Royals Rumblings - News for September 20, 2017

Royals Rumblings - News for September 20, 2017

Sam Mellinger considers the future of the Royals.

Anyway, the point here is the immediate future of the club depends on some 30,000-foot decisions the front office will face this offseason. If they decide to try to win now, they can put together a team capable of at least the second wild card. They’ll need to accept a payroll bump, and spend money and make trades better than they’ve done, but it’s certainly possible.

Or they could take a deep breath and try what would have to be a more accelerated rebuild than the last one, when the first winning season came seven years after Moore was hired.

That’s the option I’d go with, even if it meant some difficult decisions in trading “now” assets for future help.

Jeffrey Flanagan thinks Alcides Escobar could return next year.

I know Royals fans on Twitter can't wait for Alcides Escobar, a pending free agent, to leave, but the truth is he has been the club's hottest hitter since Aug. 9 (.354 average, .888 OPS). And there are some obvious concerns on whether his protégé, Raul Mondesi, is ready to step in and be the everyday shortstop. Mondesi is incredibly fast and a gifted defender, but he has looked overmatched at the plate at this level. There is even some mild chatter in the organization about trying Mondesi in center (with the thought that Lorenzo Cain will sign elsewhere).

Alex Gordon didn’t hit many home runs this year, but he hit a big one last night.

In his mailbag, Rustin Dodd considers slugging minor leaguer Frank Schwindel.

I asked a Royals official if Schwindel was similar to Clint Robinson, a first baseman who was drafted out of college and put up huge numbers in the minors. Robinson hit left-handed, had a lot better plate discipline and put up more gaudy numbers in the minors. So, no, not really.

But their career arcs could perhaps be similar. Schwindel’s value will have to come from his bat. He’ll have to hit. But he certainly elevated his stock this year.

Craig Brown of Baseball Prospectus Kansas City isn’t ready for the season to be over.

Lee Judge unveils seven secrets veteran baseball players teach rookies, and you won’t believe #6!

Royals mascot Slugerrr was caught in Mexico during the earthquakes and tweeted about what he saw.

The Royals add two more to the Arizona Fall League roster, joining Nicky Lopez among players already assigned.

A Royals fan rises above rivalries to give a kidney to a Giants fan.

Former Negro League umpire Bob Motley will have a visitation and funeral on September 26 in Kansas City.

This is an awful way for the Wichita Wingnuts to lose the American Association championship.

Is Jose Bautista washed up?

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus goes on a rant against the media.

Because of international signing rules, every team theoretically has a shot at Shohei Otani.

You need to learn about Giants reliever Sam Dyson and his cat Snuckles.

Can Giancarlo Stanton reach 60 home runs?

The Tigers tossed out 45 guys dressed as Magnum P.I. for being rowdy.

The Red Sox will air an anti-racism PSA before every game.

Any time a woman does a sports broadcast, you can be sure to get the same kind of complaints.

Okay, let’s talk about the Kevin Durant fake twitter account story.

Are NFL ratings down because there is no incentive to have a good product?

Toys ‘R Us seeks bankruptcy protection.

Equifax executives may have known about a security breach as far back as March.

All the theories on what Mother! is about.

Your song of the day is Portugal. The Man with Atomic Man.