Royals Rumblings

Royals Rumblings - News for October 11, 2016

Sweeps!

By Max Rieper@maxrieper Oct 11, 2016, 8:00am EDT

Washington Nationals v Kansas City Royals

Royals Rumblings - News for October 11, 2016

David Lesky thinks the Royals still need to prioritize the offense this winter.

And then they could look to the trade market. I’ve come around some on the idea of Nick Markakis, after his late-season power surge. I still don’t love the idea, but a guy with a .346 OBP who strikes out as little as he does could help to fit the Royals mold pretty well. His defense isn’t near what it once was, but the Royals have also won pennants with Nori Aoki and Alex Rios in right field. At the same time, Cain was younger and probably better defensively than he is today, so maybe that would be a bigger issue now than it was then. Some other options include Melky Cabrera (.345 OBP, 10.7% strikeout rate in 2016), Kole Calhoun, Odubel Herrera or (and no, I don’t want this) Scooter Gennett.

Those guys obviously have varying price tags that the Royals may not be able to meet, but they’re the outfielders and a second baseman that I could conceivably see as being available on the trade market for a deal the Royals could make.

Ben Zobrist’s bike ride home from Wrigley spurs memories for Vahe Gregorian.

It made me think of my trip during the 2015 postseason to his hometown of Eureka, Ill., where I think I saw the seeds of what would compel him to do such a thing — including the elaborate Wiffle Ball field in the family’s backyard and the fact that his career basically hinged on a $50 tryout camp.

The visit started at the Liberty Bible Church, where Zobrist’s father, Tom is the pastor, and featured stops at some of Ben’s early playing fields and a pop-in at the Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College (Reagan’s alma mater) and ended with Tom insisting on taking me to Uncle Bob’s Homemade Ice Cream.

John Viril wants the Royals to offer an extension to Danny Duffy.

The KC Royals could even back-load the deal to give them a bit of salary relief in 2017. Duffy is due a large raise in his final year of arbitration. They could instead pay him a modest bump to $5 million, and guarantee $17 million in each of the last three seasons. That deal would work out to $56 million over four seasons. Such a structure would push the bulk of Duffy’s money into 2018 and beyond, where the Royals have few future salary obligations.

Who dashed home better - Eric Hosmer or Josh Donaldson?

Eric Hosmer is the Royals’ nominee for the Hank Aaron Award for top offensive player.

Hunter Dozier and Matt Strahm were named the Royals Prospects of the Year by MLB Pipeline.

Royals legend Frank White opines on recent political news.

Spent 27 years in locker rooms. Bragging about getting away with sexually assaulting women because you're famous is not "locker room talk!"
— Frank White (@Frank20White) October 10, 2016