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Royals Review mailbag: Letters from Liverpool edition

You had questions. We have 'answers.'

By J.K. Ward

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Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Before we get into this, let me first say that, yes, Danny Duffy is awesome and everyone should love him. Because he has often been overshadowed by 'bigger' personalities on the team, we often miss the fact that Duffy is, and has been, quite the character. More so than the bear suit, or the nickname I keep trying to push on him (Czar of Gnar), he's a quiet guy that is good-humored and it shows consistently. In a way, he's a lot like Zack Greinke, only perhaps a little more coached on his public responses.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's open up the mailbag.

No. Well, I can't. Newkirk probably could. Are you even supposed to be asking questions? You're on staff now. Get it together, Hokius.

The best I could offer you is an MS Paint pie chart, and after fifteen frustrating minutes of trying to get the text box tool to function, I broke my laptop in half and hurled it into the sun. So, as I write this from the public library, I will give you my best guess of what some of the Royals' favorite colors are.

Salvador Perez - Maybe purple. The velvety kind, possibly lined with gold trim. That seems like a Perez type color.

Lorenzo Cain - Whatever the best defensive color is. Feels like a goldenrod, or possibly pearl white.

Alex Gordon - Yellow, the lucky color in the year of the Danger Ox.

Eric Hosmer - Emerald green. It's a bit overhyped, but still better than certain alternatives.

Wade Davis - Cobalt blue steel.

Ned Yost - Blaze orange.

Joakim Soria - Neon anything. The color you used to like but kinda wish would go away.

Kyle Zimmer - Medical chart pink.

Well, since Matt Strahm is currently in the bullpen, the answer is probably no. Kyle Zimmer should be back for Spring Training from his thoracic outlet surgery, but my guess it that he won't really be considered for the rotation. They'll want to see him pitch in some games before making any kind of determination. Jake Junis has been doing some impressive things, and recently made the jump to AAA, but he profiles out as a back-end type or a solid bullpen arm.

It's also important to remember that, at least on paper, the 2017 rotation is almost full. It will consist of, in some combination, Ian Kennedy, Danny Duffy, Yordano Ventura, and Jason Vargas. So, whomever the fifth starter may be could come internally, or you know, Chris Young will still be around. Matt Strahm might have an inside track on the job right now though. The Royals have consistently said that they view him as a starter, and the bullpen role this year is temporary.

Well, Moustakas will not be traded. For one, his value is pretty low. What you would receive in return for him this off-season is going to be lower than what it could be next July, after he's got some playing time under his belt. Teams will want to see him play on his surgically repaired knee before they offer anything for him.

Lorenzo Cain would also be a difficult trade guy, because he'll be coming off a down year with another injury on his chart. His value is high, though. He is, by a lot of measures, the best player on the team, which is also what makes it difficult to move on from him. What you could get back for him for a season of control would be substantial. He'd likely fetch a couple of good prospects at the very, very least.

Well, he always strikes out a lot. This year's figure is certainly up (29.0% K rate) over his career average (21.3%). Part of that is timing and bat speed, which sort of folds into the "Is he still injured?" question.

It is very likely that he was not 100% when he returned, but even if he were, Gordon has been known to need a few weeks to warm up. It has happened every season; he starts off sluggish and then picks it up. this year was no different, save for the fact that he never really got hot. He had a seven-game hitting streak in early May, which would usually signal the uptick in his offense. This year, he just declined again, and has never really gotten it back. It is entirely possible that the wrist injury from earlier in the year is still an issue, and even if it weren't, missing a significant amount of playing time can effect a guy like Alex Gordon fairly negatively.

It's also possible that he's getting older. I'm not quite ready to say that this is his new equilibrium, but it is likely that we have seen Gordon's best offensive seasons already.

We've addressed the Moustakas trade issue already, so let's go to the second half of the question.

If I were the general manager of this team, I'd trade Eric Hosmer, move Dozier to first, and play Cuthbert as the DH with some substitution time around the diamond for guys.

That's probably not going to happen, at least not until July, and only if the team is out of contention. Cheslor Cuthbert should be somewhere in the starting lineup next year, though. Finding space for Hunter Dozier may be difficult, but these things have a tendency to work themselves out.

Second Tommy John surgery, after it was revealed that the graft from the first Tommy John surgery had failed. He might be around next year, but his effectiveness is very much up in the air at this point. By the time he comes back, he will be two and a half years removed from pitching in a major league game, after two elbow surgeries. 2017 is his last year of arbitration, and it is likely that his salary will not increase significantly. If the Royals feel like he can contribute, he will likely be around.

He's likely to sign a one-day contract here pretty soon so he can retire as a Royal. Short of that, the likelihood of him appearing in a major league game again is about as likely as me appearing in a major league game.

Eh, that's not true. DeJesus still has a much better chance than I do. But still. I doubt it will happen.

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