Royals Rumblings - News for June 9, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for June 9, 2017

Salvador Perez expects to return to action tonight.

“If we needed him to play today, he could have played,” Yost said. “And he’s feeling much better. But it’s like, ‘OK, let’s give him one more day because the trainers do a really good job of getting guys healthy quick.’”

The injury occurred Wednesday while Perez was receiving a sinker from reliever Scott Alexander in the eighth inning of a 7-5 victory. When Houston’s Carlos Beltran struck out on a foul tip, the baseball caught Perez’s thumb in an awkward fashion. Yost said Thursday that head trainer Nick Kenney described it as a “slight sprain.”

Royals pitchers are ready to hit this weekend.

Wood and Junis were taking batting practice as the Royals prepare to face the San Diego Padres this weekend. And the opportunity to possibly hit against a National League team is something that generates enthusiasm out of both Wood and Junis.

“I get excited for sure,” Wood said, who has nine career home runs and 51 hits. “Just for the opportunity to possibly rake one and go yard. I’ve tried to become as good as I can (at hitting), and I’m just fortunate to have had some success.”

Jorge Bonifacio is working on his defense.

"He mimics Gordo all the time," manager Ned Yost noted.

But both Yost and Bonifacio acknowledge that the improvement comes mainly from gaining experience.

"It's not so much working with Rusty, it's just getting acclimated to big league parks," Yost said. "There are more decks, more lights. But he is reading the ball better."

David Lesky at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City writes that comebacks are fun.

An oral history of the 2002 “Moneyball” draft that netted the Royals Zack Greinke.

Littlefield: Clearly now, Greinke should have been the first pick.

Allard Baird (then-Royals GM): That wasn't a chic pick, by any means. I give a lot of credit to Deric Ladnier and our crosscheckers, in particular Pat Jones. Those guys were really aggressive in wanting to take Greinke. There was very strong conviction on him. I think the one thing that stood out back then and has held with him to this day is he was fiercely competitive. He could really manipulate the baseball at such a young age, so there was less projection for him than we felt for the typical high school pitcher.

The Royals will make their September 12 game against the White Sox a day game to accommodate the U2 concert at Arrowhead.

Rustin Dodd talks to reliever Peter Moylan.

Alex Gordon is listed among the nine most puzzling slumps this season.

Former Royals pitcher Hector Wagner has died at age 48 from stomach cancer.

Trey Hillman is enjoying success in Korea.

In an ESPN Insider article, Bradford Doolittle lists the players who could be traded this summer.

Pitch clocks are “inevitable” and automated strike zones could be coming as well.

Eno Sarris at Fangraphs writes about how to lift the ball.

If Shohei Otani comes to the states this winter, he may leave $200 million on the table.

Baseball will look into domestic abuse allegations against Addison Russell.

An Oregon State pitcher has his sexual molestation case exposed just before the draft.

The Athletics get into a Twitter tiff with Wendy’s.

The Kansas City Mavericks hockey team announces an affiliation with the Calgary Flames.

Is the Skip Bayless experiment an expensive failure for FS1?

No party gained a majority of seats in British elections, so what does that mean?

Why facts don’t change our minds.

The best movie makeover montages.

Your song of the day is Charles Bradley with Ain’t it a Sin.