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Royals Rumblings - News for May 20, 2015

How will you remember the Rafael Furcal era?

By Max Rieper
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Royals Rumblings - News for May 20, 2015

Sam Mellinger addresses whether the Royals will trade for a starting pitcher this summer.

This is a bit like asking me what I’ll get my one-year-old son for his high school graduation^, because this stuff doesn’t matter until at least the beginning of July, but whatever, we don’t let little things like logic or reality bother us here at Twitter Tuesday.

So, I’m going to be rainbows and unicorns here, because I think by the middle of July the rotation will look a lot better than it does at the moment....

I do not believe that the Royals have a great rotation, but I do think it’s somewhere around average, which, with that defense and bullpen, should be enough. I also think that the cost of these types of trades is almost always too high, that the value in prospects required to bring back a two-month rental player is just not smart business. I also think we’ll be talking about this again, probably regularly, so let’s just move on for now.

Andy McCullough, in his chat session, indicated Kris Medlen may get a chance to start when he returns.

It really depends on what the Royals need. It's more likely Medlen lands in the bullpen, because the team already has six starting pitchers floating around. But if there are injuries, or continued ineffectiveness, he'll get a chance to start.

Alex Rios could begin a rehab assignment next week, according to team trainer Nick Kenney

"The one thing you’ve got to understand is that all these things are projections," Kenney said. "If he doesn’t progress over the course of this week, it will be longer than that. We’re just kind of throwing out some things that are based on where he’s at today. But you’ve got to understand that there’s more things that have to happen, in succession, for us to even think that that’s attainable."

Jason Vargas will throw a simulated game Friday, as he recovers from a strained flexor muscle in his elbow. Ned Yost also said he will not push Duffy's start back this week.

"I didn’t want to skip anybody," Yost said. "Just keep everybody going. Everybody is doing fine. They could use the extra rest. It pays off somewhere down the line. I want to keep everybody sharp. The more they pitch, the sharper they’re going to be. So we’ll just keep everybody in line."

Fox Sports Kansas City's Matthew DeFranks points out the Royals may have some interesting roster decisions to make when they get back to full strength.

Omaha activated outfielder Brett Eibner from the disabled list after a hamstring injury.

Top prospect Raul Mondesi homered last night for Northwest Arkansas.

ESPN's Chris Singleton discusses in this video the importance of Yordano Ventura to the Royals.

Royals fans wish Bruce Chen the best of luck in retirement.

Rafael Furcal has abandoned his comeback attempt with the Royals and announced his retirement.

Hos and Moose. Moose and Hos.

Tigers slugger Victor Martinez lands on the disabled list.

Is lineup protection a myth or reality?

Paul Swydan at Hardball Times reviews the new book "Big Data Baseball" on the rise of analytics in baseball and in particular, with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Hot dog pizza. Or pizza hot dog. Is it a sandwich?

The White Sox stadium door has its handle in an unfortunate location.

The Minnesota Timberwolves land the #1 overall pick in the NBA Lottery. If only David Kahn were still there to screw it up.

Is John Calipari headed to the NBA?

The point after touchdown rule is significantly changing in the NFL.

The Feds allege the Ironman Triathalon ran an illegal lottery.

"Next City" looks at how Kansas City's downtown has bounced back and questions whether subsidies are still needed.

This video explains why New York has the best bagels.

We might get a live-action Krang in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" movie.

What science fiction movie made you feel dumber after watching it?

Your song of the day is Pearl Jam with "Alive."

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