Royals Review: All Posts by Jeremy Greco"A dim view of humanity" -Lee Judgehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/29790/royalsreview.gif2024-03-23T14:35:00-04:00https://www.royalsreview.com/authors/jeremy-greco/rss2024-03-23T14:35:00-04:002024-03-23T14:35:00-04:00Saturday Spring Training Thread
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<img alt="Alec Marsh #48 of the Kansas City Royals reacts after throwing a pitch in the sixth inning during a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Surprise Stadium on March 05, 2024 in Surprise, Arizona." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AuywcB9Kdzk_guQxeRS75-9UpjI=/1x0:5163x3441/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73228318/2062116986.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Alec Marsh #48 of the Kansas City Royals reacts after throwing a pitch in the sixth inning during a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Surprise Stadium on March 05, 2024 in Surprise, Arizona. | Photo by Aaron Doster/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>We have achieved the end of Spring Training</p> <p id="lP1ux3">Today is the final Spring Training game. Monday the Royals will play their AA affiliate Northwest Arkansas and then, finally, the regular season will begin on Thursday. We did it! Congratulations everyone!</p>
<p id="h6kAn1">The roster has really come into shape as Alec Marsh (pictured above) has been named the fifth starter, Angel Zerpa and Jordan Lyles have been declared relievers along with the five we always knew would be there and there’s a strong anticipation that the final spot will go to their rule 5 pick, Matt Sauer.</p>
<p id="DXiQM0">Nick Pratto and Drew Waters were demoted, which almost certainly leaves Nelson Velázquez as the opening day designated hitter. The last questions remaining are whether Michael Massey will be good to go and whether Nick Loftin or Dairon Blanco gets the 26th roster spot.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">One final time from Surprise as we wrap up our 2024 Cactus League schedule. <a href="https://t.co/KWkGf1dq2U">pic.twitter.com/KWkGf1dq2U</a></p>— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1771551732096520220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2024</a>
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<p id="cfS2Ns">Special note for the Jackson County readers: Don’t forget to <a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/21/24106683/the-royals-new-community-benefits-agreement-lacks-one-important-element-the-community-benefits">vote no on Question 1</a> and force the Royals to do a fair deal with Kansas City!</p>
https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/23/24109644/saturday-spring-training-threadJeremy Greco2024-03-21T12:00:00-04:002024-03-21T12:00:00-04:00Royals roster prediction 3.0: triple digits from the Opening Day starter
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<img alt="Pitcher Cole Ragans (55) poses for a portrait during Kansas City Royals photo day on February 22, 2024 at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, AZ." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VNCcpay_gNBg0YtFcnL7JEye-sU=/0x0:5464x3643/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73223370/2028536345.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Pitcher Cole Ragans (55) poses for a portrait during Kansas City Royals photo day on February 22, 2024 at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, AZ. | Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Spring Training iswrapping up, and the roster situation is becoming clearer.</p> <p id="rbGtzr">Opening Day is a week (or less!) away as you’re reading this. That means it's time for one last roster projection. Let’s get crazy.</p>
<h2 id="uRXwdj">Pitchers</h2>
<h3 id="DcVbFj">Starting Pitchers</h3>
<p id="OOVmnY"><strong>LHP Cole Ragans</strong></p>
<p id="qFuryF"><strong>RHP Seth Lugo</strong></p>
<p id="4vEWqO">RHP Michael Wacha</p>
<p id="Gg9IPW">RHP Brady Singer</p>
<p id="2FNJQQ"><strong>RHP Alec Marsh</strong></p>
<p id="XPtr8G">One final change at the five spot, Alec Marsh is now the guy. Daniel Lynch IV and Jordan Lyles both looked less than good and Alec has done nothing but strike guys out all spring. Seriously, he has a 17-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That will play every day of the week. It is anyone’s guess if he’ll be able to hang on to the spot, but he’s going to get it to open the year thanks to some truly excellent work in 14 innings of work.</p>
<p id="WjE50l">Cole Ragans was announced as the Opening Day starter, so I guess the Royals are ready to acknowledge what most of us assumed: the guy is the staff ace and should be treated as such. Can’t wait to see what he unleashes Thursday afternoon!</p>
<h3 id="OcTd0Z">Bullpen</h3>
<p id="GRToqc">LHP Will Smith</p>
<p id="sNLZin">RHP James McArthur</p>
<p id="2RKGMS">RHP John Schreiber</p>
<p id="BnkmX5">RHP Nick Anderson</p>
<p id="6lmW42">RHP Chris Stratton</p>
<p id="kn6bLl"><strong>LHP Angel Zerpa</strong></p>
<p id="Afk4QG">RHP Matt Sauer</p>
<p id="FilkVK"><strong>RHP Jordan Lyles</strong></p>
<p id="tXzUYa">John McMillon was demoted to minor league camp since the last prediction, but with comments that suggest it was for health reasons more than performance issues. Expect to see him back in a hurry. Lyles gets his spot because he’s guaranteed a roster spot to start the year, but he’s on thin ice.</p>
<p id="dkBYCR">At one point, I had Walter Pennington in this bullpen. But then I realized Josh Taylor had a pretty good spring, so I was going to pencil him in. And then the Royals announced that Zerpa was making the roster as a reliever. So, throw all of that out the window. </p>
<p id="D5q7ck">I’m not sure I agree with this choice. Obviously, I had two guys I liked in that spot more, but the team made the call, and this isn’t Franchise mode in <em>The Show</em> so that’s what’s happening.</p>
<p id="vsgsr5">Jake Brentz still has walked more than he’s struck out and now he’s also injured his leg to some degree, so don’t expect to see him any time soon. Pennington or Taylor could still join the ‘pen if they cut Lyles entirely, but I don’t expect that to happen before Opening Day. Still, they and Sam Long should get some time on the big league roster early this summer.</p>
<h2 id="ODgnEx">Batters</h2>
<h3 id="c6SGup">Starting lineup</h3>
<p id="NV5sk4">3B Maikel Garcia</p>
<p id="ptYYlf">SS Bobby Witt Jr.</p>
<p id="plIkXQ">1B Vinnie Pasquantino</p>
<p id="Jx6csL">C Salvador Perez</p>
<p id="iskpoh">LF MJ Melendez</p>
<p id="C6212y">RF Hunter Renfroe</p>
<p id="MgzbVr">2B Michael Massey</p>
<p id="XsLCGX">DH Nelson Velázquez</p>
<p id="zwA0qP">CF Kyle Isbel</p>
<p id="nBbHKJ">Still no changes to the lineup. I want to swap Nick Pratto in for Velázquez, I really do, I just don’t think I’ve seen enough. Velázquez should have a short leash if Pratto performs in AAA, though.</p>
<h3 id="eSjK8v">Bench</h3>
<p id="ktw1Zz">UT Garrett Hampson</p>
<p id="km8VS0">UT Adam Frazier</p>
<p id="mntBNv">C Freddy Fermin</p>
<p id="4IkBzx"><strong>UT Nick Loftin</strong></p>
<p id="jgZlgc">Loftin made it back in my roster prediction as the 26th man once I realized how much time Hampson was getting in the outfield. I think, given Hampson’s ability to play center, it makes more sense to have a righty who can spell Michael Massey than another outfielder. It doesn’t hurt that Loftin has had a very hot spring indeed, walking almost as often as he strikes out.</p>
<p id="AWODLc">So there you have it, one final prediction for the Royals’ Opening Day roster. This time next week, we’ll be talking about their first game of the year! I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait.</p>
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https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/21/24105129/royals-roster-prediction-3-0-triple-digits-from-the-opening-day-starterJeremy Greco2024-03-21T10:00:00-04:002024-03-21T10:00:00-04:00The Royals’ new Community Benefits Agreement lacks one important element: the community benefits
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<img alt="Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman is seen on Opening Day prior to a gam against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium on March 30, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ewXCQEVmLzIf8a7B70qWuIOzaMk=/0x0:4638x3092/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73223027/1479784088.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman is seen on Opening Day prior to a gam against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium on March 30, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. | Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Royals may have been negotiating on both sides of the agreement and have provided only the vaguest promises which they will enforce themselves.</p> <p id="DNGADo">The Royals and Chiefs announced they have <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article286925405.html">completed a Community Benefits Agreement</a> for the proposed downtown ballpark and Arrowhead renovation. Unfortunately, it seems much of the community was missing when the agreement was announced. In a bit, I’ll go over why they were missing, who was still there, and what the agreement entails. But first, let’s have a little context about why there is a Community Benefits Agreement and why you should want to see a good one.</p>
<h2 id="HONieX">What is a Community Benefits Agreement?</h2>
<p id="YOBC44">Put simply, a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is a deal between the teams and community groups affected by the stadium’s construction that the teams will meet certain standards to help improve the community they are affecting. It is, notably, not a deal with the county government, though the county government can enforce it, if that ends up being a part of the agreement. </p>
<p id="OC89le">Without such an agreement, things can go downhill fast for people who live or work in that community. A new stadium and associated construction could displace existing homes and businesses and increase property values and rents of those nearby that remain. A CBA should ideally ensure that even with those changes, the lives of the community members are improved. Less ideally, it should at least reduce the harm as much as possible. Royals team owner John Sherman promised the agreement the team would enter would be “<a href="https://fox4kc.com/sports/royals-chiefs-release-community-benefits-agreement-for-stadium-projects/">historic</a>,” “<a href="https://www.kcur.org/sports/2024-03-15/kansas-city-royals-stadium-community-benefits-agreement-housing">unprecedented</a>,” and “<a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1757206571644240195">transformative</a>.” He clearly wanted everyone to believe that the agreement would be closer to the ideal than not.</p>
<h2 id="ib7LqH">Local community organizations say that isn’t happening</h2>
<p id="k09rL5">On Friday, March 15, the Missouri Workers Center and Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom <a href="https://www.kcur.org/sports/2024-03-15/kansas-city-royals-stadium-community-benefits-agreement-housing">left the negotiation table</a> because they felt the team was not committed to following through on those promises. Here’s a comparison of where the two sides stood, according to that article:</p>
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<p id="ddNzdL"><strong>Original proposal from county coalition</strong></p>
<p id="1iLuex">Royals and Chiefs to provide affordable, 24-hour childcare on site or less than half a mile from the stadium and subsidize the cost so it doesn’t exceed 7% of the average income</p>
<p id="5cvEkJ">$1 million toward transit-oriented improvements on the stadium site, plus $1 million annually for the duration of the sales tax to support <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-11-10/after-years-of-free-bus-fare-kansas-city-is-studying-whether-to-charge-for-rides-again">KCATA zero-fare</a></p>
<p id="lIYvwl">$3 million annually for the duration of the sales tax into anti-violence and mental health awareness initiatives</p>
<p id="CiErr9">Adopting an environmental climate policy within a year of opening the stadium. Working with contractors to limit the carbon footprint of the stadium. Establish a solid waste recycling program for food and beverage waste.</p>
<p id="exVaHU"><strong>Royals’ latest proposal</strong></p>
<p id="vLqWsq">$2 million during the construction period (about 3 years) to partner with a child care center near the stadium site</p>
<p id="xRJpB1">$2 million in partnership with the KCATA to provide game day transportation</p>
<p id="c8grzK">$3 million invested over three years into anti-violence and mental health awareness initiatives</p>
<p id="Qtd6KA">$10 million to construct the stadium following Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification requirements</p>
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<p id="auefT6">From <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam-mcdowell/article286411635.html">this Kansas City Star article</a>, we also know that the county coalition initially proposed an affordable housing fund for the teams to contribute that would include a total of $100 million upfront and $5 million per team per year to increase affordable housing in the community. My understanding is that the coalition later came down from that number but the best the Royals ever offered was $5 million total over the life of the 40-year tax extension - a number that is only worth just shy of 22 homes of the average price in Kansas City. Assuming that it costs something more like one-fifth of that to simply build the homes, the Royals could build 100 homes in 40 years. Does that seem historic, unprecedented, or transformational?</p>
<p id="N93zoj">As I noted during the <a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/18/24104259/royals-rundown-the-royals-hall-of-fame-grows-setting-2024-straight">Royals Rundown podcast last weekend</a>, the Royals' proposals appeared centered around not committing to any recurring amount and, as much as possible, benefiting themselves more than their community. You can see this in how they only offer to improve child care during the construction of their facility and only offer to improve public transit on game days.</p>
<p id="B83e2w">On Tuesday, March 19, the Good Jobs Coalition <a href="https://www.kmbc.com/article/good-jobs-coalition-against-stadium-sales-tax-critical-of-kansas-city-royals-cba/60250249">held a press conference/rally</a> on the steps of the Jackson County courthouse to ask people to vote no to the sales tax extension.</p>
<blockquote><p id="MmUL1u">“Any CBA that comes out, we should make very clear, is not actually a community benefits agreement,” said Gina Chiala from the Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom. “The community is not at the table.”</p></blockquote>
<h2 id="qZgFPw">Who <em>is</em> at the table?</h2>
<p id="CzkMJ3">There does not appear to be an official list of every group that ever participated in the negotiations at the county table for the Community Benefits Agreement with the Kansas City Royals. As best I was able to determine, there were somewhere between six and ten organizations at the outset. What <em>is</em> clear, after discussing the matter with several people with knowledge of the situation, is that every organization that started at the table walked away from the public negotiations for one reason or another before they were completed except two: <a href="https://urbansummitkcmo.com/">Urban Summit Kansas City</a> and the <a href="https://www.ulkc.org/">Urban League of Greater Kansas City</a> (ULKC). Gwendolyn Grant, President and CEO of ULKC, has led the negotiations for the community side from the start.</p>
<p id="FESQVv">However, there is one <em>very</em> curious detail about ULKC that I have not seen reported anywhere else. If you check the <a href="https://www.ulkc.org/our-board">executive board members of ULKC</a> you will find that they count among their number Vice Chair Adam Sachs - the <a href="https://www.mlb.com/royals/team/front-office/adam-sachs">Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Chief Legal Counsel for the Kansas City Royals</a>.</p>
<p id="HAZVto">Let me say that again. The Royals’ legal counsel is <em>also </em>an executive board member for the organization who has led the negotiations from the other side and is one of only two organizations to still be present when the agreement was struck.</p>
<p id="nr8GUu">So not only did most of the involved organizations leave the bargaining table, but one of the two that is left, and the one that was leading the entire time, has a strong executive connection to the Kansas City Royals. That sure seems suspicious.</p>
<p id="gdagQ0">I reached out to the Kansas City Royals for comment on this matter, but they declined to comment on the record.</p>
<h2 id="ZalgFI">So what does this mean?</h2>
<p id="62edEi">Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the way everything about the Royals’ new stadium plan has been shrouded in secrecy, when the teams announced their new CBA it had absolutely no details about how the alleged programs would function or how the money would be distributed. As we can see from the quoted comparison above, there wasn’t much disagreement about WHAT things should be addressed, the differences were in the HOW MUCHes and WHEREs and WHENs of the thing.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Chiefs & Royals have announced their CBA with Jackson County. <a href="https://t.co/fDvXFa8DRr">pic.twitter.com/fDvXFa8DRr</a></p>— Alex Gold (@AlexGold) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexGold/status/1770528743108268140?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2024</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Chiefs and Royals have indeed announced a completed CBA for their stadium proposals, though the announcement came without a copy of the agreement.</p>— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamMcDowell11/status/1770530680784421327?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2024</a>
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<p id="a50XXR">Councilman Manny Abarca, who has been very pro-Royals on this situation from the beginning, did tweet out the official documents after a couple of hours.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Binding documents dictating the foundations of the Royals deal. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kansascity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kansascity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JacksonCountyMO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JacksonCountyMO</a> <a href="https://t.co/648SZCU9Bl">pic.twitter.com/648SZCU9Bl</a></p>— Manny Abarca (@MannyAbarcaIV) <a href="https://twitter.com/MannyAbarcaIV/status/1770563035586859492?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2024</a>
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<p id="LcMEpa">One thing of particular note to me from even the vague details provided in the first embedded tweet is that the Royals and Chiefs both have some say in the formation of the board that will oversee, audit, and ensure the accountability of the programs. It seems kind of pointless to let the teams help oversee themselves in these matters.</p>
<p id="SBOEM7">Also of note is that while the team cited the recent CBA between the Milwaukee Bucks and their community, that agreement was for $250 million on an arena that cost approximately $500 million to build. In that light, $140 million or even $260 million for what is estimated to be well clear of a billion in taxes and other tax breaks does not seem historic, unprecedented, or transformative for the community.</p>
<p id="dTcibt">From the “more detailed” documents we can see that the Royals are promising $3.5 million every year into a fund that the aforementioned board will then deploy toward the various causes. There does not appear to be any language dictating how they do so, other than it must happen at least annually.</p>
<p id="5stlad">So, basically, there are still no concrete details about how the money will be used to better the lives of Jackson County citizens, the Royals will still largely be policing themselves, and even in the best-case scenario, the team appears to believe that the county’s people are worth less than one Adam Frazier late-offseason signing per year.</p>
<p id="jozqYE">Based on my reading of these documents, the Royals could feasibly pay themselves $3.5 million to send players out on speaking engagements to raise awareness for mental health and that would meet the incredibly loose guidelines for their obligations to the CBA for that year.</p>
<p id="dQM3dE">Seriously, with absolutely no details and no oversight, there will be no way of knowing if or how the Royals’ money is used to help people. Based on the secretive nature and vague statements the team has thrived on since John Sherman’s purchase, I can’t imagine they’ll even pretend to tell us, either. I expect this to fade completely into the background once they secure their yes votes.</p>
<p id="Uvk9Fk">Really, this just continues a pattern that we’ve seen from the team in the past few years to provide as few hard details as possible, to exaggerate the ones they <em>do</em> provide, and to generally obfuscate the truth behind big promises and plenty of hype.</p>
<h2 id="6HF2tw">On the vote</h2>
<p id="ljsPBx">You can vote however you want on this issue. Your choices won’t affect me. I don’t live in Kansas City. Honestly, it would probably be better for me if you <em>did</em> vote yes because once the tax is in place and the teams can’t be stopped there will probably be a lot fewer visible shenanigans to cause me to lose sleep researching to provide you all the best information about the team’s workings I can find.</p>
<p id="MmMgvD">I would be able to go back to talking about the team, which I honestly think might be sneaky good this year. I could get excited about whether Bobby Witt Jr. might win an MVP award or Cole Ragans might get some Cy Young votes.</p>
<p id="6PlSOs">But, if I did have a vote and it did affect me, I’d vote no on this and I wouldn’t look back.</p>
<p id="JlUltH">I know a lot of you have problems with Frank White, but I think he made a very salient point in his tweet announcing that he would be voting no.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">No surprise here...<br><br>My statement on why I'm voting no on April 2. <a href="https://t.co/4kFrVYAisB">pic.twitter.com/4kFrVYAisB</a></p>— Frank White (@JCEFrankWhite) <a href="https://twitter.com/JCEFrankWhite/status/1770468423429951537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2024</a>
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<p id="1NuhoD">That final sentence is what I’m talking about, “Thankfully, voters have the opportunity to reject the new tax on April 2 and if they do, we can do this the right way.” If the new tax fails to pass, that doesn’t automatically mean the teams will leave Kansas City. The reality is that Clark Hunt and John Sherman are both so embedded into the city that neither is likely to move the team themselves. It would be much more likely that they either resume negotiations with the county and community - hopefully leading to a more transparent and equitable outcome for the taxpayers - or they’d have to find someone to sell their teams to who would then have to figure out how to move them. In that scenario, continued negotiations seem the more profitable and less onerous option for both of them.</p>
<p id="uN4y41">But even if they <em>did</em> move or sell the teams, would that <em>really </em>be a worse outcome than continuing to allow people with so much money to abuse their positions and deceive people the way the Royals appear to have been attempting to do?</p>
<p id="PY51CT">I spoke with Terrence Wise of Stand Up KC and the Missouri Workers Center in the wake of the announcement. Along with echoing a lot of my above statements, he indicated that the team appeared completely disinterested in providing any community benefits in the form of truly affordable housing. The coalition tried to take those negotiations from the public county table to the private negotiations but the Royals appeared disinterested in engaging there, either, which ultimately led to them giving up. The team was also allegedly disinterested in ensuring that new jobs in the area provided a living wage or easy access to unionization.</p>
<p id="l5h0OF">But, the most interesting thing he said to me was at the end. I failed to get the exact quote down, but to paraphrase he said, “This is about whether you’re voting for your sisters and brothers and friends and family. Do you actually care about them? Or are you just scared about some team moving to Utah or Nashville or wherever?”</p>
<p id="htZVmd">Without a strong, enforceable commitment from the teams to improve the living and working conditions of the people in Kansas City, this stadium can easily become a net negative on the community instead of any kind of economic boon. The team has repeatedly failed to meet deadlines and demanded everyone else rush to serve their whims. They have used both deceptive and vague language in describing their agreements. They make empty promises about how great things will be if they get their way which are never backed up by their actions or any hard data. At every turn, they have acted as if they are superior to us and treated the people of Kansas City with a distinct lack of respect.</p>
<p id="XaA1Xm">How can we trust this team to enforce their own vague promises which they may have negotiated with themselves in front of a seemingly uncaring or disinterested county government?</p>
<p id="MLeTef">I don’t think we can.</p>
<p id="vNguUR">And for your sake, and the sake of your friends and families, I hope you can’t, either.</p>
<p id="Aupdqw"><em>Updated 3/22/24 3:05 PM</em></p>
<p id="bDfQaV"><em>Caleb Clifford, the Chief of Staff for the Jackson County Executive’s Office, reached out to clarify that the county cannot enforce the agreement as it currently stands. They haven’t signed anything to do so and there are no enforcement mechanisms present in the agreement documents that have been presented. The line indicating that the county had agreed to do so has been edited to reflect this.</em></p>
<p id="XJZQ3d">Given this new understanding, there does not appear to even be a facade of accountability for the Royals or Chiefs on these alleged CBAs. Far from being historic, transformative, or unprecedented, they appear to be entirely meaningless.</p>
<p id="f5viMm">Also, more information has come to light since my initial publishing that I either didn’t know or couldn’t report on before, but want to share with you now since I’m updating this anyway:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">INSANITY<br><br>"Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, said that her organization pulled out because she had to watch the negotiations on a television in a separate room. "<br> <a href="https://t.co/UKjvX1DJj6">https://t.co/UKjvX1DJj6</a></p>— Hokius (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth) (@Hokius) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hokius/status/1771000070667669760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2024</a>
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<p id="GhjtvC">I am greatly disappointed to realize I hadn’t considered one of the bigger impacts of the stadium would be lost property revenue to the county. As the article talks about, the public school system shouldn’t lose anything, but many other programs will. I grew up in Johnson County, not Jackson County, but the public library system was a huge part of my childhood and the idea that Jackson County’s might be in any way diminished because of the Royals’ selfishness makes me sick.</p>
<p id="GbTnH6">It is also absolutely shocking to hear that some negotiators weren’t allowed to actually be present as a part of the negotiations. The smoke of corruption and/or malpractice keeps billowing larger and darker. I strongly urge you to really spend some time and consider whether keeping a baseball team (which very likely still won’t leave even if you vote no on this proposal) is worth accepting all the damage their move will cause and the way they’ve generally treated the people of Kansas City.</p>
<p id="9wM5p3">The only way I see this ending in anything other than disaster is if people stand up to them and force them back to the negotiating tables via a “no” vote on Question 1. Once they have the public approval for their tax funding, there will be no stopping them and no getting back what will be lost.</p>
https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/21/24106683/the-royals-new-community-benefits-agreement-lacks-one-important-element-the-community-benefitsJeremy Greco2024-03-16T15:35:00-04:002024-03-16T15:35:00-04:00Saturday Spring Training thread
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<img alt="Cam Devanney #99 of the Kansas City Royals poses for a photo during the Kansas City Royals Photo Day at Surprise Stadium on Thursday, February 22, 2024 in Surprise, Arizona." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hLHjNpRVCJcyTMDX2dgVNjMtUGQ=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212108/2076709597.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Cam Devanney #99 of the Kansas City Royals poses for a photo during the Kansas City Royals Photo Day at Surprise Stadium on Thursday, February 22, 2024 in Surprise, Arizona. | Photo by Adam Glanzman/MLB Photos via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>We’re still doing this?</p> <p id="mTekm4">Why isn’t it the regular season yet? It definitely should be. Here’s your spring training lineup.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Spending our Saturday at Sloan Park. <a href="https://t.co/6l6NF5E0Or">pic.twitter.com/6l6NF5E0Or</a></p>— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1769024596836045265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a>
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<p id="N20bV1">I hope nobody going to the game was counting on watching the best of the best the Royals have to offer.</p>
<p id="dPIxQA">Jordan Lyles finally retakes the mound after suffering from some back tightness earlier in Spring Training. It’s anyone’s guess if he will have enough time to finish stretching out before the season starts. Nick Pratto, meanwhile, gets another opportunity to make his case for the Opening Day roster. His is probably the most interesting case in camp, except for potentially Alec Marsh who himself last pitched March 10. Hopefully, he’ll pitch today or tomorrow.</p>
https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/16/24103057/saturday-spring-training-threadJeremy Greco2024-03-16T12:00:00-04:002024-03-16T12:00:00-04:00Spring Training Mailbag
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<figcaption>Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Answers to your burning questions.</p> <p id="r40V25">Spring Training continues to drag on and rather than do another roster preview (that will come next week) it seemed like now would be a good time to answer your questions. I put out the call on social media, and some of you graciously asked for the knowledge I can provide. However, there were fewer questions than anticipated, so I am able to offer this opportunity to those of you reading now: if you have a question that wasn’t asked by someone else, drop it in the comments to this post and I will do my best to bring you an answer.</p>
<p id="Bp9Ej5">With that said, to the questions!</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Who is the next player to come out of our farm system that has a Garcia type of impact ahead of them?</p>— QuadCitiesRiverHackett (@QCRiverHackett) <a href="https://twitter.com/QCRiverHackett/status/1768729188742095232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="m1bZlP">This is a fascinating question to me because the phrasing lends one to assume Maikel Garcia has had a large impact on the team. However, while he was worth a credible 1.9 fWAR last year, he only slashed .272/.323/.358/.681 which amounts to a well-below-average 84 wRC+. I have high hopes for him to break out this season, but it hasn’t happened yet.</p>
<p id="yJxiNN">Still, I think no matter how you look at this question, my answer remains the same. Tyler Gentry is your man. Gentry had a bit of a down year in his AAA debut last season, but if you look at the second half he seems to have improved quite a bit. From July 1 he slashed .284/.420/.488/.908, good for a 133 wRC+ in Omaha. The Royals have already demoted him to minor league camp so, barring injury, he won’t start the year with the big league team, but we should see him relatively quickly. </p>
<p id="QpVOXp">ZiPS projects him to slash .246/.334/.381/.715 which would only be good enough for a 96 wRC+ but there’s a 50% chance he performs better than that, and even at those stats he’d be projected to be worth a respectable 1.5 fWAR.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I hear Ragans's FB has been sitting in the high 90s in Spring Training on top of him averaging almost 97 last year. SPs who throw at a very high velo have a poor track record of avoiding TJS or a major shoulder inj. If he has a healthy & dominant year (cont'd)</p>— Scott McKinney (@ScottMcKinney1) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottMcKinney1/status/1768736545647771905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">...do you think the Royals should consider trading him? After a great year, considering the team control years remaining, they could get a massive haul for him. And it seems like the Royals need that massive haul, given the team and organizational talent level.</p>— Scott McKinney (@ScottMcKinney1) <a href="https://twitter.com/ScottMcKinney1/status/1768736811654746177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="2hHyHR">If you know him on Twitter, you know that Scott is quite a bit more pessimistic about the Royals chances this year than your average fan. I will point out in regards to injury risk, Ragans has already had two elbow surgeries, so he obviously hasn’t avoided that bug, but you also have to wonder if he perhaps is through the worst of it now and has come out stronger on the other side.</p>
<p id="FYVgy1">Whether the Royals should consider trading Ragans at the end of this year has less to do with how well he pitched and much more to do with how well the team does this season. Basically, the only scenario in which it makes sense to trade him is if the team does extremely poorly but all of their free agent acquisitions pan out and therefore opt out. At that point, you’d be left with a roster full of guys who failed to perform for two straight years and not a lot of help coming from the minors any time soon in the form of elite talent. At that point, it might make sense to trade Ragans to add some of that high-end talent, but in almost every other scenario, it probably makes more sense to keep him and try to build around him.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nelson Velasquez, as long as he plays a full season as a starter, will lead the league in home runs.</p>— Eric (@esherman_) <a href="https://twitter.com/esherman_/status/1768739850209968330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="rbxyRz">This is a statement more than a question but I’ll answer it as if it were a question. Not a chance. Listen, I love Velázquez as much as any Royals fan, but let’s not get crazy here. You’d have to assume that it would take 50+ home runs to lead the league and it seems foolish to assume <em>anyone</em> would reach that mark. It’s also not as if there aren’t flaws in Velázquez’s game. </p>
<p id="ebiJTG">He still struck out quite a bit last season and doesn’t counter it with an elite walk rate. Also, his .352 ISO would have put him in the company of only Shohei Ohtani if it were over a full season. Do we really think Velázquez is as talented a hitter as Ohtani? I don’t. And even if he was, Ohtani managed “only” 44 home runs last year. Only one other player - Matt Olson - had an ISO over .300 over the full season. ZiPS thinks Velázquez would hit 20 home runs if he played the whole year and I think that might be a bit conservative, but I wouldn’t think he would hit many more than 30 even in the best-case scenario. Nowhere near enough to lead the league even if it was quite valuable.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Do you foresee a platoon at the DH spot between Nelly, Pratto and more?</p>— encyclopedia (@CatsYalsChiefs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatsYalsChiefs/status/1768732786976772374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="CmYYEH">In one sense, the answer to this question is yes, because teams almost never have exclusive DHs anymore, so there will almost certainly be some kind of platoon that will see the entire everyday lineup rotate through the spot at various points throughout the season. Especially Salvador Perez who is getting older and needs fewer games behind the plate if he’s going to stay fresh while Freddy Fermin has seemed more than competent at filling in for him.</p>
<p id="G330Qn">In another sense, no, because I don’t think it will be a true platoon. I imagine one player will spend most of his time there and play in the field or take days off when other guys need in. I especially don’t see it as likely that they’ll platoon Nelly and Pratto there because whichever of them isn’t starting should probably be getting everyday at-bats in Omaha instead of riding the pine.</p>
<p id="JKLPN2">A month ago, I think we all assumed it was Velázquez’s job to lose, but he’s had a poor spring while Pratto has been incredibly hot. I’m not sure if it’s enough to overcome the difference in how they both ended last season, but it certainly makes things interesting. Still, I expect the loser of the contest to start the year in Omaha, not as part of a platoon. </p>
<p id="WXEUSD">Also of concern would be the fact that neither of them are particularly diverse in their defensive skill-sets. You only get four bench players in the modern game and while Garrett Hampson can play just about every position, they’ve locked in Adam Frazier as a bench piece and he can basically only play second and the corner outfield spots. Further limiting the bench by trying to carry both Pratto and Velázquez could make it more difficult to pinch run or pinch hit for fear you wouldn’t have enough gloves to credibly cover all the positions.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">What do you think the plan is for Adam Frazier?</p>— encyclopedia (@CatsYalsChiefs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CatsYalsChiefs/status/1768732451143114787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="XI1E1T">I wish I knew. This was a signing that baffled me from the start as he seemed an older worse version of players that were already on the roster. That said, the best guess I’ve heard is that the Royals wanted Massey to have to “earn” his spot on the roster. He’s mostly done that, so far, which makes Frazier kind of useless as a left-handed backup second bagger to a left-handed starter. As I mentioned earlier, he can also play the corner outfield spots but they already have three guys fighting for the two spots all of whom offer more upside than Frazier. If I had my way, the team would probably cut him to make room for someone with more flexibility and/or upside, but as it is he’ll probably be on the bench and we’ll just have to hope he doesn’t get too many at-bats we wish had gone to other players.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Michael Massey as backup in All-Star Game. Yes sir.</p>— Bob Adullah (@BobAdullah) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobAdullah/status/1768762124438851964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="eQVuGC">From your fingers to the baseball gods’ eyes, I hope. I’ve not been shy about predicting a breakout season from the young infielder. The All-Star Game might be a bit of a stretch even for my hopes, but I surely wouldn’t complain if it were to come about. Bonus: If he plays well enough to even be an All-Star reserve I expect this team to be greatly exceeding expectations.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Uh…what’s your favorite Dragonite build?</p>— James @huskers.bsky.social (@roljamas) <a href="https://twitter.com/roljamas/status/1768728938044338276?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="zeWnhe">I know this will shock and disappoint many of you, but despite my love for both video games and Japanese media I’ve never been much of a Pokémon person. The series just doesn’t do it for me. However, if you’re looking for a really good game to play, <em>Marvel’s Midnight Suns</em> is available for free to PlayStation Plus members this month and is relatively cheap at this point on all other platforms. It’s an underrated gem that more people should play, so go check it out!</p>
https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/16/24102507/spring-training-mailbagJeremy Greco2024-03-09T14:35:00-05:002024-03-09T14:35:00-05:00Saturday Spring Training thread
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<img alt="Michael Wacha #52 of the Kansas City Royals pitches in the first inning during a Spring Training game against the San Diego Padres at the Peoria Stadium on February 27, 2024 in Peoria, Arizona." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nG_SZlzyeZCXaZwisgn9wAhbVm4=/3x0:4338x2890/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73194638/2036335405.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Michael Wacha #52 of the Kansas City Royals pitches in the first inning during a Spring Training game against the San Diego Padres at the Peoria Stadium on February 27, 2024 in Peoria, Arizona. | Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>It’s Wacha time!</p> <p id="Tm77Mx">Spring Training lumbers on. The Royals host the Diamondbacks in Surprise at 2:05 KC Time. Are we there, yet?</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Michael Wacha takes the mound as we take on the Diamondbacks in Surprise. <a href="https://t.co/Lx8NBxNADm">pic.twitter.com/Lx8NBxNADm</a></p>— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1766480820292731186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2024</a>
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https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/9/24095536/saturday-spring-training-threadJeremy Greco2024-03-09T12:00:00-05:002024-03-09T12:00:00-05:00MLB The Show 2024 is going to be the most fun version of the game yet
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<p>MLB The Show has always been full of unbelievable things. Last year they introduced the Negro Leagues Storylines mode and Kaiju. This year they’re adding...women</p> <p id="6Gpnzn">Last year I got into <em>MLB The Show</em> for the first time in more than a decade. They had added the <a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/2023/6/3/23746974/mlb-the-show-2023-negro-leagues-storylines-review">Negro Leagues Storylines</a> mode. I tried out a demo version of the game to see if the new mode made the game worth playing for me and, ultimately, decided that while the mode was pretty good and I was glad it existed, I wasn’t sure it was enough to get me back into the game.</p>
<p id="SxgZ8j">However, later that summer they added a seasonal update to the game which included Kaiju - giant monsters like Godzilla - to the game. This included a whole bunch of new player cards that made stars, both old and recent, appear to be movie monsters terrorizing cities. I was interested enough to try out the game and realized they had seriously updated the Road to the Show feature that had always been my favorite as well as adding Diamond Dynasty, which allowed for much quicker snippets of baseball action than simply playing a nine-inning game. I quickly became hooked.</p>
<p id="rq5oNm">As spring has loomed ever closer, San Diego Studio and Sony Interactive Entertainment have been drip-feeding details about what players can expect from the next iteration. As with most sports games, if you’re expecting some massive overhaul, you’re likely in for disappointment. That said, the details they’ve announced have been pretty exciting for me as someone who was pretty happy with the game last year.</p>
<h2 id="3vXIQ0">Fixing the problems</h2>
<p id="jPLKIZ">One of the biggest complaints about <em>MLB The Show 23</em> was in the Diamond Dynasty (DD) game mode. Last year they switched to a seasonal model which phased player cards out of playability in the newest content as time went on as well as putting more 99 level cards into the game earlier than normal. This led to people being unable to play their favorites as well as a lot of near duplicate cards as they would re-add players at level 99 with almost identical stats to the earlier versions. The developers have promised an update to this mode which will allow players to use more of their “expired” cards in later seasons - four wild card slots instead of one - and also promised that the power creep in the mode would be slower, with most cards topping out at 91 in the first season. Personally, I never had a problem with the mode, but having more reasons to look forward to future card drops as potential upgrades while also being able to hang on to your old favorites for longer is pretty exciting stuff.</p>
<h2 id="PFx6cg">Taking great next steps</h2>
<p id="nll7gi">One of the most exciting features added last year was the aforementioned Negro Leagues Storylines mode. It told stories of unsung heroes in the past which are now considered part of MLB. These included several of the most famous examples, including former KC Monarchs players Jackie Robinson, Satchell Paige, and Buck O’Neill.</p>
<p id="aYdpy6">This year they’re building on that feature in a couple of exciting ways. First, they’re bringing it back but with Negro Leagues players you’re even less likely to have heard of. I knew a lot about half the players in the first Storylines mode, I only knew about one ahead of time so far in this year’s version. It’s going to be so exciting to get to dive even deeper into the rich history of the Negro Leagues, including the first professional female baseball player, Toni Stone.</p>
<p id="4jFL5L">They also expanded it in a different direction with MLB legends, as well. Derek Jeter, a prominent part of the marketing for the series last year and primed to be for this year as well, will have the story of his career told alongside some of his compatriots like Andy Pettitte, Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams, and Mariano Rivera. Here’s hoping they continue to expand in this direction as well as with the Negro Leagues because there are plenty of former MLB stars to explore in its century-plus-long history.</p>
<p id="kne3rY">Also an improvement to the mode is the announcement that the entirety of the Storylines mode will not launch with the game. This means there will be reasons to keep coming back as the year advances even beyond additional Diamond Dynasty events and hopefully means there will be more content overall in the Storylines than we got last year.</p>
<h2 id="idYaPQ">Improvements to the Road to the Show Mode</h2>
<p id="k8NTU0">One of my first thoughts when I saw they were including Toni Stone into the Storylines mode was that if they had gone to all the trouble of putting a female model into the game, they should probably take the plunge and add women to the create-a-player mode known as Road to the Show (RTTS) which allows you to create a player and work your way through the minor leagues to become a big league star.</p>
<p id="FGMc4k">To my absolute delight, they announced earlier this week via the trailer embedded in this article that they had done exactly that!</p>
<p id="fN4vlc">Now, you may not look to a Sports Simulator game to be a bastion of imagination or progressive values, but <em>MLB The Show</em> has quietly been rising in my estimation on this front. Last year, not only did they implement that Negro Leagues story mode but they also included Pride flags in the Stadium Creator mode. Small things, to be sure, but far better than the nothing I would have expected.</p>
<p id="x4Hfq0">Some people have complained that since its a sports simulator, it should only allow for things that are “possible” in the real world and that women can’t be major leaguers, so they shouldn’t be included in RTTS. Of course, that completely disregards both the game’s inclusion of things like Kaiju and the ability to have the announcers indicate your teams are from other planets. Heck, even the Mini-Seasons mode in DD has teams playing against each other from across the globe in a way that seems exceptionally unlikely to be plausible given the travel times necessary.</p>
<p id="ooVmtb">It also disregards the fact that people regularly play these games on easy and win dozens of World Series in a row or create a player who can hit more than 100 home runs in a season. Also, most of us playing this game are nowhere near good enough individually to play MLB games, but they’ve let us self-insert for decades. Other sports simulator games such as the NHL and FIFA series have allowed female players to compete against men in their simulations. I also recently watched a series of videos about how someone used one of the NBA 2K games to change history by making all kinds of bizarre rules changes that did not actually happen and are unlikely to ever happen.</p>
<p id="L8GgWw">In other words, the genre of simulator does not, has not, and never should mean that a game can’t allow for unrealistic things to occur.</p>
<p id="ors6OM">It simply means that we are simulating the experience of doing something. In <em>MLB The Show </em>you simulate playing baseball, but there are all kinds of variables that can be changed that still allow it to be baseball. Women playing is among the tamest of things you could change and still have a credible simulation of the sport.</p>
<p id="rATGgi">But San Diego Studio didn’t stop there, either! They added a storytelling element and a character to interact with as you chase your dreams in RTTS. They even promised that there will be differences between the genders and in different careers. This is probably the addition I’ve wanted most since they first added RTTS mode and I’m super excited to create a variety of new players and see all the ways in which they’ve added narrative depth.</p>
<h2 id="xS6NhZ">The Negro Leagues Edition</h2>
<p id="DNNhlm">Of course, not everything they’ve announced has been ideal. They announced a collector’s edition of the game featuring Negro Leagues iconography, a steelbook case, and a hat. That all sounds pretty cool, but it costs nearly double the standard retail price and they only promised to donate $1 to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for each purchase. It sure seems to me that, at that price point, they could have afforded to make a more generous donation.</p>
<p id="5xERiC">That said, the easy solution is to purchase a cheaper version of the game and make a more generous individual donation to the NLBM. So that’s exactly what I have done, and I hope you all will do the same.</p>
<p id="T3dSib"><em>MLB The Show 24 </em>releases in less than two weeks for all consoles on March 19. Any pre-order of a digital version of the game higher than the base version gets you early access this coming Friday, March 15. I hope to see you there!</p>
https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/9/24091170/mlb-the-show-2024-is-going-to-be-the-most-fun-version-of-the-game-yetJeremy Greco2024-03-02T14:35:00-05:002024-03-02T14:35:00-05:00Saturday Spring Training Game thread
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<p>And so a week has passed</p> <p id="qzkTn6">It sure feels like more than a week has passed, hasn’t it?</p>
<p id="sUDIig"></p>
<p id="onW0i4">Specifically, I spent a lot of time noticing guys who hadn’t yet played, like Jordan Lyles who finally pitched on Thursday and Hunter Renfroe who still hasn’t played the field, but was the starting Designated Hitter on Friday. It felt like they hadn’t played in forever and their chances for breaking with the club on Opening Day were in jeopardy. But, in the end, it was only a week. I stand by my roster predictions, though. It sure feels like Lynch has the inside track on the roster spot, now, and Renfroe’s injury could linger longer than the Royals expected.</p>
<p id="ggV6tP">That said, it’s only been a week and Spring Training is far from complete. So here’s another lineup for another fine spring day.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here's how we're lining up behind Seth Lugo as we take on the Guardians in Goodyear. <a href="https://t.co/WCoFXcmnK2">pic.twitter.com/WCoFXcmnK2</a></p>— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1763934844978147569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2024</a>
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https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/2/24088460/saturday-spring-training-game-threadJeremy Greco2024-03-02T12:00:00-05:002024-03-02T12:00:00-05:00Royals Roster prediction take two: missing in action
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<img alt="Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe with a poorly photoshopped pair of round, black spectacles and a red and white hat reminiscent of children’s puzzle book Where’s Waldo" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/K0Ct88tNUMiTl5FU-fkvHIzi39o=/0x0:600x400/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73177904/renfroe_waldo.0.png" />
<figcaption>Where’s Hunter?</figcaption>
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<p>A week of Spring Training games have been played and some things that haven’t happened may matter more than some things that have</p> <p id="C70Dy3">It’s been a whole week of Spring Training. By the time you’re reading this, it’s March and Opening Day happens later this month. I can almost smell the fresh cut grass and hear the pop of leather and the infielders whip the ball around following another strikeout. It’s time to take another stab at what the Opening Day roster might look like!</p>
<p id="BV7Saw"><em>If you want to check out the first prediction, </em><a href="https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/1/20/24044359/projecting-the-royals-26-man-roster"><em>it can be found here</em></a><em>. That said, I will remark upon the changes between the two as I outline the roster this time.</em></p>
<h2 id="uRXwdj">Pitchers</h2>
<h3 id="DcVbFj">Starting Pitchers</h3>
<p id="8osUsH">RHP Seth Lugo</p>
<p id="OOVmnY">LHP Cole Ragans</p>
<p id="4vEWqO">RHP Michael Wacha</p>
<p id="Gg9IPW">RHP Brady Singer</p>
<p id="2FNJQQ"><strong>LHP Daniel Lynch IV</strong></p>
<p id="ojC7oQ">So this is almost the same as before, though I did move Lugo above Ragans because I think this is the order of the rotation. Bolded is our new number five starter. Before Spring Training started I assumed it was Jordan Lyles’ spot to lose and that he’d pitch well enough to hang on to it, even if he didn’t keep it the whole season. However, since then, he didn’t appear in single game until Lynch had pitched twice, and reasonably well both times. </p>
<p id="4BJib0">There has been no word as to why Lyles took so long to make his spring debut, but the most likely scenario would appear to be injury. It will be interesting to see if he still has enough time to build up the stamina necessary to open the year in the rotation or if whatever injury he may have suffered that kept him out for so long lingers at all.</p>
<h3 id="OcTd0Z">Bullpen</h3>
<p id="GRToqc">LHP Will Smith</p>
<p id="sNLZin">RHP James McArthur</p>
<p id="2RKGMS"><strong>RHP John Schreiber</strong></p>
<p id="BnkmX5">RHP Nick Anderson</p>
<p id="6lmW42">RHP Chris Stratton</p>
<p id="CNuuOu">RHP John McMillon</p>
<p id="kn6bLl">LHP Josh Taylor</p>
<p id="Afk4QG">RHP Matt Sauer</p>
<p id="hxLtZW">This is the order both of how late in the game I expect them to pitch, with Smith as the presumed closer, as well as how safe I think their roster spot is.</p>
<p id="QsklpR">The Royals acquired Schreiber after I made the first prediction and so he takes the place of Jake Brentz, who has pitched very poorly so far this spring. Brentz has walked a team-leading six batters in only 1.1 innings. He’d have to really pitch lights out from now on in order to grab an Opening Day roster spot and that just doesn’t seem likely. He has options left, so they won’t lose him if they demote him.</p>
<p id="BufCcM">Matt Sauer’s bullpen spot seems less assured than ever due to a weak performance which has only seen him allow a single unearned run, but he’s given up two walks and four hits in only three innings pitched. The Royals would risk losing him if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, but if he isn’t contributing they’ve got a lot of guys who could use that spot better and you don’t spend the fifth most in the sport on free agents to not put your best 26 out there. Carlos Hernández wasn’t in my original prediction and he remains on the outs because he’s dealing with some shoulder troubles that preclude him from even attempting a roster push.</p>
<p id="wCiuMS">Two guys who have put their names into consideration after being complete afterthoughts before are Walter Pennington - who has struck out all six batters he’s faced - and Sam Long who has struck out five in three innings pitched. Anthony Veneziano has also pitched well, but he might benefit more from staying in AAA where he can continue to pitch as a starter and prepare to be the first man up in case of injury or ineffectiveness. Don’t count out Will Klein or Steven Cruz. The Opening Day ship has probably sailed for Angel Zerpa.</p>
<h2 id="ODgnEx">Batters</h2>
<h3 id="c6SGup">Starting lineup</h3>
<p id="NV5sk4">3B Maikel Garcia</p>
<p id="ptYYlf">SS Bobby Witt Jr.</p>
<p id="plIkXQ">1B Vinnie Pasquantino</p>
<p id="Jx6csL">C Salvador Perez</p>
<p id="iskpoh">LF MJ Melendez</p>
<p id="2B12wa">DH Nelson Velázquez</p>
<p id="MgzbVr">2B Michael Massey</p>
<p id="su53k5">RF Hunter Renfroe</p>
<p id="zwA0qP">CF Kyle Isbel</p>
<p id="zmAjug">None of the players in the Opening Day lineup are different, though I did swap the order of Renfroe and Velázquez as well as the positions of Melendez and Velázquez. I still think Nelson is the better defender, but my gut tells me the Royals will want to pretend MJ is better because he came up in their system. </p>
<p id="q6Ffc7">As indicated by my terrible Where’s Waldo photoshop image, Renfroe hasn’t been seen in a game, yet, due to injury. He was supposed to return to action Wednesday but still hasn’t gotten on the field. If the injury continues to linger then I would expect his roster spot to fall to either Drew Waters or Nick Pratto, both of whom I am now projecting to AAA if Renfroe is good to go. They’re both hitting well so far this spring, but they aren’t good bench options.</p>
<h3 id="eSjK8v">Bench</h3>
<p id="ktw1Zz">UT Garrett Hampson</p>
<p id="km8VS0"><strong>UT Adam Frazier</strong></p>
<p id="mntBNv">C Freddy Fermin</p>
<p id="4IkBzx"><strong>OF Dairon Blanco</strong></p>
<p id="TtxXP9">Freddy Fermin is still your backup catcher, Austin Nola is veteran depth with an option that will see him start the year in Omaha. Nick Loftin gets bumped off the roster by virtue of the guaranteed contract the Royals offered Adam Frazier which means he has to be on the roster along with Garrett Hampson who is in a similar position. Does Frazier seem like an upgrade over Loftin to you? He does not to me, and the spring stats are currently bearing that out, but that’s how it goes.</p>
<p id="oFirSg">The other change here is that I have Blanco now in as the 26th man instead of Waters. I originally had Waters because I felt like he was a stronger overall player and perhaps a platoon partner, but Blanco is probably the better bench player and the splits on the other outfield options don’t, upon further review, lend themselves to a platoon with him. Waters is more likely to be a part of the team’s future (by some small margin) than Blanco so it probably makes more sense to ensure he’s getting everyday at-bats in the minors unless someone gets hurt or plays their way out of the starting lineup.</p>
<p id="Wem6h8">Tyler Cropley, CJ Alexander, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Josh Lester have all had good starts to their springs but there just really isn’t any extra space in the position player groups.</p>
<p id="EQll7v">The roster still looks significantly improved over last year’s iteration. It’s hard to look at it and feel amazing, unfortunately, but in a division where only the Tigers did any real spending on free agents, the division title still feels like an unlikely but not remote possibility. If only the Royals had been willing to go out and add someone like Cody Bellinger or Matt Chapman instead of Hunter Renfroe and Adam Frazier, I’d think this was a team we could be <em>truly</em> excited about.</p>
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https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/3/2/24086639/royals-roster-prediction-take-two-missing-in-actionJeremy Greco2024-02-24T14:35:00-05:002024-02-24T14:35:00-05:00Spring Training game thread II: Rangers at Royals
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<img alt="Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals poses for a portrait during photo day at Surprise Stadium on February 22, 2024 in Surprise, Arizona." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TZGFEeF2h63cIgwPtnjWVP2o5Ls=/0x0:4616x3077/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73162042/2031429162.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals poses for a portrait during photo day at Surprise Stadium on February 22, 2024 in Surprise, Arizona. | Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>This lineup should look a bit more familiar</p> <p id="p9BQ0F">The Royals are finally playing baseball. Took ‘em long enough.</p>
<p id="yRQ9TD">The Royals played as the away team in the Surprise complex they share with the World Champion Texas Rangers yesterday and lost. Today they will play the home team as they try to get their revenge with a lineup that much more closely resembles the one that they are likely to open the season with. Though, if Adam Frazier is batting fourth on Opening Day I might just peace out for the season.</p>
<p id="OU0Qp1">Of particular note to me is that Hunter Renfroe, the presumed starting right fielder, did not play yesterday and is similarly not in today’s starting lineup. Does he have to earn his spot? Does he have so little to prove to the brass that they’d rather see other players? Is he hurt? We’ll just have to wait to find out.</p>
<p id="TCV3w2">Alec Marsh will start for the Royals, but this early in Spring Training pretty much everyone will be pitching only a single inning.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here's how we're lining up behind Alec Marsh as we take on the Rangers. <a href="https://t.co/Mi6ZEh1Uex">pic.twitter.com/Mi6ZEh1Uex</a></p>— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1761406504178258028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2024</a>
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<p id="4mKAK8">I think it should probably tell you something about Nick Pratto that Dairon Blanco is batting ahead of him. And something about Logan Porter that Nick Pratto is batting ahead of <em>him</em>.</p>
https://www.royalsreview.com/2024/2/24/24082057/spring-training-game-thread-ii-rangers-at-royalsJeremy Greco