clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Royals Rumblings - News for December 31, 2015

In 2016, resolve to #DoAGordon

By Max Rieper
Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Royals Rumblings - News for December 31, 2015

Alex Gordon was on MLB Network last night to discuss free agency.

Sam Mellinger and Monty Davis at the KC Star have a video on what Alex Gordon has meant to the Royals organization.

Clark Fosler at Royals Authority looks to Ben Zobrist as justification to re-sign Alex Gordon.

Now, let’s have a bit of fun. Let’s go back in time to the off-season following the 2012 campaign. Ben Zobrist was turning 32 years old. If Zobrist had been a Royal back then, would you have signed him to a five year deal? Let’s ignore the dollars (I know, sounds stupid, maybe it is) for now and address the issue of declining production.

If you had not signed Zobrist to a five year deal, one would have missed out on 5.0 fWAR in his age 32 season, 5.5 in his age 33 campaign and 2.1 in his age 34 season. Yes, Zobrist had an injury and played in just 126 games and his WAR took a hit defensively. His bat, however, as we are well aware remained right in line with career (.276/.359/.450). If the Royals were locked into paying Ben for his age 35 season, would you be particularly concerned about getting bang for your buck? Personally, I would be feeling pretty good about it right now.

J.J. Piccolo was on MLB Network Radio, and according to MLB Trade Rumors, he said Kyle Zimmer could contribute soon.

Royals assistant GM J.J. Piccolo said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio today that right-hander Kyle Zimmer is someone the team envisions helping in its rotation, possibly as soon as early 2016 (Twitter link). Zimmer, a former No. 4 overall draft pick, has seen his career slowed by shoulder problems but has put together an impressive resumé when healthy. The 24-year-old worked mostly in relief last year while returning from injury but worked to a 2.39 ERA in 64 innings between Class-A and Double-A, and he has a lifetime 3.28 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 216 2/3 minor league innings. Durability will be a question for Zimmer until he proves he can handle a full season’s worth of innings, but his upside is substantial.

Scott Dillon at KC Kingdom thinks the Royals should bring back Alex Rios.

Rios came alive in July hitting just south of .300 and didn’t have a month in which he batted below .259 the rest of the season. Removing the 26 games in which Rios was seemingly trying to gain back his timing, Rios batted a respectable .278 across 79 games....

Had Rios been able to produce over the course of a full season as he did during his ‘healthy’ clip, he would have put a batting average good enough for top 10 in the MLB and top three in the AL among right fielders. Given Rios’ modest WAR of .2 during the 2015 campaign, whoever signs him should be able to get him for much cheaper than his previous contract.

Jeremy Guthrie asked a fan to come out for a catch, and one obliged.

Relive 35 hours of post-season glory, beginning today on 610 KCSP.

Matt Monaghan at MLB.com tries to make the Hall of Fame case for Mike Sweeney.

The New York Philharmonic makes good on its World Series bet, complete with an appearance from Royals fan Joyce DiDonato.

Brendan Kennedy at the Toronto Star expects teams to begin emulating the Royals high-contact approach.

Lorenzo Cain and his wife Jenny are expecting their second child.

Dayton Moore is named "Today's Knuckleball" Person of the Year.

The Dodgers sign Scott Kazmir to a three-year deal with an unusual opt-out clause.

A lawyer for Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Howard is demanding a retraction from Al Jazeera for their report linking those players to HGH.

The Birmingham Bowl is full of comedic fail.

Eagles lineman Lane Johnson explains why Chip Kelly was fired.

Here are your dumbest sports stories from 2015.

Why does time seem to speed up as you get older?

Does the internet spell the end of censorship?

Comcast is the most hated internet provider in America.

The rise and fall of Pinky and the Brain, a cartoon too smart for its own good.

Your song of the day is Otis Redding and Carla Thomas with "New Year's Resolution."

More From Royals Review