 9, 2014
You can pick which Royals regular season games you'd like to see during the Fox Sports Kansas City Royals marathon to run on Christmas eve. I'm a glutton for punishment, so I want to see the Jonny Gomes/Scott Downs debacle again.
The rival White Sox may be close to a deal for Jeff Samardzija.
The High Desert Mavericks, a former Royals minor league affiliate in the California League, are struggling.
The Rays have a deal to begin looking for a new stadium site in Hillsborough County.
The Veteran's Committee, with Royals owner David Glass as a voting member, elected no-one on this year's "Golden Era" ballot. Minnie Minoso, Jim Kaat, Gil Hodges, and Dick Allen were some of the more deserving candidates.
Chiefs safety Eric Berry has been diagnosed with Hodgkin lympoma. Our thoughts are with Berry and his family and the Chiefs organization, and we'll be pulling for him.
Here is your interactive college football bowl schedule, and all 38 bowls ranked. 76 teams are in post-season play, what a special honor.
The Western Conference has been dominating the NBA for years, so the league is thinking about realignment.
At least one Kansas City team is making deals this week, although Sporting Kansas City dumped popular defender Aurelien Colin, and a young striker with upside in C.J. Sapong. Our sister site Blue Testament has their take here.
The best internet reactions to the guy eaten not eaten by a snake on Discovery Channel.
Maggie Simpson and Edna Krabapple are published academic writers!
Burt Reynolds is having an auction, and you can get some insane garbage.
Your song of the day is the Lemonheads with "Its a Shame About Ray."