Royals Rumblings - News for November 20, 2018

Royals Rumblings - News for November 20, 2018

Keith Law lists Whit Merrifield as one of his players that teams should target in trades.

I’m skeptical of Merrifield even after two solid years of major league performance, since it was completely out of line with anything he did in six years in the minors. That’s all the more reason the Royals, who are years away from relevance in the AL Central, should shop him now even though he’s not due to hit arbitration for another year. Merrifield turns 30 in January, so by the time he’s a free agent he’s probably going to be a bench player rather than a potential regular, and I’d bet that he never reaches his 2018 WAR total of 5.5 (Baseball-Reference.com)/5.2 (FanGraphs) again -- especially since it depended so much on a .352 BABIP. Kansas City could trade him and promote prospect Nicky Lopez to play second every day, with Adalberto Mondesi the regular shortstop, and potentially add some prospects to a system that has very little right now above Class A.

Jon Tayler at Sports Illustrated lists one free agent each team should sign, with the Royals bringing back an old friend.

For Kansas City, 2019 is all about the future, but it might not hurt to revisit the past with Moustakas. Third base there currently belongs to either Hunter Dozier or Cheslor Cuthbert, who have 80-grade names but don’t offer much else. The third base market beyond Josh Donaldson is atrocious; Moustakas is the best of a bad lot. But he’d be a good mentor for the kids, is a reliable defender at the hot corner, probably won’t cost too much, and might help ease the sting for fans of waiting for the next contending Royals team.

David Lesky at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City looks at a few potential free agent bargains for the Royals, including Drew Pomeranz.

Based on the numbers, he gave up a lot more squared up balls and the average ball hit against him was hit much harder. His cutter, while still effective in 2018, went from a big time swing and miss offering to one that plenty of contact was made on. But really, it’s a velocity thing with his four seam fastball velocity dropping from 91.4 MPH to 89.5. That’s…precipitous. It had been on the decline for the last few years, but that seems excessive and worth taking a chance on if he’s healthy. You know, maybe he isn’t and it’s not worth it, but he’s a big time potential bargain who could be a big time trade chip if he comes through.

The Mariners trade James Paxton to the Yankees.

The Nationals sign catcher Kurt Suzuki to a two-year deal.

Jay Jaffe asks the big questions on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot.

How to improve MLB The Show.

Boston’s future plans all revolve around Chris Sale.

John Thorn admits that people have always been complaining baseball ain’t what it was, but there may be ways to improve the modern game.

Reggie Jackson has a problem with Manny Machado’s lack of hustle.

The Cardinals are bringing back their powder blue road uniforms.

Jeff Conine’s son Griffin was suspended 50 games in the minors for a banned stimulant.

An avid Barry Bonds collector has 5,000 examples of the same baseball card.

The 14 most incredible moments from the Chiefs-Rams game.

Canadian curlers were kicked out of a tournament for being “extremely drunk.”

The lawyer who tried to sell Texas to the Brits to free the slaves.

How podcasts became a seductive and slippery mode of storytelling.

Your song of the day is Stone Temple Pilots with Interstate Love Song.