Royals Rumblings - News for October 26, 2022

At the team site, Anne Rogers has a rundown of Kansas City’s managerial search, including a note on the timeline:

Internal candidates Pedro Grifol, Vance Wilson and Scott Thorman have all gone through first-round interviews with the Royals, sources told MLB.com.

They are in addition to the external candidates who have interviewed, including Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Dodgers first-base coach Clayton McCullough and Phillies third-base coach Dusty Wathan, per sources.

The Royals are not putting a timeline on their search, but they have indicated they would like to have a manager in place before free agency begins (five days after the World Series ends). That way, they can fill out the coaching staff, including hiring a new pitching coach, in November.

The Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers announced the departure of broadcaster Jake Eisenberg. Can’t wait to see (well, hear, because it’s radio) what’s next for Jake!

David Lesky listed some free agent pitchers the Royals should go after this winter:

[Chris] Bassitt is my favorite pitcher on this list. I thought the Royals should have traded for him last year and even suggested moving Jackson Kowar for him. I think a lot of people thought that was too much for a rental, but I don’t think anyone would argue about it now. Bassitt, like Anderson, gets some weak contact even though he doesn’t get a lot of chases. But what he does is mixs his pitches well. He threw five different pitches at least 13.1 percent of the time in 2022 on his way to a very good season for the Mets. His sinker got more grounders than ever and his cutter, slider, curve and four-seamer actually got a decent number of whiffs.

He’ll be 34 in 2023, which means he likely doesn’t require a huge commitment in terms of years, but he’s almost certainly the pitcher who will get the highest multi-year AAV on this entire list. A downside for Bassitt is that he isn’t a workhorse. He threw a career-high 181.2 innings for the Mets this year. It was the first time he’d made 30 starts in his career. And do you want to commit to three years for a 34-year old? I would say yes because he’s thrown fewer than 1300 innings between the big leagues and the minors, including postseason. But I can see why you’d be hesitant. I can also see how the bidding for him might get a little crazy, but he’d be a heck of a fit.

Some updates on the MLB field staff job market: the Marlins hired Skip Schumaker as manager, and the Mets are extending pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.

Where should Fernando Tatís, Jr. play when he comes back for 2023?

The good people at the Storm Chasers are also Swifties:

(I don’t get any say in how my photos are used, but some usages are extra delightful.)

No, the refs weren’t asking Mike Evans for an autograph after the Bucs game, or so they say. Their excuse is somehow even more silly!

Your absurd Mahomes stat of the day:

Along with Adidas dropping him, Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald are leaving Kanye West’s sports agency, Donda Sports.

This list of top 10 most popular Amazon apparel/accessories purchases made me laugh, because 9 of the 10 are quite practical, and one stands out.

I’m looking forward to some of these new YouTube features. “Precise seeking” has been necessary for such a long time!

Do we have any friends in or near San Jose? That’s where a 5.1 magnitude earthquake happened yesterday.

It’s been 60 years since the conclusion of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The podcast American Scandal did a great series on what could have been a nuclear war.

George R. R. Martin says he’s ³⁄₄ done with The Winds of Winter.

Today’s Reddit question: Which celebrity fall from grace disappointed you the most?

SOTD: Taylor Swift - Bejeweled. Laura Dern is in this music video, so you know it’s good.