Though there’s been speculation that Royals GM Dayton Moore could be a possibility to take over the GM slot in Atlanta following Frank Wren’s dismissal, Royals owner David Glass told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that Moore is “absolutely” staying with the Royals. Moore’s contract runs through 2016, but as Heyman and others have noted, it’d seem odd to leave town after getting the Royals to their first World Series in 29 years. Glass had nothing but praise for Moore: “He’s done a great job. He’s as good as it gets as far as a general manager.”
More news from baseball’s Central divisions…
- MLB.com’s Jim Callis breaks down how the Royals constructed their World Series roster, noting that the club has 14 homegrown players (draft or international signing), nine acquired via waivers or trade and only two signed via free agency (Omar Infante and Jason Vargas). One could make the case that Jeremy Guthrie also belongs in the free agent category, as he technically hit the open market for a couple of weeks between the end of the 2012 season and re-signing in Kansas City. However, the most intriguing part of Callis’ piece, for MLBTR readers, may be a comment from Moore on the importance of Jake Odorizzi’s role in the James Shields/Wade Davis trade: “…he also kept Yordano Ventura out of that deal at that time.”
- MLive.com’s Chris Iott makes five predictions about the upcoming Tigers offseason in his latest piece, prognosticating that Detroit will not make a serious run at re-signing Max Scherzer, nor will it spend lavishly on its bullpen, perhaps adding one mid-range option at best. As he notes, the combined $17MM owed to Joe Nathan and Joakim Soria is already more than the $15.4MM the club spent on last year’s entire Opening Day bullpen. Iott does, however, foresee a re-signing of Victor Martinez. For his last two predictions, he expects an internal competition for the fifth starter slot and that one (or both) or Andy Dirks and Don Kelly will be non-tendered, based on recent comments from GM Dave Dombrowski. Bottom line: he expects Detroit to spend on retaining Martinez and acquiring a center fielder rather than on the bullpen or rotation.
- The Cardinals aren’t likely to re-sign any of their five free agents, writes MLB.com’s Jen Langosch. That means that Justin Masterson, A.J. Pierzynski, Mark Ellis and perhaps most notably, lifetime Cardinal Jason Motte and the resurgent Pat Neshek are ticketed for new jerseys. Neshek is probably the most intriguing of the bunch, as the 34-year-old signed a minor league deal last offseason but earned an All-Star nod en route to a final ERA of 1.87 in 67 1/3 innings with 9.1 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9.
Justin Masterson certainly looks ticketed for the DL, his average fastball velocity dropped almost 3 MPH from 2013 to 2014.
He’s never excited me. I suppose if I’m the Rockies meddling owner he’d be intriguing as a GB inducer
I think Motte will be a good buy low candidate for some team somewhere. A full season removed from TJ, hopefully he can get a couple MPH back on his fastball and he could be an offseason steal.
Yes, usually takes some time for command to come back. He is certainly worth a shot for someone, just won’t get big salary.
What happened with your post about Royals GM??
Disappeared.
With Neshek being a FA, there is a lot of work to do in the bullpen. I’d expect the Cardinals to be active on relievers this winter.
Why active? Rosenthal, Martinez, Choate, Maness, Freeman, Greenwood, Lyons, Siegrest…Plenty of relievers in house.
Because Rosenthal, Martinez, Choate proven they can’t preform under pressure. No solid closer will have a 3 plus era in the season then have a 13 plus era in the playoffs. I understand you can’t expect your pitcher to be perfect but if I’m a manager I should expect my closer to be able to close the door 7 out of 10 games and the 3 out of 10 will just have trouble not necessarily lose the game you are a closer for a reason. Choate had a 4 plus era in the season and 18 plus era in the playoffs. The only relievers worth keeping is Nesheck (and he even proved to not handle pressure), Siegrest who is still questionable in my opinion and Marco Gonzales who would be long relief.
Yep Cardinals Need to resign him… And Maybe go after Luke Gregerson I think hes a FA, need another big batt, and a new bench and we’ll be good to go… Minus Matheny as manager
“He’s as good as it gets as far as a general manager.”
Really? The Royals are having a great year granted but this had been expected to happen a few years before now considering the farm system they had and all that coming through around the same time.
As good as Friedman? As good as Mozeliak? As good as Beane? Sabean?
No, just no.
I could go on.
Hes perhaps lucky its finally come together this year, because gauging much of the KC fan opinion, many were ready to run him right out of town.
I said essentially the same, but guess I was a little too brash for the comments, and got deleted.
He has been GM for 8 years, and his team finally won 89 games. I really don’t think he is that good. Look the contracts he gave to Guthrie, Vargas, and Infante. Sure they would be fine in a big market, but a small market team can’t play by the same rules.
I want to see more success before I think he is good. The Royals did great, but from the moves I have seen from him, and his track record it is unimpressive to say the least.
Her good timing in KC…but timing is everything. It wouldn’t have taken much for them to have been out of the post season. I’ve said it a billion times…but Yost single handedly cost them the division title. I look for him to drive their victory float down the wrong alley if they win.
Honestly, that offense has grossly underperformed…Hosmer and Butler were non entities much of the season. This is awesome for the fan base though…. even if baseball slights integrity by not really rewarding the best teams
Speaking of Hosmer, do you think the Angels are going to drill him next year for the bat flip?
I really doubt it. 1) it was the postseason, 2) the Royals were playing really well, 3) its not Mike Scioscia’s style and 4) there is no bad blood between the Angels and Royals, had it been Oakland it would be a different story.
I doubt it too…I can’t get in anyone’s head…but they might look at the circumstances and say.
.it was part of the excitement. Who knows
I also don’t think win totals remaining in the 80s means much going forward… but to be fair
.this was an organization that was losing at a 100 game clip for a long time. I think this is just the window opening in KC.
I couldn’t reply to your other comment because it was deleted but my point was the Royals payroll is still only 19th in the league so you can’t complain about that. Guthrie was nails over his last 10 starts or the Royals don’t make the playoffs, Vargas ERA+ was 107 so he was a positive addition to the club, and Infante stabilized a position of problem for the Royals for a long time. You don’t have to like it but the Royals are in the WS after a 29 year drought so Moore AND Yost are going to get credit for it. Enjoy!
They probably overpaid for Guthrie and Infante as far as number of years on their deals. However, Guthrie is 28-23 with a 4.10 earned run average over the last two years. Those numbers are in line with his salary ($8 million per year on average).
Moore hasn’t been great with trades, but acquired Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Nori Aoki, James Shields, Wade Davis in trades. Not to mention most of the remaining roster has been developed through the minor leagues.
Before Moore arrived, most baseball insiders said the Royals had three average to above average Major League players (Mike Sweeney, David DeJesus, and Zach Greinke). I think you need to realize how far the Royals have come in those eight years – and it started with Dayton Moore.
I’d venture to say it not only started with Moore, but also when Glass and son decided to get out of baseball operations. Its easy to critique Moore for his “process” but he did have a process. With the right GM and non meddling ownership they could have competed earlier with Sweeney/ Beltran/
I agree – but the only way Moore would accept the GM role with the Royals is if the Glass family gave him a set payroll (85 million budget or whatever) and control of baseball decisions. If Moore or some other general manager had demanded the same thing in 2000, the Royals could have been better sooner.
The trades involving Damon, Dye and Beltran brought back nothing significant and the farm system was mediocre at best at that time Moore took over. Moore was much better than Allard Baird and is the best GM the Royals had since John Schuerholz.
Moore was a hot commodity, and might not have even wanted the role if not for being a Kansas native. He certainly commanded autonomy.
The slight on the Royals… late 90’s etc…was atrocious pitching. Offense was solid… people easily forget guys like Joe Randa.
I don’t listen to anything David Glass says. If anything Moore should be praised for that uphill climb over Captain Wally World he had to endeavor.
Hey, I was waiting for an article about the Royals so I could bring this up
Are the Royals or maybe the KC Star going to invite Bob Dutton back to Kansas City for the World Series?
While, I don’t know the set of circumstances as to why Bob left for Seattle to cover the Mariners. I am just thinking after covering the Royals for a very long time and I don’t think they had any playoff appearances during his stretch maybe they could help him out. He should know everybody and he did a good job of covering the Royals as far as I am concerned, he put up with a lot of thin times… Anyway just wanted to ask…
He has a media pass…let him use it…there are a lot of people who put up with the thin times longer than a guy who never had to pay to see a game.
I really dont understand the sudden change in attitudes regarding Moore, at this time last year Moore and the Shields’ trade were heavily criticized. KC’s roster barely changed from 2013 to 2014, they happened to win 3 more games in 2014 and get hot at just the right time to make it to the WS; now Moore is “as good as it gets?”
…David Glass speaking.
I know the Royals and Moore were heavily criticized!
Plus, Wade Davis was awful as a starter, he got knocked around. Now he’s an ace set-up man. Plus, I jumped all over Ned Yost last year when they had their 15 game or whatever losing streak. They didn’t have that this year.
They didn’t have Aoki. A lot of folks also jumped all over Moore because of his Frenchy contract. One of the biggest things was last year their catcher was hurt, Salavador Perez. Hosmer and Moose struggled for most of the year.
Most of their line-up is left handed. However in the end Cain and Gordon had good years. Their pitching came up strong, their bullpen stronger.
Some of it can be explained, some of it inexplicable. However in the end, if the Royals win the World Series, it will be good for league because it will be nice to know that small market teams can still get it done.
The inexplicable is a large percentage of the game. As much as I value sabre driven assistance of the game….its not played in a vacuum. I don’t wanna over state this or be vilified… but sabre cannot explain the game in it’s entirety.
Not to minimize their success, but bullpen pitchers can be very unpredictable. The way KC’s 7-8-9 inning guys have performed, any of us could make the call to the pen and be World Series bound. The baseball gods are smiling down on them this year. I will be rooting for them. It could have been my Tigers but the baseball gods did a very nasty thing to our pen. So nasty that it can’t be put to print here.
True. I was actually just thinking. One break and we could be talking about this being the year Billy Beane finally gets a ring and takes out the Giants in the process.
Yeah….I’m not sure Detroit won that central in a commanding fashion
But…I think over short measurements things can be fairly predictable. Can a team count on 3 relievers to be lights out over a season..two seasons? No. But over a 3 week playoff period? Maybe.
KC fans…in general…aren’t stupid. They are enjoying this time multi-generationally for their own sake….for the years its been. They know Moore is sketchy and lucky…and Yost too
.
And you’ll see the rampage when the timing is right
It’s his own boss saying he’s the best in the middle of a deep playoff run; I wouldn’t read too much into that.
As far as the Shields trade, there are a number of reasons it’s less of a factor this year than a year ago. For starters, it was clearly a win-now move. He thought he was a big-name pitcher away from serious playoff contention, and it looks like he was right. Nobody denies there has been luck involved, but he also has put together a good team and the adage has always been that anything can happen once you get into the playoffs. I don’t think anybody would claim the Royals are the best team in baseball in 2014, but they might just be the champions nonetheless.
Second, Wil Myers was the Rookie of the Year just after the trade happened. In 2014, he was awful. He may still end up being a superstar, but a year of bad performance — of course that will affect how people perceive the trade.
What I find so interesting about the Royals fan base is the melding of the regional sleeping dog type fans with the sabre community that’s been hovering over them for years. St. Louis is renowned for their fans… but KC has great regional fans. These are people that might drive 400 miles roundtrip.
Dayton Moore is not “as good as it gets.”
There are better GMs around Baseball (Sabean, Mozeliak, Beane, Epstein/Hoyer)
Some of his decision have been downright awful.
Some of his decision have really paid off, especially his trades!
I credit the team for getting hot more than I do Moore’s decision making.
Oh.
So the team he built was “lucky”.
You know what Branch Rickey said a million times…….
“Luck is the residue of design”.
Absolutely luck. His design doesn’t predict impeccable defense in key situation, clutch HRs from Mike Moustakas who prior to the Postseason never hit the ball, winning every extra inning game, coming back 7-3 against Jon Lester in a Wild Card game, etc. This is the Royals year just like last year the Red Sox had “their year” and than quickly sank back down to the basement. Gordon/Cain make every catch, Dyson scores all the time, every player gets a big hit when called upon. The pitching is solid when needed.
(I think the Royals will contrarily maintain success because they have a great core)
But, they had luck on their side. Going 8-0 is a combination of good play and luck. Moore didn’t’ construct the Royals to be this good. Having a rotation of Guthrie, Vargas, etc doesn’t quantify where they are. An uprise of Cain and Ventura at key times catapulted their Winning percentage and their bullpen has been lock down. Moore assembled a good offensive core (Butler Hosmer Gordon Perez) and pieces just fell into place from there. For 8 years, his teams were Terrible! He is not “as good as it gets”
I’m not going to argue. I’ll just say this….
Like any good GM he built that team around his ballpark. He built that team around defense. He added defense to the team. I believe he has 3 gold glove winners and 2 more guys this year that are deserving. He developed a fast OF for the K, and picked up fly ball pitchers. And his coaching staff…..I have not seen any team play smarter defense in years. Throws are backed up no matter where they come from (ever see a RF back up 1B and hold a runner to first on an errant throw?). The Royals do not let runner take an extra base and get in scoring position without a fight.
His team is young, athletic and most importantly – smart. Tony La Russa used to talk about “Baseball IQ”. That teams players have it. In spades.
They have incredible defense and an exciting young ball club.
I am rooting for the Royals to win the World Series. They’re due!
I’m with you on team construction, whatever… but a one game playoff is conducive to luck…go play that game with Oakland again and have faith in luck all ya want. That’s not the Royals fault… I’m a Kansas native… but I think baseball needs to minimize luck on the schedule
Im gonna be fair and say his teams haven’t been terrible… they are essentially the same team as last year… even the pen might have been slightly better…Hosmer pulled a James Loney all year and Butler was maybe the worst offensive regular in baseball in the first half
“Luck is a thin line between survival and disaster, and many men can’t walk it.”. – Hunter S. Thompson
I think their defense has counteracted some offensive inefficiency… and they’ve been making even a high percentage of hard plays. Their defense essentially had a high babip for lack of a better term. Yeah… they caught fire at the right time. Different story if Oakland pulls that game out.
I think the Cardinals would be foolish not to resign Neshek.. who will take his place?? plus Cardinals need more help in the Pen…. I think they should resign AJP and let Cruz walk. But then again they use Wacha in the 9th inning….