Weekend Rumblings - News for December 7, 2019

Weekend Rumblings - News for December 7, 2019

Jeffrey Flanagan previews the Winter Meetings.

Priority No. 1 will be finding some cost-efficient bullpen help. The Royals had some interest in bringing back left-hander Jake Diekman, whom they signed last offseason before dealing him to Oakland at the Trade Deadline. But Diekman landed a two-year deal with the A’s this week. Expect general manager Dayton Moore to scour the market for bargains, not only for the bullpen, but perhaps for the rotation, which right now has four set starters in Brad Keller, Danny Duffy, Jakob Junis and Montgomery. Moore and his staff have a knack for finding reclamation projects -- last year’s was Homer Bailey -- and expect that approach to be their focus again this offseason, starting at the Winter Meetings. Moore feels comfortable with his position players, so that area is not a huge need.

Lynn Worthy also previews the Winter Meetings.

“We have a pretty good idea of who we match-up with trade-wise already,” Moore said. “I’m not sure how active we’ll be able to be in the trade markets based on a lot of the discussions we’ve had at this point in time, but that could change as we get closer to spring training or even during spring training.”

While last season’s pitching woes make it a reasonable assumption the Royals would target major-league-ready pitching in any deal, Moore understands every organization is currently chasing pitching and feels his club’s needs aren’t so finite.

“I think we’ve got to upgrade everywhere, really,” Moore said.

Lynn also talks to people around baseball about Mike Matheny.

“If you’re finding a quality candidate, those always grow and adjust and learn and they’re better for those experiences,” New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said during last month’s MLB general managers meetings. “So whatever Mike Matheny’s experiences were in St. Louis will benefit him in a big as parachutes now into Kansas City.”

In his Friday notes, David Lesky thinks the Royals are about to make a move.

Let’s just get right to it. I don’t have much more information than this, and this might not actually even be anything but why would I keep something from you? The rumor I’ve heard is that the Royals are working on a small trade that might get done before the winter meetings. Now, teams are constantly working on deals in the offseason, especially leading into the winter meetings, so I’m not going to sit here and say this is breaking news that has to be broadcast to the masses, but my guess is this is something surrounding Tim Hill. The Yankees have been interested in Hill, and while he had a better season in 2019 than I ever expected from him, the three batter minimum makes him a tricky pitcher to have as one of your top relievers.

Pete Grathoff has five reasons why Rusty Kuntz is beloved by fans and players.

Flanagan writes that it was a bond with Mike Matheny that led Kuntz to return.

Alec Lewis also previews the Winter Meetings.

The Yankees are making Gerrit Cole their top priority this offseason.

Why the Winter Meetings will be the Scott Boras show again.

The top ten free agent deals of the decade.

Breaking down a single play to figure out how WAR is calculated.

What will the Rays do now that the split-season in Montreal idea is dead?

Previewing Sunday’s Modern Baseball Era Committee vote for the Hall of Fame.

US Soccer is sitting on $162 million, so where is that money going?

David Fizdale is another Knicks scapegoat.

Kansas City votes unanimously to get rid of bus fares.

Clifford the big red dog is getting a reboot.

The 35 best movie performances this year.

Your song of the day is Count Basie with Good Time Blues.