Royals Rumblings - News for January 4, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for January 4, 2017

The Royals finally got Peter O’Brien after trying to acquire him last summer.

Lewis was among the players on a list of possible trade options that was submitted by Kansas City in preliminary talks about O’Brien last summer. The talks got no further because the front office was told that O’Brien was not to be traded.

Seattle also inquired about O’Brien last summer but was told he would not be moved.

Jim Callis talks about the O’Brien on MLB Network.

Sam Mellinger thinks a weak division will help the Royals this year.

At the moment, it feels like I’m more optimistic than most Royals fans, because I believe they have at least a puncher’s chance at the postseason.

If you want a number on it, and we’re including wild-card spots, I’ll say 41.4827 percent.

Some of this is because the Royals’ record could be propped up by what looks to be a soft division. The Indians will be very good. According to this, the Red Sox are the favorites for the AL pennant, followed by the Indians, Astros, Blue Jays and Rangers, which feels about right.

The Royals’ odds are behind the Tigers, which does not feel right, because I believe the Tigers will stink in 2017. I believe the White Sox will also stink, and I am quite certain the Twins will stink.

With the unbalanced schedule, that gives the Royals the opportunity to have a better record than they would in another division, which would help them chase a wild-card spot if the Indians run away with the division.

Hunter Samuels at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City marvels at the Royals’ run in recent years.

In other words, the Kansas City Royals have been the most successful team in the league over the last four years, and there really isn’t a logical argument to the contrary.

In the last four years, the Royals are the only AL team with multiple pennants, and while the Red Sox won a title in 2013, they were also terrible the following two years. Other teams may have more playoff appearances, but no team has more playoff wins since 2013, and only the Indians have more regular season wins (352) than the Royals (351).

Even if you extend the timeline to include the 2012 season, the Orioles are the only team who has won more games than the Royals, but they don’t have a shiny trophy like the one in Kauffman Stadium.

John Viril at Kings of Kauffman considers free agent pitcher Doug Fister for the Royals.

Fister is yet another pitch-to-contact guy. He’s certainly not overpowering hitters with a K/9 less than 6.0 the last two years. But, the Kansas City Royals have gotten good value from this type of starter since their defense became elite in 2013.

Given his recent mediocre performance, Fister is likely to accept a one-year deal within Kansas City’s budget. The Royals could do worse.

Chris Bahr at Fox Sports gives one prediction for each team in 2017.

Kelvin Herrera is given honorable mention in Buster Olney’s ranking of top relievers.

Ryan Schultz at Call to the Pen looks at the expectations for Mike Moustakas in 2017.

Sully Baseball ranks the Royals fanbase as having the second-lowest suffering index in baseball.

Former Royals pitcher Glenn Sparkman, taken in the Rule 5 draft, has a chance to make Toronto’s bullpen.

Outfielder Rajai Davis returns to the Athletics.

Reliever Drew Storen signs with the Reds.

Jung-Ho Kang may be dropped from the WBC roster for Korea for his DUI arest.

Jose Bautista could be a bargain for someone.

Nicholas Stellini at Fangraphs makes the Hall of Fame case for Mike Mussina.

The Diamondbacks sue to break their stadium lease.

Why the movie Moneyball doesn’t need to be accurate to be a classic.

LaDanian Tomlinson headlines the list of Hall of Fame candidates for pro football.

Missouri’s Governor-elect tells St. Louis to build a soccer stadium without state funds.

Beyonce, Radiohead, and Kendrick LaMar will headline Coachella.

Some of the most messed-up revelations from the Rogue One guidebook.

The most anticipated movies of 2017.

Your song of the day is XTC with The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead.