Headlines

  • Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib
  • Tucker Barnhart To Retire
  • Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline
  • Reds Release Jeimer Candelario
  • Dave Parker Passes Away
  • Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Royals Notes: Cuthbert, Burns, Morales, International Market

By Steve Adams | September 26, 2016 at 1:32pm CDT

The Royals are on the cusp of mathematical elimination from the postseason, causing many fans to shift their focus to the club’s chances in 2017. With that in mind, a few notes on the reigning World Series champions…

  • MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan discusses a number of 2017 roster decisions in his latest Royals Inbox, including multiple questions on Cheslor Cuthbert’s role next season. The 23-year-old has had a solid rookie season at the plate in Kansas City, slashing .277/.322/.415 with 11 homers. However, with Mike Moustakas set to return to the club next year after having suffered a torn ACL earlier this summer, Cuthbert won’t be getting everyday at-bats at the hot corner. Flanagan also writes that Cuthbert isn’t likely to move to second base, either, as the Royals plan to have internal options Raul Mondesi, Christian Colon and Whit Merrifield compete for that gig. Defensive prowess will be the most heavily weighted factor in that position battle next spring, per Flanagan, who writes that each of the three candidates he listed is considered to be a better defensive option than Cuthbert. All of that, it seems, would leave Cuthbert without a regular role on next year’s Royals, so perhaps his ultimate fate will be returning to Triple-A to try to hone his skills at the hot corner (Flanagan points out that Cuthbert has had issues consistently making accurate throws and issues charging balls as well). Moustakas, after all, is a free agent following the 2017 campaign.
  • Also included in Flanagan’s column is a look at next year’s right field mix, where both Billy Burns and Jarrod Dyson will be considerations. The Royals, he notes, love speed and contact-oriented players, and both Dyson and Burns fit that mold well. While there’s the potential for some redundancy there, Dyson doesn’t figure to be overly expensive from an arbitration standpoint this winter, and Burns won’t be arbitration eligible this offseason. As such, it doesn’t seem like the Royals need to make a “one or the other” type of decision, and Kansas City could also simply carry both on the roster, as the switch-hitting Burns would give manager Ned Yost some matchup options.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan writes in his latest 10 Degrees column that the Royals will “almost certainly” make a qualifying offer to Kendrys Morales on the heels of his impressive summer power surge. I examined the possibility of that scenario last week when looking at Morales’ free-agent stock, noting that it’s a risk for the Royals, considering Morales’ history with the qualifying offer system. After being burned by a QO on the heels of a nice season with the Mariners in 2013, a now-older Morales strikes me as a likely candidate to accept. The downside of Morales on a one-year deal worth about $16.7MM isn’t crippling, but it’s an overpay in a market that has become less rewarding for players with such pronounced defensive limitations. Passan, too, notes that Morales may accept a QO if tendered such an offer by Kansas City.
  • While the Royals are restricted on the international market this year thanks to last summer’s spending spree, assistant GM Rene Francisco tells Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star that he’s still happy with the talent the Royals have been able to bring in for relatively marginal bonus figures. “I think we did good with what we got,” the AGM said. “We gave $50,000 here, $100,000, $75,000, $150,000 — we just kind of spread out the money.” And, as Dodd points out, the Royals have a history of landing premium talent for rather unremarkable bonuses. Salvador Perez, Yordano Ventura and Kelvin Herrera were each unearthed by the Royals’ international scouting department and signed for bonuses south of $100K. Kansas City will also be barred from signing players for more than $300K in the 2017-18 signing period.
Share 0 Retweet 10 Send via email0

2016-17 International Prospects Kansas City Royals Billy Burns Cheslor Cuthbert Jarrod Dyson Kendrys Morales

AL East Notes: Trumbo, Red Sox, Bautista, Encarnacion
Main
Pirates Acquire Chris Bostick From Nationals
View Comments (5)
Post a Comment

5 Comments

  1. Ace of Spades

    9 years ago

    At first I was saying how the qualifying offer system needs to change, but then I flipped and started thinking that agents and their clients need to better examine their market. Everyone was expecting players to decline a few years ago, but now that a couple players have in the past year, they are starting to realize no team wants to give a first rounder for a fringe player who might not be worth a pick to teams

    Reply
    • Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA

      9 years ago

      Then that depresses the market. The whole point behind free agency is to give players the best opportunity to choose where they would like to play and obtain a multi year contract. I’m not saying that the whole system needs to change but it should be fixed. Teams already get about 11 years of team control for high school kids and 10 for college kids if they are placed on the 40 man. They also can’t obtain free agency until 6 season in the minors if left there. So they could essentially string out a player who is afraid that he won’t get a job if he denies the QO. I like the idea of a 3-4 year commitment upon extending the QO. Such a system excludes teams from just QOing players to obtain picks and it also give players a somewhat long term commitment. I get the need for obtaining compensation, but I’m also pro players especially those that’ll never get that one huge contract.

      Reply
  2. TheMichigan

    9 years ago

    Can someone make less in arbitration than they did the year before? Is that even possible or do they have to make the same/more than they did the year before

    Reply
    • Blue_Painted_Dreams_LA

      9 years ago

      If they’re injured I believed they can make no less than 20%. I’m not exactly positive.

      Reply
    • Ace of Spades

      9 years ago

      They almost always get salary raises in arb

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Griffin Canning Believed To Have Suffered Achilles Injury

    Mariners Looking For Corner Infield Bats; Ownership Willing To Bump Payroll

    Wander Franco Found Guilty Of Sexual Abuse

    Mariners Place Rowdy Tellez On Release Waivers

    Max Meyer To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

    Whit Merrifield Announces Retirement

    White Sox Sign Noah Syndergaard To Minor League Deal

    Corbin Carroll Placed On IL With Wrist Fracture

    Hoops Rumors Has The Latest On NBA Draft, Free Agency

    Mets Option Francisco Alvarez

    Reds To Promote Chase Burns For MLB Debut

    A.J. Puk Undergoes Elbow Surgery; Gabriel Moreno Diagnosed With Fractured Finger

    Braves To Select Didier Fuentes

    Recent

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Ross Atkins Discusses Deadline Needs, Santander

    Yankees Select Geoff Hartlieb, Place Fernando Cruz On 15-Day IL

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Chicago White Sox

    Orioles Place Zach Eflin On Injured List

    Rockies Expected To Promote Yanquiel Fernandez

    Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

    Padres Designate Logan Gillaspie For Assignment

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version