Royals Rumblings - News for December 2, 2021

Royals Rumblings - News for December 2, 2021

David Lesky at Inside the Crown writes about the Royals’ general lack of activity.

Plus, I think it’s fair to note that standing pat this year isn’t the worst thing either. I think there are ways the Royals could find themselves contending in 2022. It’s not hard to squint and see the big hitting prospects all come out of the gate successful (not likely, but possible) and the young pitching hits their stride in year two and three (and even year three is kind of year two with how short 2020 was). But the target should be 2023 for them given the growing pains and they can utilize 2022 as a year to sort through the pile and see what works and what doesn’t. Would I love to see an upgrade? Of course. Is it the end of the world if they don’t find one? Absolutely not.

Clint Scoles at Royals Academy considers what else the Royals can do.

With the pitching market rolling, I think Sonny Gray would be a nice alternative for the Royals as it’s not likely to cost much in terms of prospects. The Reds are mainly looking to trim payroll, and Gray is their sacrificial lamb to do that. Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle have more control and youth, so their prospect return would be a little more significant. Gray though, would be mostly about dumping his $10m contract. Gray isn’t a top-of-the-line starter, but he would offer the Royals a decent baseline of results and 130-150 probable innings. His experience would benefit the young pitchers in the system, and he would greatly benefit from pitching at Kaufman stadium. His xHR number would drop significantly from his totals in Cincinnati the last few seasons. It’s a one year fix with an option for Gray but it could be a nice addition to the rotation at a low cost for a team that could use some additional innings.

Jordan Foote at Inside the Royals is puzzled by the Royals retaining Ryan O’Hearn.

Of course, it is entirely possible that the Royals are merely doing their due diligence while they round out the rest of their roster or pursue a transaction elsewhere. Unless O’Hearn is being added to a trade package, though, it doesn’t make a ton of sense why the club brought him back. He’s no longer young enough to offer hope for improvement — at the plate or in the field — and there’s no shortage of cooks already in the kitchen. The Royals had an opportunity to cut ties with O’Hearn, and they passed on it. Will that come back to haunt them later on? For an organization that prides itself on striving to compete, it very well could.

In case you missed it, the Royals re-signed Richard Lovelady to a minor league deal.

Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman reacts to the Royals tender and non-tender decisions.

Baseball owners vote to institute a lockout.

Marcus Stroman signs a three-year, $71 million deal with the Cubs.

The Dodgers re-sign Chris Taylor to a four-year, $60 million deal.

Pitcher Alex Cobb signs a two-year, $20 million deal with the Giants.

The Red Sox sign pitcher James Paxton to a one-year, $10 million deal.

Closer Mark Melancon signs a two-year, $14 million deal with the Diamondbacks.

The Phillies sign reliever Corey Knebel to a one-year, $10 million deal.

Lefty Rich Hill signs a one-year deal with the Red Sox.

Dylan Bundy signs a one-year, $5 million deal with the Twins.

The Rays traded infielder Joey Wendle to the Marlins for former Mizzou outfielder Kameron Misner.

Does baseball need an off-season transaction deadline?

New police video shows that Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna was choking his wife when cops entered.

Former Cy Young award winner LaMarr Hoyt dies at the age of 66.

The College Football Playoff board is unable to decide on expansion.

Is it time for the Seattle Seahawks to blow everything up?

Venus could have been a paradise but turned into a hellscape.

Why movie dialogue has gotten more difficult to understand.

The abandoned Game Of Thrones prequel pilot had a higher budget than any episode of the original series.

Your song of the day is Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers with The Waiting.