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Royals Rumors

Royals Notes: Yost, Front Office, Maybin

By Steve Adams | November 13, 2017 at 2:50pm CDT

MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan spoke to Royals manager Ned Yost following emergency surgery to repair a “shattered” pelvis that he sustained when falling an estimated 20 feet out of a hunting stand nine days ago. Yost, who just returned home from the hospital yesterday and is expected to be confined to a wheelchair for the next two months, tells Flanagan in a lengthy interview that he feels lucky to be alive. “There’s no doubt I would have bled out if I didn’t have my cellphone with me,” says Yost, who was helicoptered to a nearby hospital after his fall.

Surgeons told Yost after he had awoken that this type of injury comes with a “25 to 30 percent mortality rate” and that the doctors had grown genuinely concerned as they were initially unable to stop his internal bleeding. Thankfully, however, Yost is now hopeful that he can be on his feet again by the time Spring Training begins. It’s an enormous relief to learn that the 63-year-old Yost, who is entering his ninth season as the manager in Kansas City, is seemingly out of danger and on the road back to full health. Best wishes to him on what will hopefully be as quick a recovery as possible, under the circumstances.

A couple more notes pertaining to the 2015 World Series champions…

  • Royals director of analytics Mike Groopman is leaving the club to take a new role with the Brewers in their international scouting department, reports Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Groopman had been with the Royals since joining the team as an intern in 2008, and he played an integral role in expanding the club’s implementation of data and analytics prior to the team’s consecutive World Series appearances. Kansas City also made a front office addition, though, welcoming Albert Gonzalez back to the organization as an assistant GM specializing in international operations. Gonzalez, a Miami native, worked for the Royals for 13 years before accepting a job with the Marlins back in 2006, according to Dodd. He’ll now be tasked with overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Royals’ international department.
  • MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that outfielder Cameron Maybin is among the Royals’ potential targets as they search for a new center fielder. The Royals are set to lose Lorenzo Cain as a free agent, and it was reported over the weekend that they see little chance of a reunion. Maybin brings plenty of baserunning value and reasonable contact skills to the table (19.2 percent strikeout rate over the past six seasons), both of which are areas the Royals have emphasized with great success in the past. Defensive metrics soured on his glovework in 2015-16, but he graded out as average or better in 450 center field innings per Defensive Runs Saved (neutral), Ultimate Zone Rating (+3.1) and Outs Above Average (+2). Maybin hit .228/.318/.365 with 10 homers and finished second in the American League with 33 stolen bases in 2017. (Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield led the AL with 34 swipes.)
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Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers Cameron Maybin Ned Yost

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Crasnick’s Latest: Stanton, Ohtani, JDM, Darvish, Royals, McCutchen

By Steve Adams | November 13, 2017 at 9:20am CDT

In this year’s edition of his annual Hot Stove survey (an always-excellent read), ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick surveyed 40 front office execs and scouts from around the league on nine offseason issues as this week’s GM Meetings kick off. Among the topics discussed, at length, are the possibility of a Giancarlo Stanton trade (and his likeliest destination), where Japanese star Shohei Ohtani will land, how much J.D. Martinez can command in free agency, and whether Yu Darvish’s poor World Series showing hampered his free-agent stock. Crasnick also polled the 40 baseball ops/scouting minds on multiple groups of free agents and trade candidates, asking which will provide the most value and which are likeliest to be dealt.

If you follow the offseason even loosely, you’ll want to be sure to read through the entire column, which is packed with quotes and insight from general managers, scouts and other front-office executives on the players in question and their potential landing spots. Some abbreviated highlights…

  • Three quarters of the respondents indicated that they expect Stanton to be traded this offseason, with nearly a third listing the Cardinals as the likeliest landing spot. The Giants were the second-most popular spot, though one scout tells Crasnick he has a difficult time envisioning that match, calling the Giants a “bottom-five farm system.” One respondent who felt Stanton would stay in Miami suggests to Crasnick that the Marlins may be underestimating just how much of the contract they’ll need to pay down.
  • The Yankees and Dodgers split the vote on the surveyed group’s likeliest destinations for Ohtani, with the Rangers not far behind. Several other clubs received a few votes, and four of the 40 respondents suggested that they believed Ohtani would remain with the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2018. There’s still some work to be done with the league, the players’ union and Nippon Professional Baseball before the posting process can begin in earnest. The agreement between MLB and NPB on the current iteration of the posting system expired this offseason.
  • The Red Sox were the overwhelming favorite when it came to the question of Martinez’s next team, though expectations for his contract varied in size. One GM pegged Martinez at around six years and $140MM, Crasnick notes. Some execs felt he’d fall closer to Justin Upton’s $106MM guarantee.
  • Only three of the 40 respondents thought that Darvish’s pair of World Series meltdowns would have a substantial impact on his offseason earning capacity. Crasnick’s piece has plenty of insightful quotes on Darvish — more than any other player — from the scouts that were polled. An AL scout tells Crasnick that 15 years ago, the World Series might’ve hurt Darvish, but in a largely sabermetric environment, his late struggles are a “void blip in the radar.”
  • Crasnick also asked respondents which of the Royals’ big three free agents (Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain) would provide the best value on his next deal, which of Carlos Gomez or Carlos Gonzalez had a better chance of reestablishing himself as a star, and which major 2018-19 free agent among Andrew McCutchen, Josh Donaldson and Manny Machado is likeliest to be traded this winter. I found it somewhat of a surprise to see Hosmer as the decisive favorite in that Royals question, though many scouts praised his glovework despite poor reviews from defensive metrics. McCutchen, less surprisingly, was deemed likeliest of his trio to go, while Gonzalez topped Gomez handily in their own respective face-off.
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Boston Red Sox Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins New York Yankees San Francisco Giants St. Louis Cardinals Texas Rangers Andrew McCutchen Carlos Gomez Carlos Gonzalez Eric Hosmer Giancarlo Stanton J.D. Martinez Josh Donaldson Lorenzo Cain Manny Machado Mike Moustakas Shohei Ohtani Yu Darvish

98 comments

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/12/17

By Mark Polishuk | November 12, 2017 at 11:58pm CDT

Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all from Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise credited…

  • Leonys Martin is now a free agent, as he elected to hit the open market after being outrighted off the Cubs’ roster last week.  The veteran outfielder is looking to rebound from a rough 2017 that saw him post just a .513 OPS over 138 PA with the Cubs and Mariners, though Martin was still an above-average defender in the outfield.
  • The Royals re-signed right-hander Seth Maness to a new minor league deal.  Maness elected to become a free agent last month after K.C. outrighted him off its 40-man roster.  A workhorse out of the Cardinals’ bullpen in his first three seasons, Maness has been limited to just 41 1/3 IP over the last two seasons thanks to a torn UCL, though he opted for an innovative “primary repair” procedure that allowed him a much quicker return to action than the usual 12-15 month timeline for Tommy John surgery.
  • Catcher Tim Federowicz chose to become a free agent after being outrighted off the Giants’ 40-man roster.  Federowicz hasn’t hit much (a .558 OPS) over 318 career MLB plate appearances, though he has a very impressive .304/.374/.503 slash line over 1654 PA at the Triple-A level.
  • The Braves released right-hander Armando Rivero.  Atlanta chose Rivero in last year’s Rule 5 Draft but Rivero missed the entire season due to shoulder problems.  The Braves outrighted Rivero off their 40-man roster last month, so the Cubs officially declined the opportunity to take the righty back.  Rivero has a 2.70 ERA, 12.4 K/9 and 2.83 K/BB rate over 220 career innings in the minors, all as a reliever in Chicago’s system.
  • Catcher Erik Kratz elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A, the Yankees announced earlier this week (via Twitter).  Kratz spent much of 2017 at Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate before being acquired by New York on August 31 to add some catching depth to the expanded September rosters.  Kratz only appeared in four games as a Yankee, but it officially made him a veteran of six different teams over parts of eight MLB seasons.  The 37-year-old has a .203/.250/.366 slash line over 649 career plate appearances in the bigs.
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Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Kansas City Royals New York Yankees San Francisco Giants Transactions Armando Rivero Erik Kratz Leonys Martin Seth Maness Tim Federowicz

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Central News & Rumors: Royals, Bucs, Cards, Brewers

By Connor Byrne | November 12, 2017 at 11:44am CDT

The Royals are holding out hope that they’ll be able to re-sign first baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Mike Moustakas, but they’ve “all but given up” on bringing back center fielder Lorenzo Cain, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports. Hosmer and Moustakas figure to collect two of the largest contracts of the offseason, which could pose a problem for small-market Kansas City, but owner David Glass believes the Royals would stay competitive by re-upping the homegrown duo and doesn’t want to “disappoint” the team’s fan base by letting either go, Heyman relays. Before Hosmer, Moustakas and Cain officially hit the market, each will have to reject $17.4MM qualifying offers from the Royals by Nov. 16. Unsurprisingly, that will happen, according to Heyman.

Here’s the latest from the National League Central:

  • With their control over outfielder Andrew McCutchen and right-hander Gerrit Cole dwindling, the Pirates would be wise to listen to offseason proposals for both players, Buster Olney of ESPN opines. McCutchen, who will make $14.5MM in the final year of his contract in 2018, will “almost certainly” be in another uniform in 2019, writes Olney. Cole, meanwhile, is controllable via arbitration through ’19, and Olney argues that now may be the time to move the Scott Boras client because the Pirates probably won’t be able to extend him. Elsewhere on the Bucs’ roster, Olney points to righty Ivan Nova and lights-out closer Felipe Rivero as speculative trade pieces. Nova’s unspectacular, but he’d garner interest as a capable innings eater who’s due an affordable $9.1MM-plus per annum through next year. Rivero is only entering the first of four arb-eligible years and would likely warrant a massive return for a reliever, leading Olney to conclude that the Pirates should consider dealing him.
  • The Cardinals are interested in upgrading the left side of their infield, perhaps by way of a Josh Donaldson acquisition and/or the addition of a defensively gifted shortstop, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests. This isn’t the first time the Cardinals have been connected to Donaldson, but the Blue Jays are unlikely to trade the soon-to-be 32-year-old in advance of 2018, his final season of team control. The 2015 AL MVP is projected to rake in a $20.7MM arbitration award this offseason.
  • Second baseman Neil Walker is currently a free agent, so the Brewers will have to decide whether to pursue him (or another outsider) or simply stay in-house at the position, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes. The Brewers have experienced second base possibilities on hand in Jonathan Villar, Eric Sogard and Hernan Perez, but there may not be an ideal starter in the group. While general manager David Stearns seems to believe the Walker-less Brewers are in good shape at the keystone, he’s keeping his options open. “I do think we have pieces to handle it internally,” Stearns said. “I would be happy coming back with our same position player group, if that’s the way this offseason plays out. At the same time, we’re looking to get better.”
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Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals Toronto Blue Jays Eric Hosmer Josh Donaldson Lorenzo Cain Mike Moustakas

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NL Notes: Giants, Mattingly, Stanton, Braves, Schu

By Jeff Todd | November 9, 2017 at 11:26pm CDT

Giants executive Brian Sabean discussed his organization’s chief needs recently with reporters including MLB.com’s Chris Haft. While the team is facing a difficult situation with regard to payroll — both in 2018 and beyond — Sabean says there’s urgency to improve in several areas. “Center field needs to be upgraded,” he said. “We have to find an everyday third baseman. And we have to be resourceful in how we reconstruct the bullpen.” Those are the primary spots that seem in need of improvement from the outside; truly getting better, though, will require some combination of creativity and tough tradeoffs.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • The Marlins have confirmed that Don Mattingly will, as expected, be back as manager, as Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel writes. The veteran skipper is under contract, as president of baseball operations Michael Hill noted, but the organization had not yet made clear in the midst of an ownership change that he would retain his role. (Of course, it would have rated as a big surprise had the team suddenly gone in a different direction at this point in the offseason.) Mattingly has said he’s excited to get underway with the new ownership group led by fellow Yankees legend Derek Jeter, but it’s yet to be seen just what kind of roster he’ll have to work with.
  • Speaking of notable possible roster changes, Hill has held a conversation with Giancarlo Stanton, Healey reports, but the Marlins are understandably keeping things close to the vest. Expectations remain that the club will slash salary through some significant trades; Hill acknowledged that things haven’t gone as hoped of late and says the goal is to “build a sustainable, consistent, productive major league organization.” Stanton’s massive contract and excellent 2017 season seemingly make him a rather obvious trade piece, and we took a look earlier today at some teams that could line up on paper for Stanton, but his no-trade clause gives him quite a lot of say in a future destination.
  • We’re still waiting to hear about league punishments for the Braves slate of alleged amateur signing transgressions, and it seems the wait will take a while longer. A decision is expected sometime between the GM Meetings and Winter Meetings, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. It’s likely that word won’t come down until December, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick adds on Twitter. Interestingly, though, Sherman says that the organization could end up making a front office decision before the commisioner’s office acts. Indeed, the team has been “quietly interviewing” some potential candidates that could join the front office in some capacity, per Sherman, who adds that the preference remains to seek a reunion with Royals GM Dayton Moore — who hasn’t been allowed to speak with the Atlanta organization to this point.
  • The Giants have hired Rick Schu as their assistant hitting coach, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports on Twitter. Schu, a former big league third baseman, had served as the Nationals’ hitting coach since 2013 but was among the personnel allowed to seek other opportunities after the Nats decided not to retain Dusty Baker. Washington ended up hiring Kevin Long as its new hitting coach.
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Atlanta Braves Kansas City Royals Miami Marlins San Francisco Giants Don Mattingly Giancarlo Stanton

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Free Agent Rumors: Holland, Bruce, LoMo, Hosmer, Morrow, Ichiro

By Steve Adams | November 9, 2017 at 4:22pm CDT

Though Greg Holland turned down his $15MM player option and will also reject his $17.4MM qualifying offer, it’s not yet a foregone conclusion that his Denver days are in the past, writes FanRag’s Jon Heyman. The Rockies “believe that Holland is the right leader” for their young pitching staff and will seek to re-sign him to a more lucrative multi-year offer, per Heyman. They will, of course, face a fair bit of competition in that pursuit. Heyman lists the Cubs and Cardinals as teams that will possibly be in the market for Holland this offseason as well.

A few more early notes on the free agent market…

  • Jay Bruce’s camp is reportedly setting its sights high and asking for a five-year deal worth $80-90MM, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reported yesterday. High asking price notwithstanding, Heyman reports today in his weekly notes column that the Blue Jays, Giants, Mariners and Cardinals are four potential landing spots for Bruce in free agency. Heyman notes that Bruce should be able to comfortably land a three-year commitment that could price him out of the comfort zones of the Mets and the Indians.
  • Free agent first baseman Logan Morrison told Jon Morosi and Jim Duquette in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today that playing for his hometown Royals “would be a dream come true.” (Twitter link, with audio) Morrison fondly recalls trips to Kauffman Stadium with his father as a child and says it would be “amazing” to be able to have his grandmother come to the park and watch him play regularly in 2018. “All of that stuff would be fun,” said Morrison, “but we’ll see what happens.” The 30-year-old Morrison, meanwhile, hit .246/.353/.516 with a career-high 38 home runs in a breakout campaign with Tampa Bay this past season. Despite that huge year, he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Rays and therefore won’t be tied to draft pick compensation. Kansas City will have a void at first base if Eric Hosmer leaves elsewhere, though Heyman notes in the aforementioned notes column that Hosmer is still the Royals’ top priority (at least among their own impending free agents). If he signs elsewhere, the Royals would recoup a draft pick — likely at the end of the first round.
  • Right-hander Brandon Morrow also appeared on MLB Network Radio today, stating that “all things being equal,” he’d prefer to return to the Dodgers (Twitter link, with audio). Morrow specified that at age 33, he’d prefer to sign with a contending team, noting that he doesn’t necessarily care about pitching as a closer versus pitching in a setup capacity. Morrow raved about the young talent and clubhouse on the Dodgers, noting that the team is poised to be a contender for years to come — a highly appealing factor to him (and other free agents). Though perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into his comments, Morrow did note that “to be able to hopefully in that for three to four years … it’s definitely an attractive situation.” Morrow does indeed seem to have a strong case for a multi-year deal after a return to prominence in L.A. this past season. We pegged him for a three-year, $24MM contract on last week’s ranking of the game’s top 50 free agents.
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Ichiro Suzuki’s agent, John Boggs, has already reached out to the Athletics to try to pitch his client’s services. Slusser the chat between the two sides as “brief,” noting that it was based on Ichiro’s relationship with A’s manager Bob Melvin, who managed Ichiro more than a decade ago. There does not appear to be a fit, she notes, though Boggs tells Slusser that Ichiro “has the ultimate desire to play” in 2018. Heyman noted in the aforementioned notes column that the Marlins did not make an offer to the 44-year-old Ichiro before declining his $2MM option.
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Chicago Cubs Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins New York Mets Oakland Athletics San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Toronto Blue Jays Brandon Morrow Eric Hosmer Greg Holland Ichiro Suzuki Jay Bruce Logan Morrison

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Examining Draft Pick Compensation For The 6 Teams That Could Lose Qualified Free Agents

By Tim Dierkes | November 8, 2017 at 4:30pm CDT

Six different teams made qualifying offers to free agents this winter.  Assuming the nine players turn down the one-year, $17.4MM offer, here’s what each of those teams stands to gain in draft pick compensation.

[Related: Offseason Primer: The New Qualifying Offer Rules]

Cubs

The Cubs made qualifying offers to right-handers Jake Arrieta and Wade Davis.  The Cubs were neither a revenue sharing recipient nor a competitive balance tax payor.  Therefore, regardless of the size of the contracts Arrieta and Davis sign, the Cubs will receive draft pick compensation after Competitive Balance Round B, which takes place after the second round.

Cardinals

The Cardinals made a qualifying offer to starter Lance Lynn.  Like the Cubs, they were neither a revenue sharing recipient nor a competitive balance tax payor.  Regardless of the amount Lynn signs for, the Cardinals will receive draft pick compensation after Competitive Balance Round B.

Royals

The Royals made qualifying offers to center fielder Lorenzo Cain, first baseman Eric Hosmer, and third baseman Mike Moustakas.  The Royals were a revenue sharing recipient.  If any of their three free agents sign for a guarantee of $50MM or more, the Royals get draft pick compensation after the first round.  For any of the three that signs for less than $50MM, the Royals get draft pick compensation after Comp Round B.  MLBTR projects all three players to sign for well over $50MM, so the Royals should have a very favorable draft pool in 2018, potentially adding three picks in the top 35 or so if all three sign elsewhere.

Rays

The Rays made a qualifying offer to right-hander Alex Cobb.  They were a revenue sharing recipient and are subject to the same rules as the Royals, Rockies, and Indians.  However, Cobb is a borderline free agent when it comes to a $50MM contract, in our estimation.  The team will be rooting for him to reach that threshold, as the Rays would then net a compensatory pick after the first round.  If Cobb falls shy of that total guarantee, the Rays will receive an extra pick after Comp Round B.

Rockies

The Rockies made a qualifying offer to closer Greg Holland.  They were a revenue sharing recipient and are subject to the same rules as the Royals, Rays, and Indians.  Holland, too, is a borderline $50MM free agent, though he certainly figures to aim higher than that in the early stages of free agency.  If he reaches $50MM+, the Rox will get a pick after the first round.  If not, they’ll receive a pick after Comp Round B.

Indians

The Indians made a qualifying offer to first baseman Carlos Santana.  They were a revenue sharing recipient and are subject to the same rules as the Royals, Rays, and Rockies.  Santana is another borderline $50MM free agent in our estimation, but it’s certainly possible he clears that threshold and nets Cleveland a pick after the first round.

So, the Cubs and Cardinals already know where their draft-pick compensation will land if their qualified free agents sign elsewhere: after Competitive Balance Round B, which currently starts with pick No. 76.  The Royals, Rays, Rockies, and Indians will all be rooting for their free agents to sign for at least $50MM, granting them compensation after the first round, which begins with pick No. 31.

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Chicago Cubs Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Kansas City Royals MLBTR Originals St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Alex Cobb Carlos Santana Eric Hosmer Greg Holland Jake Arrieta Lance Lynn Lorenzo Cain Mike Moustakas Wade Davis

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Royals Hire New Coaches To Round Out Staff

By Jeff Todd | November 7, 2017 at 11:34am CDT

The Royals have completed their coaching staff with a slate of new hires, per a team announcement (h/t MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan; Twitter links). Kansas City has shaken up manager Ned Yost’s staff a bit as the organization enters an offseason of no little uncertainty.

Terry Bradshaw has been hired as the new hitting coach. Last year’s hitting coach, Dale Sveum, was shifted to the bench coach role after the Royals parted ways with Don Wakamatsu. Previously, Bradshaw served as the K.C. organization’s minor-league hitting coordinator.

On the pitching side, Cal Eldred will run the staff as the pitching coach. Last year, the position was held by Dave Eiland, who was among the coaches that were not retained at season’s end. Eldred, a veteran big league hurler, had served as a special assistant in the Cardinals and Royals front offices.

Vance Wilson, a former big league catcher and recent minor-league skipper for the Royals, will serve as the new bullpen coach. Meanwhile, Pedro Grifol is set to function in a new role as quality control coach after previously serving as the catching coach. The Royals will also shift Mitch Maier to the first base coach’s box, per Flanagan.

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Kansas City Royals

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Heyman’s Latest: Kapler, Hosmer, Kennedy, Werth, Ibanez, Bell

By Mark Polishuk | November 4, 2017 at 11:19am CDT

The Phillies’ choice of Gabe Kapler as manager has drawn mixed reviews from around the game, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman writes, as Kapler’s unique approaches to baseball have brought him praise as an innovative thinker but also led to clashes with some players and personnel within the Dodgers organization.  It should be noted that this didn’t extend to Dodgers front office heads Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, both of whom are big fans of Kapler and made calls to the Mets and Phillies recommending him for their managerial openings.  The Dodgers themselves almost hired Kapler as manager two years ago, though the fact that some players reportedly lobbied the team to instead go with Dave Roberts also stands out as a possible red flag.  The article is well worth a full read to get a sense of the criticisms lobbied against Kapler, and why the Phillies’ hire “may be the biggest gamble of the winter.”

Some more from Heyman, as per his latest collection of notes from around baseball…

  • The Royals’ pursuit of Eric Hosmer could decide their immediate future, as the team could decide to forego re-signing any of their other free agents and rebuild if Hosmer can’t be brought back into the fold.  It will take a sizeable offer to re-sign Hosmer, however, and while K.C. has been willing to spend to keep is championship window open, “their payroll is starting to press the limits.”
  • Ian Kennedy won’t exercise his opt-out clause, and will remain with the Royals for the three years and $49MM remaining on his contract.  While no official announcement has come from Kennedy or the team, the decision is an unsurprising one given the righty’s subpar season.  Kennedy said himself in September that “it would be pretty stupid” to head into free agency on the heels of an injury-hampered year that saw Kennedy post a 5.38 ERA over 154 innings.
  • Jayson Werth could potentially return to the Nationals on a one-year deal.  Werth was hitting a solid .262/.367/.446 through his first 196 PA before missing almost three months due to a fracture in his left foot.  He still seemed bothered by the injury after his return, leading to subpar numbers down the stretch.  The Nats could conceivably use Adam Eaton as both a left fielder and center fielder next year, opening up playing time for Werth or Michael Taylor to fill whatever position Eaton isn’t occupying on any given day.
  • Raul Ibanez was seen as a potentially strong contender to become the Yankees’ next manager, though Ibanez reportedly likes his current position with the Dodgers (special advisor to Andrew Friedman) and doesn’t want to leave.  Yankees GM Brian Cashman reportedly has 20-25 names on his list of managerial candidates.
  • Newly-hired Giants VP of player development David Bell could potentially be a candidate to eventually take over the manager’s job from Bruce Bochy.  Bell previously worked on the Cardinals’ and Cubs’ coaching staffs and worked as a manager in the Reds’ farm system, not to mention his 12-year career as a player.  Bench coach Hensley Meulens has also been often cited as Bochy’s heir apparent.  Bochy’s current contract runs through the 2019 season, and while his track record has likely given him the job as long as he wants, he also turns 63 in April and has dealt with some health issues in recent years.
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Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Dodgers New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies San Francisco Giants Washington Nationals Eric Hosmer Gabe Kapler Ian Kennedy Jayson Werth Raul Ibanez

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Qualifying Offer Rumors: Saturday

By Jeff Todd | November 4, 2017 at 1:25am CDT

The deadline for teams to issue qualifying offers is on Monday at 5pm EST. Between now and then, we’ll likely hear some chatter about players that likely will or will not receive the QO. It’s valued at $17.4MM this year. Those who need to brush up on the new rules should read this primer.

While quite a few situations are obvious (in either direction), it’s worth bearing in mind that there have been surprises in the past. The Rockies dropped a QO on Michael Cuddyer in 2014, for example, while the Nationals decided against giving one to Edwin Jackson back in the QO’s first year of operation (2012), only to see him sign a four-year deal with the Cubs.

Here’s the latest chatter from around the game:

  • The Royals, unsurprisingly, will issue qualifying offers to each of their three major free agents, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain each feature prominently on MLBTR’s ranking of the top 50 free agents — indeed, all are rated among the seven most valuable players on the open market — so it’s hardly surprising to learn that K.C. is going in this direction. That said, there had been at least some suggestion that the team had yet to decide on Cain, who is a fair bit older than the other two departing core members of the Royals’ memorable 2014-15 teams. He still figures to be in high demand as the best-available center field on the upcoming market. All told, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where any of these three players accepts the qualifying offer, meaning that the Royals ought to be lined up for a nice haul of draft picks once the dust settles. (Of course, it’s also still possible that one or even more than one of these players will return to Kansas City, in which case no draft compensation would be triggered for that player.)
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Kansas City Royals Eric Hosmer Lorenzo Cain Mike Moustakas

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    Padres Acquire Nestor Cortes

    Last Day To Lock In Savings On Trade Rumors Front Office

    Cubs Acquire Willi Castro

    Tigers Acquire Charlie Morton

    Yankees Acquire Camilo Doval

    Royals Acquire Mike Yastrzemski

    Cubs Designate Ryan Pressly For Assignment

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    Rangers Acquire Phil Maton

    Recent

    White Sox Select Corey Julks

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    Brewers Place Jackson Chourio On Injured List

    Giants Select Kai-Wei Teng; Randy Rodriguez Named Closer After Doval Trade

    Cardinals Place Nolan Arenado On Injured List

    Dodgers Place Kirby Yates On Injured List

    Rays Place Jonathan Aranda On IL With Broken Wrist

    Astros Announce Several Roster Moves

    Marlins Designate Anthony Veneziano For Assignment

    Seth Brown Triggers Upward Mobility Clause In D-backs Deal

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