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Royals Rumblings - News for January 30, 2015
David Hill at Kings of Kauffman looks at Eric Hosmer's potential arbitration case.
What Eric Hosmer was last season, and for much of his career thus far, is an average first baseman. Despite his defensive reputation and what the eyeballs may see, he really may not be much different than the typical first baseman. Billy Butler, despite his reputation as a defensive liability, actually had a better fielding percentage and saved the Royals the same amount of runs at first in his 37 games at first last year. Yes, it is a relatively small sample size, but the statistics are what they are.
What is this type of production worth? According to Boras, Eric Hosmer is worth $6.7 Million, while the Royals countered with $4.6 Million. This would appear to be a case that the Royals should win, but you never know.
David Lesky at Pine Tar Press looks at some of the more interesting non-roster invitees at Royals camp.
Offensively, I talked about Whit Merrifield as a potentially perfect 25th man for this club, and I really think he is. He showed more with the bat in Omaha last year than I think anyone expected, and if he can hit a little off the bench and play a few positions, he’d be the perfect addition for the Royals. Of course, the question is if he can really hit that well. His highest OPS in the minors prior to last year was .726 and he isn’t exactly the most disciplined hitter. Still, I think he has an outside shot. And the last guy is Moises Sierra who could fit as the fifth outfielder for the Royals if they decide to only keep five infielders (plus Kendrys Morales). Sierra hasn’t had much of a big league shot, but has had his ups and downs. He’s a guy who has some gap to gap power and can play all three outfield positions, so he could be very useful.
Kenny Lofton says his favorite player today is Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain.
"He can pretty much do it all," Lofton said. "He doesn't steal as many bases as I did, but his outfield play is incredible."
Royals outfielder Alex Gordon was honored as the recipient of the Fred Hutchison Award for his charitable work.
Jeremy Guthrie wearing a Seahawks helmet while riding a Segway is why the internet was invented. Now we just need Greg Holland wearing a Charlotte Hornets jersey while riding a unicycle.
Grant Brisbee has five surprising projections from PECOTA, including that the Royals could be the saddest story of 2015.
Buster Olney highlights former Royal Billy Butler as a linchpin player his new Oakland team will be counting on in 2015.
James Shields sticks out like a sore-thumb on Jayson Stark's "All-Unemployed Team."
Ben Lindbergh has a great piece at Grantland on why offense is declining, and how the strike zone is getting lower and expanding.
Ken Rosenthal suggests one way to speed up the pace of play is require relievers to face more than one hitter.
The threats that a team could relocate to Montreal brings flashbacks to how teams would always use Tampa as leverage to build a new stadium.
The Chiefs are interested in Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis, if he becomes available.
FOX is remastering "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" for HD, and now you can see crew members in the shots.
Older millennials keep moving in with their parents. But mom's basement is so warm and she has all the pop tarts we can eat!
How many times does the average person move?
Will rapper 2 Chainz run for mayor of his Georgia hometown?
Your song of the day is Up with People! with the halftime show from Super Bowl XVI in 1982.