Royals Rumblings - News for May 27, 2020

Royals Rumblings - News for May 27, 2020

In his Mellinger Minutes, Sam considers Royals payroll.

There are significant differences between this rebuild and the last one, from potential roster construction to the financial rules in place across the sport. But, generally speaking, we’re at the 2010 point or so.

The Royals have less than $40 million committed to next season’s payroll, which includes nearly $30 million for Sal Perez and Danny Duffy. One trade and the Royals could get very lean, very quickly.

It’s worth noting that the payroll will almost certainly rise fast from there, as guys like Adalberto Mondesi, Jakob Junis, Hunter Dozier and Brad Keller go through arbitration.

But this is a little like when the Royals went from $77 million in 2010 to $44 million in 2011. That was the league’s lowest payroll, which prompted some #GlassIzCheep talk without understanding that it was a byproduct of a dozen or so rookies debuting.

Kiley McDaniel has a new mock draft out, with the Royals taking Zac Veen over Nick Gonzales.

The Royals are in on Gonzales, but my latest intel is that they slightly prefer Veen as their best option after the consensus top three. Like most picks, this one isn’t fully decided, and teams are bearing down on key decisions in meetings this week. If any of the top three talents gets through, that would be the pick here; otherwise, it’s Veen and then Gonzales for now.

Alec Lewis at The Athletic had a Q&A last week where he discussed who could get traded this summer.

Headlining the trade bait is likely Ian Kennedy, who closed games last year with a velo still up to 95 mph and nasty breaking stuff. I’m sure you remember how many questions swirled around the deadline last year. Would the Royals trade Kennedy? Would they pay down the salary? What type of player could they recoup?

In the event of a shortened season, I imagine trading players could work both in a team’s favor and against it. More teams could contend, so more could be looking for a bullpen arm. On the contrary, more teams could see this year as one that doesn’t make as much sense to push. So it could be harder. It’s truly hard to say, but it is really interesting to think about. Beyond Kennedy, there are other notable players whose contracts are dwindling: Danny Duffy, who is entering the final two years of his deal, among others.

He also debated who a team would rather have - Whit Merrifield or Jose Altuve.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter looks at the middle infield depth Gabriel Cancel and Brady McConnell provide.

Tyler Dierking at Kings of Kauffman looks at who the Royals would protect in an expansion draft.

A look back at the career of former Royals infielder Gregg Jefferies, and how starting with the Mets was a terrible circumstances for him.

MLB owners send a pay proposal to players that includes a sliding pay scale that includes bigger cuts for higher paid players.

Health experts evaluate the safety protocols proposed for MLB.

Is it safe for older managers like Joe Maddon or a Hodgkin’s survivor like Dave Roberts to manage this year?

Dodger Stadium is open as a coronavirus testing site.

Japanese baseball is cleared to start on June 19.

What are some records that could fall in an 82-game season?

The first pick in the draft used to alternate between leagues, and that had a major impact on baseball history.

Ben Zobrist is on a list of the greatest utility players of all time.

Former Pirates infielder Jung-Ho Kang is suspended for a year by the KBO for his past DUIs.

Former Bowling Green players raise millions to try to save the program from being cut.

How the universal DH will affect fantasy baseball.

The NHL will adopt a 24-team playoff when it resumes.

Why the NBA should look more like the World Cup.

America’s battle to eradicate flesh-eating worms.

How to fix remote work.

Ranking the 101 characters that died on Game of Thrones.

Your song of the day is LCD Soundsystem with North American Scum.