Royals Rumblings - News for August 2, 2022

Who wants to make a deal?

By Max Rieper@maxrieper Aug 2, 2022, 8:00am EDT

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Royals Rumblings - News for August 2, 2022

Alec Lewis writes about why the Royals were interested in Luke Weaver, who they acquired from the Diamondbacks yesterday.

“He’s got really good stuff,” Picollo said. “His fastball is going to be anywhere from 94-97 mph. He’s got a plus breaking ball. Plus changeup.”

The changeup is the calling card. It drops vertically more than the average big-league changeup and moves horizontally more than the average big-league changeup. The pitch also has a nearly 9 mph separation from his fastball and more than 10 inches of difference in drop — two essential characteristics. To compliment that pitch, Weaver utilizes a cutter and curveball, providing him weapons against hitters of both-handedness.

Weaver will operate out of the bullpen this year.

“There did seem to be another gear when he was throwing out of the bullpen,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “And then when you add in his breaking ball and changeup, it’s a pretty good arsenal. The other thing that really stood out is he commands the ball really well. Low walk rate, and I think he’ll complement what we’re trying to do in the ‘pen very well.”

The additions to the bullpen may foreshadow other moves.

It remains to be seen whether the deals are simply moves to bolster their depth or if they may be precursors to trades yet to be executed. Though Royals relievers, including Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont, have reportedly drawn interest from other clubs.

“There’s discussions, I think we have players that other teams value,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said about the potential for more trades.

“We’re doing a lot of listening right now. There’s obviously a lot of good players that are out there that potentially could be traded. So we’re just waiting it out to see what we think, if anything, makes sense for us.”

Picollo said if they did find a deal that made sense involving one of their relievers, the Weaver deal has “protected” the Royals a little bit.

Lynn Worthy writes about what the Royals may be up to on the last day before the trade deadline.

“The players we have remaining have years on their contracts, so we don’t have to be the aggressor,” Picollo said last week. “... I think it will get interesting. I don’t know where it will go. If the players that are on this team are with us next year, it’s not a bad thing.

“It’s really a matter of whether or not we can improve our team or the organization moving forward by using these players. And that’ll be dictated by the level of interest and competition that may exist to acquire any one player.”

Anne Rogers gives some injury updates, including the latest on Bobby Witt Jr.

After two consecutive days as the Royals’ designated hitter, Witt was out of the lineup on Monday after dealing with right hamstring tightness for the past week. Manager Mike Matheny said Witt went through a “heavy workload” during pregame work to make sure he was still feeling good defensively, and the Royals will evaluate how he feels on Tuesday. Holding him out of the lineup had nothing to do with getting hit on the left hand in Sunday’s series finale against the Yankees, Matheny said.

David Lesky at Inside the Crown looks at the remaining Royals trade candidates.

I don’t get the impression the Royals are actively shopping Greinke, but I do know that they’re taking calls on him. I also know that if he gets moved, the odds are pretty good that he’d come back to Kansas City as a free agent again if the Royals want it, so it seems like it would be wise to take a decent offer for the veteran righty. Like with relievers, just about every team can use a starter even if it’s not someone you’re likely counting on to make a postseason start. I could see worlds where the Rays, Twins, Cardinals, Brewers, Braves and maybe the Phillies could use him.

Craig Brown also looks at the potential trade candidate at Into the Fountains.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter has his takeaways from the Luke Weaver trade.

Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman still thinks Scott Barlow has great trade value.

Jordan Foote at Inside the Royals likes the early returns on the Drew Waters trade.

The Braves sign Austin Riley to a 10-year, $214 million deal.

The Juan Soto trade contenders appear to be the Dodgers, Cardinals, and Padres.

Atlanta also sends pitcher Will Smith to the Astros for pitcher Jake Odorizzi.

The Brewers send closer Josh Hader to the Padres for Taylor Rogers and three others.

The Yankees acquire pitchers Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino from the Athletics.

The Orioles send first baseman Trey Mancini to the Astros in a three-team trade.

Boston sends catcher Christian Vázquez to Houston, acquires outfielder Tommy Pham from the Reds, and sends pitcher Jake Diekman to the White Sox for catcher Reese McGuire.

The Cardinals get pitcher Jose Quintana from the Pirates.