Royals Rumblings - News for August 1, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for August 1, 2017

The Royals are happy to see Melky Cabrera back.

“When he came over here, he did what a good veteran guy would do,” Hosmer said. “He kept us loose. He showed us how to prepare for games. He just basically taught us, you got to keep everything loose, even during the game time.”

Sam Mellinger writes about how the July trade deadline played right into the Royals’ hands.

The front office knew that blockbuster deals — like Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist two years ago — would be impossible and spent most of the summer believing that even middle-class deals would be prohibitively difficult.

That changed for at least three important reasons:

▪ The recent surge erased any lingering hesitation within the front office about this group’s readiness for a run and worthiness of support now that may subtract from the future.

▪ The Padres were willing to cover $1.5 million of what was owed to Travis Wood, which helped push the deal across the finish line, in part because it gave the front office the ability to keep shopping.

▪ The lack of a strong market for Cabrera meant the Royals could afford the trade price, and the money saved in trading Wood meant they could afford the cash price.

Craig Brown writes about how Melky Cabrera fits on this roster.

Bonifacio has been a revelation for these Royals, so it’s difficult to imagine he would be pushed to the bench on a semi-permanent basis. The smart money says he’s part of a pseudo DH platoon with Brandon Moss where Bonifacio gets the majority of the plate appearances. Bonifacio, in his small sample size, has fared better against right-handers this year and has been split-neutral in the power department. Moss slugs almost 55 points higher against right-handed pitching in his career so he’ll get some of those starts. Bonifacio can spell Cabrera every once in a while in right, and can maybe give Gordon the night off in left when the Royals have someone like Trevor Cahill and his 26 percent fly ball rate on the mound.

Sean Thornton at Bleeding Royal Blue remembers that Melky went to Chicago over KC to win.

They had also talked to Melky about coming in, even offering him a contract fairly similar to what he got from Chicago. Chicago eventually won the Melky sweepstakes, but I found it interesting why he chose the White Sox over the Royals:

Cabrera “really wanted to win,” Rick Hahn, White Sox GM recalled. “(He said) ‘But with all due respect are you guys really in a position to win and am I really a difference maker for you?’ ”

So Chicago’s winter moves swayed Melky, or at least he felt like they had a better chance to win. The funny thing is, the Royals offered a deal somewhat similar to what Chicago gave him.

Jeremy Guthrie pens a touching column announcing his retirement.

A look at how the Royals’ roster has changed since Opening Day.

Melky Cabrera’s best games from his previous stint in Kansas City.

Here are all your July baseball trades in one place.

Jeff Sullivan at Fangraphs thinks Sonny Gray makes the Yankees World Series-ready.

Bradford Doolittle at ESPN thinks Yu Darvish makes the Dodgers look unbeatable.

The winners and losers from the trade deadline.

The Mets will call up top prospect Ahmed Rosario.

The physics of a rising fastball.

Chris Archer has a beef with the Astros mascot.

The friends and family of Jose Fernandez celebrate what would have been his 25th birthday.

Steve Bartman will get a 2016 World Championship ring from the Cubs.

Court documents allege Pete Rose committed statutory rape in the 1970s.

A Central Florida kicker is ineligible, according to the NCAA, for making Youtube videos.

Los Angeles will get the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Netflix is $20 billion in debt.

Outback Steakhouse denies it is part of the Illuminati, which is just what a steakhouse part of the Illuminati would say.

Remembering playwright and author Sam Shepard.

Your song of the day is Beck with Milk and Honey.