Royals Rumblings - News for July 31, 2021

Royals Rumblings - News for July 31, 2021

Mike Matheny liked the adjustments he saw from Daniel Lynch in another strong start.

“The adjustment that he’s made — whether it’s with his disposition, his body language, his mound presence — regardless of how it goes,” Matheny said. “If he gives up a couple [runs] like he did in the second, he comes right back and is making good pitches. He’s not hiding or throwing around the strike zone.”

Dayton Moore seemed happy to get pitcher Kasey Kalich from the Braves for Jorge Soler, writes Anne Rogers.

“I remember us talking about him specifically, the power to his pitches,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “Big, physical guy. … Got a plus fastball with the plus slider. And we feel like he’s got a chance to be a power arm in the bullpen in the future. He’s currently pitching in High-A, and that’s where he was seen. We like his upside.”

Lynn Worthy writes why the Royals kicked in cash on the Danny Duffy trade.

Moore was asked if the cash sent to the Dodgers served to offset uncertainty about Duffy’s performance in the final months of the season as he’s coming off his injury.

“Yeah,” Moore replied. “The pool of players are what they are. We’ve agreed upon those. And the cash gives us a little bit of relief. Not as much as I’d hoped. Not as much as we tried to get in return. But at the end of the day, we made the best deal we could.

“And we believe we were able to move Danny to the place he really desired, and we made the best deal we could. So we’re comfortable with it.”

Devan Fink at Fangraphs analyzes the Soler trade.

Then there’s the return. The 23-year-old Kalich is currently in High-A, where he has a 3.26 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, and 12.0% walk rate. He throws in the mid-90s with a velo-driven slider, and having never started at any professional level, is a pure bullpen arm. Kalich was the team’s fourth-round pick in 2019 and did earn an honorable mention on the team’s top 30 prospect list from this spring, where he was described as “an under-scouted, sleeper relief prospect.”

All told, the Braves seemingly didn’t have to give up much to get one of baseball’s most powerful hitters.

Alec Lewis tries to figure out how the Royals can improve in 2022 despite a quite trade deadline.

If the Royals choose to up the payroll from its current $89 million, they could be in the market for the caliber of players they have not bothered bidding on in years past. Say they look at their roster and decide they could benefit in 2022 from signing a more potent center fielder. A player such as Starling Marte might be available, and the Royals could have the flexibility to make that happen. The same thinking could make sense for a veteran starter who could further provide depth given the young pitchers’ anticipated growing pains. Adding bullpen help could be an option, too.

The point: Beyond the reinforcements Witt and Pratto could provide, the Royals might have financial room to acquire more than you might expect.

Pete Grathoff gives an update on where the members of the 2015 Royals are now.

Here is Royals Farm Report’s top 51 mid-season prospect list.

Here’s a complete summary of what went down at the trade deadline. Some of the more notable trades:

• The Blue Jays got pitcher Jose Berrios from the Twins for top prospects Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson.
• The White Sox acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the Cubs for second baseman Nick Madrigal and pitcher Cody Heuer.
• The Mets acquired infielder Javier Baez from the Cubs.
• The Giants received Kris Bryant from the Cubs for two prospects.
• The Rangers send pitchers Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy to the Phillies.
• The Cardinals get Jon Lester from the Nationals and J.A. Happ from the Twins.
• The Yankees add pitcher Andrew Heaney from the Angels.

Who are the winners and losers from the trade deadline?

Rockies shortstop Trevor Story was not traded and he is “confused” and doesn’t have anything good to say with how things played out.

Cubs president Jed Hoyer says the club teardown was the right thing to do.

Joey Votto homers in his seventh consecutive game, one shy of the record.

Mets ace Jacob deGrom is out until September.

First-round picks Jordan Lawlar and Kahlil Watson sign.

Nationals infielder Starlin Castro is suspended 30 games for a domestic abuse incident.

Instant grades for every NBA draft pick.

Just how great is Katie Ledecky?

How should we improve Amtrak?

Scarlett Johansson sues Disney for releasing Black Widow on streaming, alleging breach of contract.

The FAA changes the definition of “astronaut” to exclude Jeff Bezos.

Your song of the day is Sonny Rollins with St. Thomas.