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Dayton Moore talks about the pitching staff with Lynn Worthy.
Moore also said the organization didn’t have nearly enough starting pitching depth to feel comfortable, though he pointed to Foster Griffin, Scott Blewett and Arnaldo Hernandez (Blewett and Hernandez are on the 40-man roster) as players who the front office has kept close tabs on as starter candidates.
How does Moore balance the overall lack of starting pitching depth with moving starter Ian Kennedy into the bullpen?
“You look at where can this particular pitcher be utilized to be in a dominant role,” Moore said. “We felt that when we look at Ian Kennedy, he can really be exceptional in a relief role. He can be a better than average pitcher in that role. But that’s an area where we may, at some point in time, have to reverse course and look at that.
Danny Duffy is open to moving to the bullpen.
“As of right now, I’m building up as a starter,” Duffy said. “When I got here this spring, I was building up as a starter. But [being a reliever] is an option.
“Right now, I’m pretty sure I’m a starter, and I need to be a dominant starter. That’s my main focus right now. I don’t want it to come across to people that I’m graduating from being a starter.
“We’ve had discussions, but they haven’t gone further than that. As long as I’m helping the team in some capacity, that’s all I want and that’s all they want.”
Whit Merrifield likes the team’s attitude.
“I think we have a lot of guys this year that are hungry to prove they belong at this level,” Merrifield said. “I’m not saying guys weren’t motivated last year, but it’s a different type of motivation. With [Ryan O’Hearn], [Hunter Dozier], [Adalberto Mondesi], [Brian Goodwin] and a lot of the pitchers -- they’re big league players, but they haven’t proven themselves at this level. They’re all going to be good big league players soon, but they just haven’t proven it yet.
“I think that’s a good dynamic to have. It’s making this team a little different, but fun.”
Baseball America talks to top Royals pitching prospect Brady Singer.
Camp will break in a couple of weeks, and Singer is likely headed north to high Class A Wilmington, where he’ll help form what could be one of the most talented staffs in the minor leagues.
“It’s not fun sitting there, but it was a good break that I got,” Singer said after pitching four innings against Padres minor leaguers on Wednesday. “They said after the draft that I threw a lot in college, so I got to relax and take some time off and obviously let the body rest. I was anxious, obviously.”
Blaine Boyer will remain with the organization.
Sightings in Royals camp in the last week: Luke Hochevar, close friends with Ian Kennedy, stopped by to say hi to several friends' and Blaine Boyer, who likely will be doing some work in the organization in some capacity.
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) March 21, 2019
The Royals trade pitcher Cristian Castillo to the White Sox.
Keith Law of ESPN lists breakout candidates for this season, including Jorge Lopez and Jorge Soler.
Paul Goldschmidt is near a contract extension with the Cardinals.
The Rays sign pitcher Blake Snell to a $50 million deal
Brewers reliever Corey Knebel may have a UCL injury.
The Phillies release former Royals catcher Drew Butera.
The Mets will honor former pitcher Tom Seaver with a statue.
How to build a killer bullpen in 2019.
Disney will accept binding bids on Fox regional sports networks next month.
Your song of the day is Weight of the World from NieR: Automata. Some day I’m going to write up a massive post or make a long video about how amazing this song is and how it all works within the themes of the game. But I don’t have time for today. So just enjoy the music.