Royals Rumblings - News for November 13, 2018
Dayton Moore talks to Tracy Ringolsby about building a sustainable winner.
“In this era, people will look at a market like ours and say, ‘You go through windows. Five, six years of winning, and five, six years of losing.’ We want to do a better job going forward, where we can have sustained success over a long period.”...
“We celebrate what we have accomplished,” he said. “We celebrate the fact all those players had an opportunity to move on and receive a contract that is life-changing. But at the same time, we don’t focus on that. We don’t dwell on the idea we are in a small market so maybe we can’t make as many moves as other teams.
Michael Cerami at Bleacher Report thinks the Royals are trying to get leverage in a Whit Merrifield trade.
In other words, if I were a Royals fan, if the club isn’t going to try to compete in 2019, I’d be pushing to get a deal done this winter. Or, heck, even if the Royals wanted to try to rebuild and compete at the same time, maybe they would be overall improved by adding guys like Russell and Edwards than by hanging onto Merrifield.
SO, the way I see it, the news today isn’t really the Royals are considering holding onto Merrifield, but rather: the Royals know they have to trade Merrifield and have begun the full court press on increasing their leverage through the press. Moreover, I suppose the Cubs, if they are truly interested in securing his services, will likely have to compete with a good many other suitors.
Dan Szymborski at Fangraphs gives his thoughts on a trade.
Mandy is the Best Movie of 2018: It is unlikely to happen, but what is the best type of deal the Royals could get for Merrifield?
Dan Szymborski: I think they could get a backend top 100 prospect for Merrifield. Even cutting back some ont he BABIP, he was a legitimate star-level 2B in 2018.
Dan Szymborski: The age is a concern, but he’s not hitting FA for a long time
Jeffrey Flanagan talks to Royals minor league speedster Nick Heath.
MLB.com: Clearly you inherited your speed gene from your mother, Kimberly, who ran the 100-meter hurdles at the 1988 Olympic Trials (14.04 seconds) for Team USA. At what point in your life did you finally feel brave enough to race her?
Heath: “I was about 14 years old, my freshman year in high school. I used to go on these little two-mile jogs around the neighborhood. One day, she told me she wanted to join me. So, we get done with the two-mile jog and I’m just kind of cooling off about a block from our house. So I ask my mom, ‘How far do you think we are from the house.’ And she said, ‘I don’t know, maybe about 40-50 yards.’ And I said, ‘You want to race now?’ And she said, ‘I don’t want to embarrass you.’ And I said, ‘You’re not going to embarrass me.’ So she said, ‘Let’s go.’ She counted it off and we started running. After about five steps, she was a blur. [Laughing] I mean, I really had to make up the ground, but I beat her. And she said, ‘That’s the last time I’m ever going to race you.’”
David Lesky at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City makes his free agent predictions, including a reunion with Greg Holland.
As you can see, I have the Royals spending some money on pitching. I have a strange hunch that they still like Cody Allen even after his rough season and might be able to get him at a discount. I don’t support the idea as much as I just could see it happening. And a reunion with Holland was a lot more likely before he pitched great for the Nationals, but he’s a guy I think they love and would bring back in a heartbeat.
Whit Merrifield is enjoying the sights and tastes of Japan.
Don Mattingly said Scott Barlow “set the tone” for @MLB in game 3. The @Royals righty went 4.1IP (5H, 1ER, 4K, 2BB) & pitched with passion. #JapanAllStarSeries pic.twitter.com/nJJ1h8WKoz
— Stephen Nelson (@StephenNelson) November 12, 2018
Craig Edwards ranks the Royals farm system 27th in total value based on prospect rankings.
Morgan Vogels at Kings of Kauffman offers how you should spend your off-season without baseball.
Former Royals manager Trey Hillman wins a championship in Korea.
Shohei Ohtani wins Rookie of the Year, but Brad Keller receives no votes.
Jacob deGrom’s future is uncertain now that his agent is his general manager.
The Yankees are doing due diligence on Manny Machado.
Potential free agents busts.
After wrecking the Japanese leagues, should Wladimir Balentien get another shot at Major League Baseball?
The bids are in for the Fox Sports regional sports networks.
MLB is clashing with regional sports network on the rights for in-market streaming.
Keith Law ranks his top 100 board games.
What song lyric do you find the most haunting?
Detective Pikachu is the movie you didn’t know you needed.
Your song of the day is Death Cab for Cutie with I Will Follow You Into the Dark.