Royals Rumblings - News for December 2, 2019

Royals Rumblings - News for December 2, 2019

At Royals Academy, Clint Scoles considers trade rumors around Tim Hill.

During the July deadline, the Dodgers traded a somewhat similar lefty in Adam Kolarek to the Rays for a minor league outfielder, Niko Hulsizer who went in the 18th round of the 2018 draft and hit 21 home runs between Low-A and High-A last season. Not especially exciting for a team like the Rays who were dealing from a position of strength even stronger than the Royals. Perhaps I’m wrong but I doubt GMDM would make the same trade in return for Hill.

Jeffrey Flanagan has an excellent piece on former Royals slugger Bob Hamelin.

Hamelin was 6 feet tall and a fleshy 240 pounds back then. His wire-rimmed glasses and noticeable paunch made him look more like your plumber than a budding baseball star.

“No doubt that was his appeal,” said Royals infielder David Howard, who was Hamelin’s Spring Training roommate for two years. “He was just a normal guy. Nothing flashy. Fans ate that up.”

Hamelin felt the love.

“When you’re young,” he said, “stuff like that becomes your whole world. It was a just a special time in my life.”

MLB.com lists one prospect from each team that could be dealt this winter, with Kelvin Gutierrez for the Royals.

Gutierrez had a solid, yet unspectacular, first full season with the Royals in Triple-A and made his big league debut. But the third baseman doesn’t have a clear place to play in Kansas City with Hunter Dozier now entrenched at the hot corner.

Andrew Simon lists Jorge Soler as a surprising candidate for the All-MLB team.

Jorge Soler, DH, RoyalsIt was always clear that he possessed power. Yet from his August 2014 debut through ‘18, Soler had hit a total of 38 home runs in 307 big league games and slugged just .424, while dealing with injuries and never playing a full season. The baseball world finally saw what Soler could do this year, as he logged 162 games and led the AL with 48 homers, obliterating the Royals’ franchise record while slugging .569.

The teams under pressure to make a splash this winter.

Could Mookie Betts head to the Angels in a megadeal?

The Rangers are interested in acquiring Yankees infielder Miguel Andujar.

A look at the Japanese players that could come over in 2020 and beyond.

Exemptions for ADHD in MLB drop to their lowest level in a decade.

Slugger Justin Bour is headed to Japan.

Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors looks at non-tender candidates for tonight’s deadline.

Appreciating the boredom in baseball.

Larry Walker may benefit from the ballot-clearing in recent Hall of Fame votes.

A look at how baseball’s proposal to reorganize the minors will deprive people of baseball.

Seymour Siwoff, the long-time owner of Elias Sports Bureau, dies at age 99.

A look back at President Teddy Roosevelt’s “cold war” with baseball.

Who could replace Barry Odom at Mizzou?

The Miami Dolphins stink, but they may have had the best playcall of the year Sunday.

The faulty technology of ankle monitors.

The 100 best albums of the decade.

Knives Out is a throwback and an outlier.

Your song of the day is Stevie Ray Vaughan with Voodoo Child.