Royals Rumblings - News for August 10, 2021

Royals Rumblings - News for August 10, 2021

David Lesky at Inside the Crown wonders what the roster will look like when Brady Singer returns.

I am curious who goes from the roster for Singer. The Royals are carrying 13 position players right now, and they’ve carried 12 quite a bit this season, but they do have three more games in a National League park in two weeks when they go to Wrigley, so even if they do drop a position player for a pitcher, they’ll likely send a pitcher down then. Is it Richard Lovelady? He’s been a bit up and down, but has shown some flashes. I really hope for the sake of Twitter’s bandwidth that they don’t send Olivares down for Singer. I could see Rivera getting the boot to help a bit with the logjam mentioned above, especially knowing he can come back in about three weeks when rosters expand (by two) in September. If you’ve read me before, I think you know that my demotion is O’Hearn, but I’ll believe that when I see it.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains looks at Whit Merrifield’s defense.

Merrifield didn’t look comfortable at second base in the first couple of months of the season. It just felt to me as if he didn’t have confidence in throwing to first.

Now, as the season has progressed, the defense has improved. Especially of late where he was able to turn negative defensive metrics that dogged him through the first half of the season and actually turned those into positives.

Merrifield is now worth +9 Defensive Runs Saved at second base, second-best among AL keystoners. Baseball Savant has Merrifield at eight Outs Above Average, tied for second-best in the AL. On both metrics, he grades exceptionally well at going to his right.

Remember Jesse Hahn? Anne Rogers has an update on his injury.

It’s back to square one with Hahn’s treatment after he exited his rehab appearance early. Hahn started on the 10-day IL, but he needed significant time to recover, so the Royals cleared a roster spot by transferring him to the 60-day IL. Hahn has been throwing off a mound in significantly controlled settings, and the hope is that he can return before the regular season is over.

She also covers the promotion of MJ Melendez to Triple-A Omaha.

“It’s hard to ignore what he’s doing,” assistant general manager J.J. Picollo said last weekend before Melendez was promoted. “He’s certainly handling the league offensively. We wanted to maximize the time [Rivero and Melendez] get as the primary catcher. But for as well as he’s hitting, it’s going to be hard to continue on that path.”

You will need to wear a mask at Kauffman Stadium in indoor and enclosed areas.

Satchel Paige’s Hall of Fame plaque is in Kansas City.

Former Royals pitcher Danny Duffy goes on the 60-day Injured List with the Dodgers.

Despite the Mets being in a tailspin, manager Luis Rojas appears to have job security.

MLB is reportedly in talks with Barstool Sports to broadcast games.

We’re missing out on a lot of what should be Mike Trout’s prime.

Pitcher Edwin Jackson, fresh off a run at the Olympics, is still interested in playing big league ball.

Nine impending free agents who need to finish the season strong.

The Rockies determine a fan accused of shouting a racial slur was actually calling for the mascot.

Satchel Paige was inducted into the Hall of Fame 50 years ago, but the Hall tried to make it a separate event at first.

Why do fans love “bad” baseball players?

The Arizona Cardinals will become the first NFL team with a sportsbook in their stadium.

The permafrost in Siberia is thawing, which could have serious consequences for climate change.

The obstacle to improving Amtrak is freight rail and hedge funds.

Nickelodeon had a big impact on pop culture, but not for everyone.

Your song of the day is Miike Snow with Genghis Khan.