Royals Rumblings - News for January 27, 2016

Royals Rumblings - News for January 27, 2016

Craig Brown at Royals Authority is skeptical that re-working Salvador Perez's contract is a good idea.

I’m not sure the Royals should bend over backward in the renegotiation. After all, the Royals have all the power in the situation. Perez is still a mighty valuable member of this team, but his declining production and demanding position should make the club wary. If they do come to an agreement, I would expect it to be backloaded to a degree. Maybe they guarantee his remaining options and add a couple more with a larger than normal buyout for some of the security he surrendered when he signed a few years ago. If there’s more guaranteed money involved, I can’t imagine it would be much more than a couple million for the next couple of seasons. As it stands, payroll looks to be around a club record $130 million. Why would the Royals feel the need to add to that when it’s unnecessary?

David Schoenfield of ESPN looks at how the projection systems missed on the Royals in 2015, and what that means for 2016.

For the position players, FanGraphs has the Royals hitting .265/.318/.399 compared to .269/.322/.412 in 2015. Basically, it's not buying into the increased offense from Moustakas and Cain in 2015 and projecting both to regress somewhat in 2016. The Royals' bullpen WPA was even higher than its WAR, so I suspect this: If the bullpen is dominant again and Moustakas and Cain hold their gains from 2015, the Royals will be just fine ... assuming good health.

David Lesky at Pine Tar Press looks at who might become a star for the Royals in 2016.

I don’t really have the statistical backup for why I think Hosmer breaks out other than just a gut feeling. Sure, I can point to his walk rate jumping last year while still maintaining a very good batting average or him simply swinging at less pitches out of the strike zone. Those are both pretty decent indicators that he could take a jump. It’s also true that he had another big second half, hitting .304/.375/.488 after the All Star break in 2015. If he just does that all season, that turns him into a real star.

What I see, though, is a player who has become a legitimately hard worker (maybe taking advantage of being able to watch Alex Gordon work all these years) who is entering his prime years. He’ll be 26 in 2016, and I believe that with the patience improving in 2015, he will see the power finally tick up as well.

CBS Sports ranks Eric Hosmer eighth in baseball among first basemen.

USA Today ranks the Royals starting rotation as 22nd-best in baseball.

Royals farmhand Reymond Fuentes hits a walk-off in the Puerto Rican League finals.

Wade Davis receives the "Babe Ruth Award for Post-season MVP" from the BBWAA.

Dayton Moore was a hit with the crowd at the Winter Jam Christian rock concert at Sprint Center.

Michael Engel at Kansas City Baseball Vault talks about the Ian Kennedy deal on his podcast.

New Royals beat writer Rustin Dodd has his first podcast available at the Star.

Where will the remaining top ten free agents sign?

MLB and USADA will team up to examine Al Jazeera's doping allegations.

Commissioner Rob Manfred says to not expect the designated hitter to come to the National League any time soon.

MLB is considering raising the bottom of the strike zone.

Regular season games could be played in London by 2017.

Dave Cameron at Fangraphs wonders if baseball has a "tanking" problem.

Steven Martano at Beyond the Boxscore looks at the least productive players of 2015.

Clippers forward Blake Griffin broke his hand fighting with the equipment manager.

Jon Bois has his latest episode of "Pretty Good" on former kicker John Carney.

The Los Angeles City Council has banned smokeless tobacco at organized sports venues like Dodger Stadium.

The decision to make breakfast available all day has been profitable for McDonald's.

A sequel to the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner will begin filming this summer.

Someone fooled an advice columnist with a plot from a Seinfeld episode.

Your song of the day is Stevie Ray Vaughan with "Pride and Joy."