Royals Rumblings - News for November 23, 2016

Royals Rumblings - News for November 23, 2016

Lee Judge explains why the Drew Butera signing is good for Salvy.

If you’re a Royals fan you probably already know catcher Drew Butera signed a two-year deal to stay in Kansas City. What you might not think about is why that’s also a good deal for Salvador Perez.

Perez appeared in 150 games in 2014. Butera arrived in May of 2015, and that year Perez appeared in 142 games. In 2016, Perez appeared in 139.

Nobody is going to throw other backup catchers under the bus, but the pattern indicates that Ned Yost and the Royals have more trust in Butera than their previous backups. And that takes pressure off Perez. Salvy’s a big catcher, and big catchers tend to have knee problems, so any inning caught by Butera is another inning Perez doesn’t have to catch. And that helps Perez stay healthy.

David Lesky at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City looks back at the past and future at second base for the Royals.

I will say before I bash the Royals too hard that there is one name in the system who plays second base who I’m excited about and that’s Corey Toups. If you’re unfamiliar with him, he was a 15th round pick in 2014 out of Sam Houston State. Yes, he was teammates with Ryan O’Hearn. I don’t see a superstar in him, but I do see a guy who can play some pretty quality defense at second and can hit a little. In Wilmington, he rocked a .352 OBP and then when he got out of that disaster for hitters, he posted a .275/.358/.450 line in Northwest Arkansas. He’ll be 24 before the season starts, so he might be a guy who the Royals get some prime years out of before he fades as so many second basemen do. I’m not sure there’s merit for this comparison, but I see a little Marcus Giles in him. That would be nice to have for three or four years.

Sam Mellinger talks about his Hall of Fame vote.

This will actually be my first year with an actual vote, which, I have to say, I find to be so cool. I am looking forward to studying the candidates more, clarifying what’s important to me, and filling out the ballot with thought and care.

So, as you can see, I don’t know exactly how I will vote, and if I didn’t have an actual vote, I’d probably run through 10 names real quick here. But I want to take more time than that this year, and every year going forward.

In general, I prefer players with high peaks over sustained good-ness, and on the spectrum of eligible voters, am probably less bothered by steroids accusations than most. I value guys who were the best at their position for at least a few years, which means I don’t know that I’d have ever voted for Rafael Palmeiro even without that finger wag.

Spoiler alert: I will almost certainly vote for Jeff Bagwell, Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds.

Beyond the Box Score calls Eric Hosmer one of the worst players in baseball.

Beau Estes at Kings of Kauffman looks at the search for a designated hitter for the Royals.

Former Royals first baseman Balbino Fuenmayor is close to signing with the Braves.

Ken Rosenthal reports a lockout could be looming in the sport.

Just how awful is the crop of free agent starting pitchers?

Where will Rich Hill end up?

Joe Posnanski wonders if WAR can be misleading, at least in the Cy Young race.

Jayson Stark at ESPN thinks the 2016 post-season was a game-changer.

Ben Badler at Baseball America on how to fix the international bonus pool system.

The Yankees could be dealing off some veterans.

Manny Ramirez’s appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot creates a dilemma for voters.

A tutor claims academic fraud at Mizzou.

Oakland says they have the framework on a stadium deal for the Raiders.

Tesla will power an entire island with solar power.

Big farms are getting bigger, and most small farms aren’t even farms.

The new Mars mini-series on NatGeo is trying too hard to be realistic.

Your song of the day is The Dandy Warhols with We Used to Be Friends.