Royals Rumblings - News for November 11, 2020

Who will the Royals protect in the Rule 5 draft? Alec Lewis runs down some options:

Sebastian Rivero, C

Age on Opening Day 2021: 22

Highest level reached: High A

Royals fans rarely mention Rivero when they talk about catchers within the club’s system. But they should, even though he was left unprotected before last year’s Rule 5 draft.

“Physically, he’s strong,” said assistant general manager J.J. Picollo. “His swings have more intent and are more aggressive but still under control. He’s also coming into his man strength, and the ball is coming off of his bat better. His defense has always been outstanding.”

Catchers who have an ability to hit will always be coveted. Depth at catcher is also a boon for any organization. So while MJ Melendez continues to improve, Rivero’s progressions from .548 OPS at High-A Wilmington in 2019 remain notable.

Sam Mellinger on the state of the Royals In These Challenging Times:

This is a fascinating moment in their development. Like all teams — all businesses, really, except for Clorox and Zoom — they’re operating with suboptimal financials. ...

We’re continuing to learn about John Sherman. He has generally talked of spending over budget when the time is right, which isn’t far from how David Glass operated. But does that mean now, after he and his investment group have presumably lost millions in their first year in charge?

Sherman’s directive to everyone who works for him is to make sure the Royals come out of the pandemic better than they entered. Mostly, that’s referring to infrastructure and processes and building out efforts with behavioral science. At this point, I’d be surprised if the Royals spent big on a free agent.

Marcus Stroman said that “no amount of money” would persuade him to play under “Hall of Famer baseball person” Tony La Russa.

Here are some Nippon Professional Baseball players who we might see in MLB next year.

A gross side effect of MLB’s minors takeover and contraction of teams is that minor league teams are finding out on social media that they’re no longer affiliated with their former parent clubs.

Example the first:

And another one:

Luis Rojas will likely manage the Mets in 2021.

Former MLB catcher John Baker will move from his role as mental skills coach of the Cubs to director of coaching and player development for the Pirates. Baker wrote a nice note to Chicago describing his time there.

Every team should pursue George Springer, says Kenny Kelly at BtBS.

Rob Manfred is offering retirement packages to any MLB central office workers over 50 who would take it.

I still choose to believe that the reason the bullpen mounds were in foul ground at the new-in-2000 San Francisco stadium was because the builders forgot to build them in center field. Former Giants outfielder Mac Williamson alleges in a new lawsuit that the concussion he sustained tripping over one of those bullpen mounds ended his career.

Boston Celtics legend Tommy Heinson passed away.

An argument for leaning in to the unavoidable Differentness of this Thanksgiving:

Since you’ll most likely one be celebrating with the people who already live in your household, the menu can be much smaller, and tailored to what you actually want to eat. Are you a turkey hater, like myself? Make this the year you finally roast a duck. Or abandon birds entirely and buy some really nice steaks. You know what kind of steak you can buy for the cost of a turkey? The really nice kind. You know how much charcuterie you could buy for the price of a turkey? Pounds—literally pounds. You know how much Champagne you could buy for the price of a turkey? Well, only one bottle, but it’s a bottle you don’t have to share.

Yet another recall on romaine lettuce.

How to warm up for an outdoor workout when it’s cold out.

McDonald’s announced its entry into the meat substitute market, with the McPlant coming next year.

The founder of the Wondery podcast network* has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering, but has no intention of stepping down from the network.

*Wondery has produced some incredible shows: Dirty John, The Dating Game Killer, and the Shrink Next Door are a few I’ve listened to. The last one is deeply unsettling and should have been a massive hit in my opinion.

SOTD: Boys Like Girls - Thunder