After a half-decade at or near the top of the AL Central, two appearances in the World Series and one championship, the Royals now look to be going in the opposite direction. As Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas all hit the free-agent market, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes (subscription required/recommended) that the Royals “expect to step back for perhaps three seasons” and embark on a rebuilding effort. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star also penned an excellent column on the Royals’ trajectory over the weekend, reporting that Kansas City appears headed for a “substantial rebuild across the next two or three seasons.”
Royals GM Dayton Moore suggests to Dodd that the Royals have to at least be open-minded to virtually any trade scenario: “If somebody blows your doors off on something, you always have to look at it.”
That, according to Rosenthal, could even include controllable pieces like Whit Merrifield, who broke out with a .288/.324/.460 slash and an AL-leading 34 stolen bases last season. Rosenthal also notes that Kansas City would listen to offers on left-handed reliever Scott Alexander, who notched a 2.48 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a ridiculous 73.8 percent ground-ball rate in 69 innings last year. Both players are controlled through the 2022 season and are still two years removed from arbitration eligibility.
Beyond that pairing, the Royals have a few more obvious trade candidates. Kelvin Herrera and Joakim Soria are both quality right-handed relievers that are just one year from free agency, though neither is signed at a bargain rate. Herrera projects to earn $8.3MM in arbitration, while Soria is still owed $10MM through the end of his contract. Jason Hammel didn’t have a strong first season in Kansas City but ate up 180 innings with quality K/BB numbers and a 4.37 FIP. He’s still owed $11MM through 2o18. Left-hander Danny Duffy, signed for another four years and $60MM, would represent one of the top starting pitching options on the trade market if the Royals field offers on him.
[Related: Kansas City Royals Offseason Outlook]
Interestingly, both Dodd and Rosenthal report that even as the Royals embark on a rebuild, they’re still in pursuit of a long-term deal with Hosmer. Per Dodd, team officials “see rebuilding scenarios that include” Hosmer in the fold. He’s still just 28 years of age, so Hosmer could indeed still be in his prime even at the conclusion of a two- or three-year rebuilding cycle, but it nonetheless seems counter-intuitive to sign him to what would almost certainly be a franchise-record contract while also dealing away big league talent.
Furthermore, re-signing Hosmer would effectively cost the Royals a top pick, as they currently project to receive three compensatory selections after the first round of next year’s draft due to the losses of Hosmer, Moustakas and Cain (assuming each signs for at least a $50MM guarantee, which seems likely). Those picks would not only give the Royals five picks in the top 40 or so selections of the draft — Kansas City also has a pick in Competitive Balance Round A — they’d also significantly bolster the Royals’ league-allotted draft bonus pool. Each of those comp picks for the loss of Hosmer, Moustakas and Cain would add about $2MM (give or take $100K) to the Royals’ draft pool, based on last year’s slot values.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether Hosmer even has interest in returning to a Royals team that could spend the first two or three years of that contract losing more than it wins. If Hosmer’s market fails to develop, it certainly stands to reason that a return to the only organization he’s ever known could be a nice safety net. But, it’ll likely be difficult to sell Hosmer on staying in Kansas City while simultaneously trading away his longtime teammates for younger, unproven commodities.
If the Royals do deal away big league talent without acquiring much in the way of reinforcements for the 2018 roster, they’ll join the White Sox and Tigers as rebuilding clubs in the same division. That would seemingly give the Indians and Twins all the more motivation to act aggressively as they seek to bolster their clubs this winter, as few teams ever have the luxury of competing in a division where three of their four primary rivals are largely punting on the season at hand.
Only 1.5 years too late
They had to take the chance.
No they didn’t.
They were 12 games back at the deadline in 2016 with a roster full of guys with peak high value and they didn’t move any of them.
If they had, like most people said they should, their head start on this rebuild would be incredible.
Nobody was giving anything back for position players at the 2016 trade deadline. Plus, Wade Davis, Moustakas and Cain were all hurt at the deadline. So, they would have most likely ended up with 2-3 decent minor league players for Hosmer and that’s it.
Not even that long. They had the pieces to do it last July. Now they have barley anything. Whitt Merrifield and danny duffy. Hurrera could get something possibly
I forgot Salvy too. So 3 good trade pieces.
They could flip Maurer and Buchter as well. When Buchter is on he is money. He was unhittable in 16′ for the Padres
They’re not trading Salvador Perez.
Nobody would be able to give them enough for him for what he brings to the table and how little he costs.
Flip them for what?
Maurer couldn’t get anyone out last year for them and Buchter is a reliever that isn’t a closer. They’re both a dime a dozen. If anything they’d get back minor league filler.
It would be best for Perez if they did trade him. Otherwise he’s in a Mike Trout situation.
Yup! Plus he’s got one of the best contracts in MLB for what he provides!
Not for long. Even if they may not be TOP top picks, the Royals will still get a plethora of added draft picks when Hosmer, Cain and Moustakes sign elsewhere. It’s not a goldmine, but that’s a few more impact picks near the top of the draft.
@ KingZeke8
The draft picks that the Royals will receive will be at the end of round 1. That’s good, but it’s not like they’re receiving picks in the top 10.
Also on more than one occasion Boras has advised his clients to sign *after* the draft to avoid draft pick compensation (e.g. Kendrys Morales, Stephen Drew).
Let’s assume a draft pick develops in 3 years. Go back 20 year till 3 years ago in the draft. Read every name of every player drafted in the first round, pay extra attention to the comp picks names. I bet you will have never heard of 75% of those names. Then see what player did develop into mlb players. See how many turned into good or above players. Also pay attention to players drafted by Dayton Moore. Of these 5 high draft picks, I would be shocked if one pick turned into an all-star player. I would be confident 2 probably 3 will not become average mlb players. The Royals are screwed regardless of which direction they take.
I think it’s s good idea to let them all walk and get the picks. They went to and then won the World Series. Smart fans understand this is a great time to rebuild and in 4 or 5 years they will be right back in the mix. But don’t you think they would of got more prospects if they traded each of those players at the deadline? Or were they still in the race for a wildcard spot…. thinking about it now they must of been since they traded for Melky. But if I were running things I would take the draft picks and trade all the teams assets and do what my White Sox did. It’s much easier to sell the fans on a rebuild after winning the World Series .
Agreed, this was short sighted by the Royals, they could have rebuilt more quickly moving some of those guys.
Moose, Cain and Wade Davis were all hurt at the 2016 deadline and they were 9 months removed from winning a World Series. Plus, the 2016 deadline was notorious for how little teams were giving up for players.
The Royals were in the race at the 2017 deadline, so trading anyone then would have been silly.
So, please tell me who they should have traded in 2016 or 2017 to get value back?
I’m better with the term “punting” than “tanking”.
Sloughing is still better.
Tanking is one of the dumbest click words.
Tanking would be trading literally everybody in May 2016.
Tanking to me means actually pursuing bad players in a single purposeful effort to lose games in order to net the best possible draft position.
Teams that are trading assets to rebuild spent farm systems and teams that are playing youngsters in an effort to see how they perform are not in my opinion tanking.
It may just be semantics in my mind, because I know that a loss is a loss, but to me there is a clear distinction between doing the best you can with the assets you have and purposefully attempting to lose games (which often shows with past prime fringe players getting the majority of time instead of youngsters).
Traditionally even during a rebuild, you at least make a halfassed attempt to put a competitive product on the field.
Not at the expense of potential long-term gain
Should have done this season or two ago. Rebuilding looked inevitable.
So you’re suggesting they should have gone for a full rebuild immediately after winning the World Series?
Most certainly. By the end of July 2016, they were not contending for a playoff spot and key Royal players were approaching FA. Windows were closing very fast. Even if Royals re-signed all of the key players, they’d be paying them more money for aging players who would post less WAR than when they were paying them arbitration salaries. Plus, Royals are not big market team. So why didn’t they try to trade away these impending FAs for some almost-major-league-ready Triple-A prospects? Royals would have had few years of down time but Royals would’ve had come back stronger afterwards. Now they don’t even have these guys as a trade bait anymore, because they are all FAs, so it would take them longer to rebuild. EDIT: Their farm is terrible too.
Moose, Cain and Wade Davis were all hurt at the 2016 deadline, so they couldn’t have traded any of them for anything at all, or at least anything significant to help a rebuild.
So are you suggesting they should have traded away only Eric Hosmer and that’s it when nobody was giving up anything for position players during the 2016 trade deadline?
Yes! That’s what I do in my baseball video game. If they did that they could of had like 15 great players to trade and the fans would be mad but everyone knew that it was Clevelands tins to shine and Houston as well. It’s very hard in baseball to win back to back World Series and they just got to the WS 2 times in a row and right now they would of had the best farm system in mlb and 2 years in a row with a top draft pick. They were not like The Cubs or Houston were they had young controllable players for 4-5 more years
They had back to back World Series appearances and came back with most of the same pieces and you wanted them to tear the team down? It’s a sad day when fans are so accepting of a rebuild.
I’m not saying it’s smart to throw good money after bad to try and compete like the Yanks use to back in the mid-2000s but the Royals owed it to their fans to ride it out until it was clear it was time to move on. I’m sure the Royals fan base is appreciative.
They had to do it. They had a reasonable shot at a wildcard berth for most of the last couple seasons.
July 2016. 12 back and trending the wrong way with a roster of players they weren’t going to lock up. That’s when they should have unloaded.
Moose was hurt in July 2016
Cain was hurt in July 2016
Wade Davis was hurt in July 2016.
Danny Duffy wasn’t under control after 2016.
So, they could have “unloaded” Hosmer. The only guy they seem interested in bringing back. Plus there are a very limited number of teams that even need a 1st baseman that were even in the hunt in 2016., so that makes the demand and price much lower.
Please tell me who else they could have traded off? Kendrys Morales and Eddie Volquez? Yea, that would have brought back a Kings ransom……….
Their only big time trade piece is Duffy, and they have arguably the worse farm system in baseball, lots of money tied up to bad players (Kennedy and Gordon), and their a small market. It’s gonna be a long rebuild for KC
Salvy and Whit seem like good trade pieces. And no way there farm is worse than the Angels.
Oh yeah, Salvy too.
Merrifield is a 2B in a market filled with better 2B who can be had for just money, or lesser prospect returns (Kinsler, Gordon, Cozart, Walker, etc).
And in recent years, the Angels farm has actually become considerably better. It’s still not very good, but the Royals arguably have 1 prospect that is better than “B level” and thats Pratto.
Or the Giants
They don’t have nearly the worst. They have 5 guys who were good enough at one time to be Top100 prospects. Plus they have Mondesi and Soler who are both former top 100. If those 2 guys break out they have the potential to be a decent team.
The group think among the media is incredible. This is the same team that has been picked low for the last few years even after willing the AL twice. Moore has always held his cards close to his vest.
Anyone putting stock in what the Star has to say needs to read a little bit. They aren’t very knowledgeable. They didn’t know how many free agents the team had.
Every team has pretty much 5 guys who at one point where top 100 prospects lol. The Phillies, for example, have like 12 of such players. Soler and Mondesi aren’t prospects so they don’t count for the farm system.
The Royals’ farm is garbage, in order to be a good prospect, you have to be healthy and productive, something they dont have.
I thought they were stupid for making the solar trade. He is like 25-26
How can you possibly look at their farm system and not think it’s one of the worst
Because they have a bunch of toolsy players that could bust out. Every player is different and will reach their peak at different times. The farm is missing the high-end prospects that stayed healthy, but they have a lot of players that will probably turn out to be good MLB players.
At one time they had the most Top100 prospects ever. None of those guys turned out to be great players. I don’t put a whole lot of stock on those lists because they wrong just about as often as they are correct.
Again, they have been picked to be marginal their whole run. I have trust that Moore knows what he is doing.
Their gm is an idiot, should have never held on and the farm system is booty
Yeah didn’t Gordon have a very bad average around 200 all year? Yeah they need to trade Duffy and eat most of the contract if they want some good prospects in return. I wonder if they go after some flip candidates
At least they should have what, 4 picks after the first round?
At least 3 for losing Hosmer, Moose, and Cain.
Rebuild might’ve been a lot better/quicker if they’d traded Cain, Hosmer and Moose at the deadline.
Can’t blame a team that inevitably knew a long rebuild was coming for going for it one last time
I can’t really blame them either, but it didnt seem like they did enough to make a legit run going into last season. The pitching staff looked horrendous going in. Dayton Moore had a rep for player development….but a guy has to be able to do more than draw high picks to have talent in my mind. The achilles heal has also been developing starting pitching. He did figure out how to get some relievers going. Solid if not great Royals teams that revived baseball in KC.
They’d won nine of 10 games and were in possession of a Wild Card spot on July 31.
What really hurt was the Royals not being in a strong position with their rotation going into the season. Ventura passing is an unreal and abnormal blow, but it couldn’t have happened to a more tetering staff. In my mind it became about what the Royals DIDNT get accomplished last winter. It had all the makings of a .500 team….a very popular one locally though. Maybe they’ll get one of them resigned and het the system going and some relevance can be had in the next 2-3. Royals have always been sum is greater than parts….so Moore has that working in their favor.
They could of at least traded for someone like Miguel Gonzalez who was pretty solid for the Sox. Like a 4 era but he gave his team a chance to win most of the time
Exactly. They didn’t lose 110 games last year.
No, not 110 games, but they did nothing to distinguish themselves from the middle of the pack. The wild card can be a curse to teams that need to make healthy decisions about their future. Dangling one to a team thats only a few over .500 keeps them from maybe dealing to help start a rebuild…the chase pushes them back. Instead of AA talent incoming they take those picks in the a year later basically.
It wouldn’t have taken much to distinguish themselves from the pack. At the deadline they were in the postseason.
With 2 months to play? That entire pack is within wild card range. Oh, itd have taken major moves to bolster the rotation…and they had already spent the ammo before. The org flat ran out of gas. It was do or die with the team on the field. It took a 10 game streak to get them there….that is a red flag.
Yes, but they didn’t have the same team or pitching that took them to the world series.
And they should have known that going in and possibly dealt earlier. There was obviously not going to be a run. Holding a wild card spot with 2 months to go thats based off a small sample win streak means nothing. Thats the downside od the wild card…it rewards being just a smidge over mediocre
agree
As Steve mentioned, the Royals were playing well leading up to the deadline, had a Wild Card spot and weren’t even that far back of the Indians for the division lead. Most teams in that position buy, not sell.
I agree. Except it hurt them being a small market team with a limited payroll
It doesn’t really matter. A championship is more valuable than any prospect, regardless of how big of a market you are in.
I know my KC friends are frustrated, but those guys put on a show!!! Now it’s time for a new core. The right new core. There are a few in the Cards organization. Hope you get them and not someone else!!!
Their relievers have 1 year left & can still bring value back in trades, trade Duffy & players that have less than 4 years control over time & with their multiple top picks it won’t take that long. Hosmer if resigned to a 3 or 4 year deal would also become a good trade chip.
I dont believe you can sign and flip like that.
If you sign a free agent then unless he gives his expressed permission you cannot trade them until June of that new season (if I’m not badly mistaken).
I highly doubt Hosmer or any others will allow the Royals the negotiate a deal that they reasonably understand will be dealt to another team. Why not just work through free agency and maybe give yourself more choice of destination.
As a baseball fan all I can say it was fun to see them play. KC is a small market but they had a great run, image if they would’ve won the 2014 WS to go along with 2015. Hopefully they can rebuild faster than expected.
The hindsight-based analysis on the Royals that’s really common on these boards makes no sense. They would’ve been absolutely shredded, justifiably so, for selling immediately after winning a WS or selling at the deadline when they literally had the second AL WC spot. Was this predictable? Yeah, but the only time they could arguably have sold was at the beginning of last season, and the AL was open enough that the potential upside of making one last attempt at a run greatly outweighed the mediocre returns they would’ve gotten for their rentals
I agree…but I think they should have gone out and gotten some pitching and not let luck play as big of a factor. On their beat they are a 92 win team….start removing parts and they drop fast. I just didnt see them do what it took to patch. It seemed like the loss of Ventura stunned the organization…that rotation block was gone.
In defense, they burnt much of their farm making the run in 2015 (Reed, Finnegan, Manaea, Lamb, etc.), so they really didn’t have the trade pieces to go acquire a top-end pitcher. The Kennedy signing was ridiculous, looked terrible from Day 1, but that’s the only kind of pitcher they can really afford on the open market. You could quibble with them trading so many of their pitching prospects, I guess, but, outside of Manaea, those guys suck (or, in Finnegan’s case, are always injured), so I’m not sure I really see what else they could’ve done personally.
Obviously, they can’t be blamed (not saying you are) for their second-best pitcher dying in a car crash
I cant believe any Royals fan will complain….but being KC….the success comes with a price. Dealing those prospects, etc. Moore had a Process…but sometimes I think he gets in this middle ground with the team. Reminds me of some of those post 05 White Sox teams….good enough to maybe compete but not really a sure thing. I mean, at some point…so you keep milking 85 wins or do you try to get back in the 92 range.
It really would be counterintuitive to sign Hosmer if KC intends to rebuild, and one factor not mentioned here is Scott Boras. Royals will have to pay top dollar to bring Hosmer back, and that just doesn’t make sense for them right now.
Unless reality strikes and the only top dollar he gets is from the Royals, and that based on the fact he’s a strong marketing commodity to them….he wouldnt have that built in elsewhere. Hes not a star, and quite honestly his career stats dont just jump off the page. For all his notoriety….his play doesnt seem to back it up. To me the Royals remain in conversation about resigning him based on this fact. He can be a great Royal….or an ok Padre..etc
You’re right – Royals may be waiting out the market, and if Hosmer is still available in late January they may be able to bring him back on a shorter, more affordable contract. The market is so flush with first baseman that it will likely dampen the salaries of even the best of the bunch.
He’s worth more to the Royals than any other team.
Absolutley! We talk about value as a matter of wun production the majority of the time…but it neglects a player’s market value to the team often. Id love to see a day when the money in baseball is used to keep more players as franchise and community assets…it bonds the teams to the fan base. If the market valuations truly do get accurate we’ll see this, because a player like Hosmer has way much more total value to KC than anyone else. Free agency is a great thing giving players freedom….but with advanced valuation, the stupid money is going to end for all but the extreme stars.
Danny Duffy would be the perfect #2 to put behind Aaron Nola. Would like to see the Phillies take a run at him.
The problem is, the Royals would want top prospects and he doesn’t really offer surplus value.
He has a 5/$65M contract, and has provided an average of $24M of value in each of the last 2 years according to Fangraphs. So yes, he does have surplus value.
dumb for not selling. were never going to win it all even off they made the playoffs.
On July 30th, they were in a wildcard spot, and 2 games behind Cleveland for the division lead. Why would you sell, when you’re right there in the division picture, and wild card picture?
I dont believe they should have sold either but not for pure baseball reasons. Fans in KC deserve every shot at at playoff thats possible. In fact they should have been trying to acquire…but not as likely with their shelled system. It was one last trip through 162 with a boat with a misfiring engine. Royals had so much work perfectly for them….wasn’t gonna last forever. Theyve been smart not signing these guys long term too. Some dumb money on Kennedy though….Gordon I get.
Which is what everyone said until they knocked Matt Harvey around late one night in New York
Welp, if they’re purposely going to tank & not even remotely try to contend in a weak division, then they aren’t worth the few hundred bucks I spend on a trip or 2 every season to KC!
I can accept not signing the big 3. However I can’t accept not even trying to put a plausible product on the field that can be at least competitive at home which they have an advantage if said team is built around speed…
F that!
Fair assessment, given the cost of tickets, stadium concessions, and hotel rooms these days.
To be fair, like many Missourian’s, I have family in the KC area so lodging is covered but a total rebuild isn’t necessary (I think Moore mentioned that) especially considering that many of their needs are in positions that are flooded with competition thus driving down the price and they could stay competitive with sage moves and the rebuild would consist of the 5 picks in the first 70 like has been bandied around…
Id resign Moose and sign Logan Morrison.
I think with a skillful march in free agency they can reasonably replace their lost offensive players. I think Logan Morrison is likely an upgrade over Hosmer actually. I wouldnt get in a bidding war for any of them.
It likely is a year later than it should. If only due to their next television contact. They have one of the worst contacts in baseball and was on a path to receive a huge increase. Not sure if FoxSports will try to low-ball them being they likely haven’t been competitive., at the time(2019¿)
34 stolen bases isn’t a lot …you used to see guys do 60-80 easily now , it’s mediocre
It’s mediocre historically, but it’s clearly not mediocre in today’s game. Teams don’t run much anymore, because, unless your success rate is ridiculous (like 75% or something), it’s not worth the risks of running into outs
There are few amount of guys who are given the green light to steal most of the time.
To me the steals game is where the market inefficiency is.
It is a different game anymore. Steals are down
and bunts
and the hit
and run and all the other aspects of the strategy of the small game!
Steals dont NEED to be down. Its a skill set thats generally slump free and it’s not being developed or deployed. Game is very stratified now. A Whitey Ball team could run havoc on the league now. Those Cardinals teams ran like crazy and certainly didnt cost them any pennants.
It’s a different era anymore. It’d be like saying “200 innings pitched in one season isn’t a lot. Cy Young 450 + innings in 1892”.
Maybe we will finally see that Chris Archer trade that we always hear about and that never happens. My bet is the Dodgers will be all over that if they do decide to trade him.
Uh, you do know this was a story about the Royals right? Not the Rays.
How can a post like this not mention Salvador Perez? He could be the most impactful trade piece on the market. Could see him going for Robles or some good Dodger pitchers.
No chance salvy is worth a robles or buehler
Salty would worth as much in trade as anyone has been in years. He has team-friendly deal, is under contract for something like 5-years and is the best catcher in the game. The Royals would be stupid to trade him because he is essentially irreplaceable for their franchise.
He is a 2.5 WAR player. Not even close to the best C in the game. Posey is far and away better. Salvy aint bad but he is not a top of the line value trade chip. C is also an easy position to drive up your war in too and he was still just a 2.5 win player
It’s going to be a long, painful experience for Royals fans. But remember how quickly the Marlins put it back together.
If the Royals are in contention at any point before the start of the 2045 season it’ll be better than their last rebuild.
Lol…Unless its all the newer Royals fans the rest know long and painful already. I think some have already left the Royals Express.
Should have done this last summer. Re-signing Hosmer would make zero sense…
I will take the rebuild and agreed with the decision not to last year. We still have the 2015 WS Rings several fans would like to have. Fans realize anymore it is the nature of the beast.
After the last couple of years, several out of nowhere teams have competed and made/nearly made the playoffs. No one predicted the Royals the years they went to the Series. The O’s weren’t given much of a shot the times they made it to the post season. No one expected the Dbacks, Brewers, or Twins last year. I think the idea of tanking to be a knee jerk reaction to the mentality of winning it all or bust. Most teams should aim to be competitive and be in position to contend if they catch a few breaks or if something goes wrong with the teams favored to win.
Agree 100%.
Its why im not a fan of the wild card system…and “out of nowhere” team is one that wins 85 games….to me thats not really a great team…its a few lucky wins from being under .500. We can theoretically have a world champion that finishes under .500.
Looks like the Indians might have a chance at winning 30 in a row this year. smdh
Yes, the Indians will be in the playoffs for at least the next 3 years.
That’s why, despite agreeing with Steve Adams’ larger conclusion with respect to the division, I strongly take issue with his prescription for the Tribe. Cleveland should most definitely NOT “act aggressively to bolster” the major league club. What they SHOULD be doing is using its scarce resources to double down on scouting, drafting prep, development, free agent signings, retaining key organizational personnel, etc. in order to extend the team’s dominance in the division as long as possible. This is the time to maximize team flexibility not hamstring it with aggressive (read: “costly”) additions to the major league roster that will provide dubious marginal value. If any resources are to be used in that manner at all, they should conservatively address needs that evolve over the course of the season due to injuries or lack of performance in areas that would clearly put the team at a disadvantage in the post-season. But I’m even skeptical of that, given the crapshoot nature of the playoffs. The unique luxury the Tribe has inside the division shouldn’t be frittered away by a sense of urgency where one simply doesn’t exist..
Very smart comment. If youre Cleveland you have the luxury of working an offseason to basically tailor a roster built for the perfect short playoff matchup. However, I wouldnt sell the Twins short…thats a team that could immediately be swirling in the water around them.
Boy howdy,. I definitely recognize that the Twins are a threat with their everyday lineup, and some of their pitching could come very quickly. But Minnesota’s overall balance is still lacking, and it would take some unexpected overperformance on the Twins’ part and some underperformance on Cleveland’s part to jeopardize the Tribe’s situation in the division. It may not be the 90’s in that regard, but it’s close.
Id say if any team in baseball has a dark horse chance of pulling off an improbable series run in 2018 its the Minnesota Twins. They are trying HARD to acquire rotation help…because they know the opportunity is ripe. Twins are usually a very conservative org in the winter…and they are making noise early. They benefit as well from a weaker central…and I won’t say the Indians are walk away favorites yet.
You have a right to evaluate the division any way you want, but the dispassionate folks in Vegas have the Tribe at 6-1 to win the World Series next year (second only to the Dodgers at 5-1). The Twins? 80-1. That may not qualify as “walkaway favorites” to you, but it sure seems that way to me.
Royals fans, what do you think Merrifield, will bring back? It’s a pretty flooded 2B market and he isn’t really young or proven.
At almost a 4.0WAR & whos cheap & very controllable, quite a bit to a desperate team like possibly Anaheim, Atlanta, maybe Boston if DP is hurt more than originally expected…
There’s a lot of 2B on the market. He had a great season though. What is quite a bit? I don’t think any team will be desperate as the 2B market is heavy.
In Atlanta, I’d only see him possibly at third if he can play it.
He’s not just a 2B. He’s played short, first and outfield. He’s a poor man’s version of Zobrist. I think that alone could/would increase his value.
Trade with the Rays for Lucius Fox and Jose Deleon.. Throw in Daniel Robertson to give them a 2nd baseman for next season if they want.by adding a another prospect back to the Rays.
So the new CBA rules still give the Royals those Comp Picks, but the teams signing the players only have to give up a 3rd Rounder? Just clarifying.
Dan Vogelbach for Kelvin Herrera.
Salvador Perez would bring back the most.
Ship him and Herrera to Colorado….try to pry back local golden boy Riley Pint somehow.
Let’s be real
They weren’t on top that long
They snuck in in 2014 and got tot he World Series
Reigned on top in 2015 took it all
2016 Indians emerged
(As a somewhat, kinda, probably, biased Phillies fan)
Danny Duffy for Adam Haseley, Drew Anderson and Dylan Cozens
Thats fair because of Haseley.
Duffy is a very desirable pitcher for many teams if he’s on the market.
Royals v White Sox v Tigers. AL Central. From the bottom up.
Easy to say I told you so in the spectrum of sports, where only 1 team gets to overlook all their errors. The Phillies did something similar. These teams spent a long time rebuilding, got to the top, and now have to restart. Trying to squeeze out another run isn’t impossible, but it is tough, because anything less than a championship the naysayers and I told you so fans come out of the walls.
They went for it. I can accept that. I hope KC doesn’t take to long to rebuild, but long enough for the Phillies to get another championship.
Let the hate rain!
Honestly, the Phillies’ errors were not overlooked. I can recall the day after the 2014 trade deadline, Ruben Amaro called into 610 WIP (Philly Sports Talk) and Angelo Cataldi went off on him.
From 2012 until 2014, there were tons of counterproductive transactions and, perhaps even worse, non-transactions made over that three year stretch that paralyzed the organization for years.
At least the Royals realized it only slightly late, as opposed to three years after their window closed.
What would Perez take for the Mets to pry him, Nido, Gsellman, and ???
This is like deciding to wear a helmet when riding a bike, after you fell off and got a concussion
Replace Hosmer with LoMo, trade Herrera for a center fielder. Get a cheaper third baseman. Sign a few pitchers trying to bounce back like Pineda,Tillman and John Lackey. Finally collect the compensations. That’s a smooth rebuild/ transition. Why am I not a GM?
Did they screw up on the rebuild probably yes they probably should have trade some players away but for the most part you can’t blame the Royals for going for it in the end if they hadn’t gone for it you would have heard it from the fans that the Royals were being cheap and Walmart like so guess what they went for it can’t blame them for that now they got tradable assets whether you believe it or not they still got some pieces that they can move assign first baseman Logan Morrison move on from the Big 3 but you resent esky who we all know had a bad first half but after July he did what he normally does he batted pretty good so guess what Escobar is not that bad so all you really have to do is trade Merrifield and get some pitching you’ll have five or four picks in the first round and you start a small rebuild until the next wave is ready big deal it’s all that can be asked of of a small-market team and may I add that the Royals are really the only small-market teams have won a World Series since the strike in the mid-90s Oakland Minnesota Cincinnati Tampa Bay none of those teams have been able to successfully do what the Royals have done
And before anybody brings up Miami Miami is not a small market so they do not count the Florida Marlins yes won a World Series but they have over five what million in their area
Im ready for the term small market to be buried in the current cash cow that is mlb global. I also dont believe you can judge market size by a pure population assessment. This would make the Cubs market and White Sox market equal…and it just simply isn’t..not even in the Chicago market….same with Oakland and SF.
As far as Miami….its not the most baseball happy region. Its a very very finicky market with plenty of recreational competition in the region.
The Ryan Howard contract, Cliff Lee trade to Seattle, Hunter Pence trade and ignoring the farm doomed the Phillies. The Kennedy contract, Gordon contract and Wade Davis trade have hurt the Royals. The Phillies have wasted 5 years. I hope that the Royals fans don’t have to go through the same thing as the Phillies fans have.
I wonder what it would take for Atlanta to pull Salvy ? I think he would be great for the young pitchers coming up. Could a package of Flowers, Wentz, Pache & Allard get it done. I only add Flowers in there so they have a veteran to play next year.
Way too much for Salvador Perez. I’m not saying that he isn’t trade worthy, but just saying that is a big package for him. I could see it being Flowers (who hit better and was almost as valuable WAR wise in 20017 despite sharing duties with Suzuki), Wentz and EITHER Pache OR Allard, with maybe a lower level guy like Afernee Seymour thrown in but definitely not BOTH Pache Allard together in a four for one swap. Perez does have worth, especially with his contract, but that intial offer was just too much in my opinion.
This app drives me crazy ! Crashes all the time
Oh no! See you in a couple decades?
Hopefully Mondesi finally earns 500 at bats. I think he’ll bat .230 with 12 homers, 85 runs and 35 stolen bases. No worse than what they got out of the shortstop position last year.
Unless that .230 is bolstered by an amazing obp…hes not swiping those bags or scoring 85….and he probably isnt getting 500 at bats as a regular.