Royals Rumblings

Royals Rumblings - News for August 5, 2016

Let the games begin!

By Max Rieper@maxrieper Aug 5, 2016, 8:00am EDT

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Royals Rumblings - News for August 5, 2016

Ned Yost is running out of options in his bullpen.

"We’re to a point with our bullpen — if we could get to a four-out save — we might have used Kelvin (Herrera) there," Yost said. "But we just never got there."

When asked if he would consider tweaking Soria’s role and limiting his usage in high-leverage situations, Yost offered a bleak outlook. "I don’t know how you do that," he said. "We’re just real thin down there. That’s a tough one there."

Kendrys Morales is suspended one game for returning to the field after being ejected on Wednesday, but will appeal.

"He said he was very cordial about it, very respectful," said Royals catching coach Pedro Grifol, who translated for Morales.

In the same at-bat, Torres called another borderline strike, Morales said. He protested after the at-bat and was ejected from the dugout. He then returned to the dugout in the bottom of the ninth and continued to argue — an automatic suspension under MLB rules.

"He (Torres) made two mistakes and he doesn’t understand why that’s his fault," Grifol said, translating for Morales. "But that’s the way it is."

David Lesky of Baseball Prospectus Kansas City sees opportunity in a lost season.

So why not see what some of the young guys have to see if you need to go out and get someone to give them more time or not? I chatted with our resident prospect guru, Clint Scoles, and he seemed skeptical that any of the upper level young arms would be able to make an impact. While I agree, it seems there is little harm in seeing what Alec Mills, Jake Junis and Matt Strahm have in a couple starts in September. I mean, they ran Chris Young and Kris Medlen out for the first month. Why not see what they have in some actual young arms in the last month? Maybe you don’t find a solution there for 2017, but it would be nice to give the big league coaching staff a chance to look at these guys against Major League hitters.

Wade Davis admits he may have rushed back.

Davis said there was no timetable for a return. The Royals are hopeful he could be back in about two weeks. As of Monday, Davis had yet to pick up a baseball. He expressed relief that the MRI revealed no structural damage to his elbow. According to Davis, the MRI matched up with ones he has had in the past.

"We’re just doing treatment right now," Davis said. "I won’t pick up a ball for a couple days."

Jon Heyman grades the Royals with a "C-" for the trade deadline.

Under Dayton Moore’s stewardship, they’ve done almost nothing wrong for several years, but they were another of the teams caught in limbo here. They seemingly couldn’t decide whether to buy or sell, so they did neither. They ran into a streak of bad luck this year, and Luke Hochevar’s injury was yet another blow. Kendrys Morales probably wasn’t worth very much on this market, but Volquez should have brought something decent. Grade: C-minus

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Yoenis Cespedes is criticized for playing golf while on the DL.

The ongoing transformation of the leadoff hitter.

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MLB will stop funding the Australian Baseball League.

Baseball will return to the Olympics in 2020.

The Chiefs sign quarterback Nick Foles.

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It turns out flossing isn't that big of a deal.