Royals Rumblings

Royals Rumblings - News for December 10, 2020

Hey now, Salvy’s an All-Star.

By Max Rieper@maxrieper Dec 10, 2020, 8:00am EST

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Royals Rumblings - News for December 10, 2020

Salvador Perez is named to the All-MLB team at catcher, writes Jeffrey Flanagan.

Perez said on the show, “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be named to the All-MLB team. I had COVID, I had the eye issue [in 2020], but I still had the season … I thank you all for voting for me.”

Flanny also writes about the new minor league affiliates.

“Each one of these clubs has played an integral role in the success of our franchise, and for that we cannot thank them enough for how they’ve taken care of our players,” said J.J. Picollo, Royals vice president and assistant general manager of player personnel. “Each stop along the Minor League route, these clubs have literally been caretakers of our athletes while also providing the championship culture we strive for organizationally.”

Alec Lewis answers five questions about the Carlos Santana signing and what might be next.

A bullpen arm such as Greg Holland may make sense. So, too, might a utility-type player who has proved an ability to get on base. Any move, though, will have to align with the Royals’ goals.

“We know if we’re going to get back to the playoffs and compete and win another World Series,” Moore said, “that we’re going to have to continue to make moves on this roster and take advantage of opportunities to upgrade not only starting tomorrow but also leading up to Opening Day and throughout the season.”

He also talks to Royals owner John Sherman.

“At the end of the day, you want to come out stronger on the other side of something like this,” Sherman said Wednesday in an interview with The Athletic. “Part of that is managing the financial challenges and making sure you’re capable of being strong. But it doesn’t do you any good to just save money and destroy your culture. You’ve got to be strong financially, but your culture has to survive. And if anything, you hope you have a culture that will get stronger through periods of adversity.”

Baseball Prospectus releases their top ten prospect list for the Royals with Bobby Witt, Jr. ranked at the top.

Witt jumped from the AZL to the alternate site where he faced a fair amount of major-league-quality arms. He showed improving contact ability and a real two-strike approach, which portend the kind of hit tool improvements that would really make the offensive profile pop. The raw power has started to translate into (simulated) games as well, and he could be a 25-plus home run bat at his peak. He has seen some time at third base as well. That might be a better fit for him if he fills out more and has a clearer path to the majors in Kansas City at the moment. Witt is clearly trending up despite not having a real minor league season, and he was already quite a good prospect this time last year.

Shawn Bauman at Kings of Kauffman thinks the Royals still need one big outfield bat to compete.

Former Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas puts his Malibu condo up for sale.

Here is the full All-MLB team.

Rays owners Stuart Sternberg admits that reduced capacity for games due to the pandemic won’t affect his team much.

The Mariners sign former Mets reliever Chris Flexen, back from Korea, to a two-year deal.

Jackie Bradley, Jr. remains on Boston’s radar.

The Mets are close to a deal with catcher James McCann.

Seven pitchers who may be on the trading block.

A look at the state of 2021 payrolls.

Dick Allen’s death highlights the urgency to get deserving players in the Hall of Fame sooner.

Al Michaels wins the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting.

The Nationals lay off 18 business-side employees.