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« Morning Tidbits | Main | Reds In Serious Talks With Cordero »
Royals Pursue Guillen, Reportedly Set With Yabuta
The Royals were in on the Torii Hunter sweepstakes, having offered five years and $70 million, with every intention of going higher if necessary. Now that the Angels have locked him up, Jose Guillen has become the "indisputable No. 1 on the Royals’ list of off-season targets."
“Obviously, our objective remains the same,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “We do want to acquire a right-handed bat to hit in the middle of our order, and we’ll keep working through every opportunity imaginable.”
Bob Dutton thinks that losing out on Hunter could have added benefits. In addition to acquiring the cheaper Guillen, the Royals could use the Hunter money to pursue RHPs Hiroki Kuroda or Carlos Silva.
Each is seeking a four-year, $40 million deal. Added with Guillen's asking price of three years, $30 million (though that could come down with his steroid allegations), that's the $70 million they were offering Hunter.
Dutton also reports that the Royals have a deal in place for RHP Yasuhiko Yabuta on a two-year deal for between $5 and $6 million, with a club option for 2010. The deal should be announced once Yabuta makes his way to the States for his physical.
Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.
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I really think the Royals should have gone after a cheaper outfielder like Guillen in the first place. Why? Well, like Tim wrote, it frees up money for Silva and Yabuta. I think going after Hunter in the first place was almost foolish. If the Royals want to rebuild their team, they can't do it with just one signing. Cheaper players like Silva, Yabuta, and Guillen are what can pull this club back together. I'm not saying these players are the answer to the Royals' much-needed salvation, but heck, it's a start.
Posted by: Positive/Negative | November 23, 2007 at 10:35 AM
Ive noticed the Royals playing a lot in the FA market lately. Theyre getting better through it, while still overpaying, and its good to see them close to competing again.
Do you guys see them being active in the trade market at all??
Posted by: GmblngPtchr20 | November 23, 2007 at 10:44 AM
I am afraid that Silva won't be cheap and someone will really overpay.
Posted by: Mike Simms | November 23, 2007 at 11:36 AM
Silva is underrated by fans in my opinion. I think he'll get overpaid, but the market has inflated by 3-4 million over the last few years so I guess that makes it market value.
Silva throws strikes, works fast, gets groundballs, and is durable. I tihnk he would be best suited for the NL, would benefit even more from a bigger ballpark.
Posted by: GmblngPtchr20 | November 23, 2007 at 11:47 AM
This is bad news....Prayers to his family...
Woah...Joe Kennedy died?? Prayers to his family
Major league pitcher Joe Kennedy died early Friday morning while at home with his family in Florida, agent Damon Lapa confirmed to ESPN.com.
The cause of Kennedy's death could not immediately be determined, Lapa said.
Kennedy, 28, compiled a 43-61 record in seven major league seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays.
A left-hander, Kennedy broke into the majors in 2001 with the Devil Rays. In three full seasons with Tampa Bay he made 72 starts, compiling an 18-31 record.
Since 2004, Kennedy had two stints each with Colorado and Oakland. He started the 2007 season with Oakland, was claimed off waivers in August by Arizona, then designated for assignment before being signed by the Blue Jays on Aug. 29.
Kennedy had a career 4.79 ERA, pitching 908 2/3 innings over 222 career appearances.
He made his last appearance in relief on Sept. 29 in a 5-3 win over Tampa Bay.
Senior writer Jerry Crasnick covers Major League Baseball for ESPN.com.
Posted by: zito4cyyoung | November 23, 2007 at 11:49 AM
sadly, until the Royals start winning, we will keep having to overpay to get FA's.
I do hope we are active in the trade market to get that bat we need. I'd rather see us get Andruw Jones than Guillen. Then if we miss out on Kuroda, try to make a trade with the Giants for Noah Lowry, and another trade with the Pirates for Jason Bay.
That would give us an addition of: Jones, Bay, Lowry (or Kuroda) and Yabuta. Not too shabby an improvement there.
Posted by: bobhamelin | November 23, 2007 at 11:50 AM
Yabuta was just a matter of time.
I suspect Dayton will try to add another reliever or two over the coming weeks, he clearly wants a strong bullpen.
Guillen would be better than Hunter probably, way cheaper, and about the same offensively. I'd also like Jones a bit more, but don't blame Dayton and Co. for not going after him.
Posted by: firesticks | November 23, 2007 at 12:13 PM
I agree with Guillen being about the same as Hunter offensively, and the numbers show it:
Guillen:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=115229
Hunter:
http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=116338
Posted by: Positive/Negative | November 23, 2007 at 12:35 PM
Posted by: Positive/Negative,
But how is that Pos/Neg ~ he doesnt have nearly the same type of "name appeal"...
I cant believe that many GMs fall for the same "name-chasing" that fans do. Guillen is a great bargain and as long as you dont think he will be a huge distraction because of the horrible personality problems (possibly created by previous steroid use though, he seemed fine in Sea) then its a great signing at a fraction of the cost...
Posted by: darkstar1661 | November 23, 2007 at 01:15 PM
"he seemed fine in Sea"
He bitched a fit there aswell.
Posted by: ArodSucksAtLife | November 23, 2007 at 02:37 PM
ArodSucksAtLife,
Did he really? When the two sides were talking extension around the time Ichiro signed we heard a lot about how well he seemed to have acted, I figured it was atleast semi-true...
Oh well, its still millions less for about the same production at the plate and the D can be made up in other ways...
Posted by: darkstar1661 | November 23, 2007 at 03:07 PM
I also heard that Guillen was liked in the clubhouse with the Mariners, but maybe I'm mistaken.
Offensively Guillen and Hunter are very similar.
Defensively is totally different story. Hunter plays a very good CF and Guillen is terrible in RF (with a cannon arm).
On the flip side, Guillen is always prone to blowing up and doing something stupid. And then there is the HGH controversy that he's mixed up in. He'll get a short suspension at most. So these 2 items make Guillen a sale.
I think Guillen will be a bargain this offseason. It would be a good move by the Royals since they have Dejesus to play center on the cheap.
Posted by: kab21 | November 23, 2007 at 07:06 PM
"I also heard that Guillen was liked in the clubhouse with the Mariners, but maybe I'm mistaken."
...See, thats what I thought! Huh, oh well...
Oh, and agree with 100% of what you said other than the suspension part. My understanding on it is that he was asked to talk with the commission ~ not that he has recently tested positive. Well, they can’t suspend you for something done in 2004 (or whenever) just because they recently found out about it ~ that is the situation I believe them to be in though...
Posted by: darkstar1661 | November 23, 2007 at 08:55 PM