Royals Rumblings - News for February 23, 2022

A signing!

Alex Duvall put together the Royals organization’s 3rd base tree depth chart.

#2: Adalberto Mondesi

I actually think if you had Vegas odds for who will be the Royals starting third baseman on Opening Day, it would be something like:

– Bobby Witt, Jr.: -105

– Adalberto Mondesi: +150

– Anyone else: +500

This implies that Witt is the favorite, but I don’t think it’s as overwhelming as some people are making it out to be. I won’t waste a ton of time convincing you that Mondesi should be in consideration, because this one feels pretty easy, but don’t rule it out just yet either.

Among KC’s first moves after the lockout will be finding a place for Carlos Santana, writes David Lesky at Inside the Crown:

There are two big roadblocks to a quick Santana trade, though. The first is that the first base market is not exactly hurting even after all those signings before the lockout. Freddie Freeman and Anthony Rizzo are both still free agents and while I’d still bet on the Braves over the field for Freeman, it’s not like there aren’t other possibilities. A team isn’t going to jump to get Santana if they have a shot for him. Or Rizzo for that matter. And then there’s Matt Olson, who is very available in a trade. He’s better, younger and under control for longer. Add in Kyle Schwarber, though he looked bad at first, and even Albert Pujols who showed some value for the Dodgers after they picked him up and the Santana market is slow.

That said, once the dust settles, you could look at a handful of teams who could miss on the bats still out there and be interested in Santana. I’d look to the Guardians, Brewers, Yankees, Mariners, Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies as teams who might have some level of interest. The return isn’t going to be much, but they could all be interested given their needs on the roster.

There’s a Royals legend on Matt O’Halloran’s team of the best pitchers to never win a Cy Young.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains continued the fun countdown of Salvy’s 2021 home runs.

Justin Choi at FanGraphs found another thing Shohei Ohtani does better than anyone else.

The Cardinals are interested in getting a brain, Moran.

A rundown of yesterday’s negotiations.

I couldn’t possibly summarize this story better than its bonkers headline: The Yankees Are Retiring Paul O’Neill’s Number In Monument Park, Which Is Different From Giving Him A Plaque In Monument Park, Which They Already Did, And Also Different From Giving Him A Monument In Monument Park, Which They Haven’t Done, Even Though A Monument Involves A Plaque.

Josh Hamilton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after beating up his teenage daughter.

A bunch of crypto enthusiasts are trying to pool together $4 billion to buy the Denver Broncos. I hope they succeed, because a divisional rival of the Chiefs having thousands of owners sounds like a hilarious hot mess.

Football agents are threatening to boycott the NFL combine, which starts next week.

The U.S. Soccer Federation will have to pay up for the amount it has been underpaying players on the USWNT compared to their counterparts on the men’s team.

Alcoholic Dew...finally.

A rodent infestation at a distribution center led to a recall of products that got shipped to 400 Family Dollar stores.

Someone tracked down the people in the Wikipedia photos for “high five,” with adorable results.

Today’s Reddit question: What life hack became your daily routine?

SOTD: The Refreshments - Heaven or the Highway Out of Town