Royals Rumblings - News for November 17, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for November 17, 2017

The Royals are interested in Mike Minor as either a starter or reliever.

"We would," Moore said. "He's at a stage in his career where he knows his body. He knows what he needs to do. We went down this trail with Zack Greinke, Wade Davis. You know they have a dominant role on the pitching staff as a reliever. We saw that in Wade before we traded for him. We started him out as a starter but we always knew we could revert back to him being a reliever.

"Zack Greinke was dominant in the bullpen and it worked in reverse for him. Even if Mike isn't as dominant as a starter, and he could be dominant, he certainly can, you know you'll get dominance from him in the bullpen as a one-inning guy or two-inning guy. He's proved it.

"But I wouldn't walk away from him if he wanted to start."

Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain all turned down the Qualifying Offer.

Ken Davidoff of the New York Post makes the case for the Mets to pursue Hosmer.

The Boston Globe asks, does the fact Hosmer is dating NESN anchor Kacie McDonnell cause him to sign with the Red Sox?

Travis Sawchik at Fangraphs looks at the Hosmer dilemma.

That Hosmer has a Dee Gordon-like launch angle isn’t news. We know this. But what I find interesting about Homer’s future, about his intangibles, is whether he could reach another level of performance simply by exhibiting a willingness to evolve. We’ve seen a number of players on the game’s biggest stage recently, from Charlie Morton to Chris Taylor and Justin Turner, show us the power of change. Players, suddenly, seem more malleable than we thought. Dave wrote about this idea with regard to Morton, and I explored something similar last month regarding Taylor.

Players proved they could change in 2017. As a club, are you willing to bet Hosmer will be willing to change? To at least explore the idea? There could be untapped upside there. But his current approach has produced incredibly inconsistent results. Giving Hosmer a nine-figure deal at the moment, with what we know, seems incredibly risky. What we don’t know is his willingness to change.

Nicholas Sullivan at Kings of Kauffman sees the benefit to letting Hosmer leave.

If Hosmer signs for $150 million, which would be more than Alex Gordon and Ian Kennedy will earn from their current contracts combined, that leaves little wiggle room for the team to add pieces in the coming seasons.

Instead of using that money to sign Hosmer and try to fill deficiencies with subpar prospects or cheap stopgaps, the organization should save its money. Save that $150 million earmarked for one player — whose actual on-field value varies based on who you listen to — until it can truly help you. Invest some of it in rebuilding the farm system. Use it to replenish the bullpen, add a top-line reliever or bring in younger, better outfielders. There are so many better ways to spend that money.

Grant Brisbee ranks the top 40 free agents available this winter, putting Hosmer at #5.

He’s a fine first baseman. Stays healthy, can take a walk. There are some defensive metrics that hate him, but he passes the eyeball test. The good news about him is that he’s just 28, which is relatively young for a free agent.

He’s basically J.T. Snow, though. I lived through the career of J.T. Snow. There were some fine moments, and I will remember him fondly. But I wouldn’t remember him quite as fondly if he made the late-’90s equivalent of what Hosmer might get in this market, which is upward of $100 million. You enjoy players like Hosmer when he has a good team around him. You enjoy them less when they’re your free agent centerpiece.

Royals Farm Report looks at prospects 70-61 in the Royals’ farm system.

The new grass has been laid down for Kauffman Stadium.

Here is time-lapse footage of the grass being put down.

Lance McCullers is not fond of Royals writers Rustin Dodd and Sam Mellinger not voting Jose Altuve for MVP.

MLB and the MLBPA need to figure out how to handle Japanese free agent Shohei Otani’s posting by Monday.

A pitch clock could be coming to MLB next year.

Commissioner Rob Manfred says no baseball for Montreal without a new stadium.

The Cardinals are apparently in the market for a first baseman.

The Athletics are interested in Avisail Garcia.

The Pirates dismiss their Latin American scouting director after an improper payment.

Are the Reds wasting the talent of Joey Votto?

Can NBC’s SkyCam change the way we watch football?

Nigerian women will be the first African bobsled team in Winter Olympics history.

The FCC repeals a rule prohibiting media consolidation.

The comedy classic Stripes is getting a TV re-boot on CBS and everything is terrible.

Hey Amazon, there are other great fantasy novels to adapt from other than Tolkien and Martin.

Your song of the day is Tones on Tail with Go!