Royals Rumors

Central Notes: White Sox, McCutchen, Royals

By charliewilmoth | June 6, 2017 at 12:41pm CDT

The White Sox’s rebuild compares favorably to where the cross-town Cubs were five years ago, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes. The White Sox already have Tim Anderson, Carlos Rodon, Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, all of whom could still be with the club several years from now. (The newly signed Robert, by the way, recently reported to the White Sox’ Dominican Summer League team.) Of course, the White Sox have already traded a number of key pieces, including Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, and they aren’t likely to perform as badly as the 2012 Cubs did, meaning they won’t have access to some of the draft picks the Cubs received (including the No. 2 overall pick in 2013, which netted them Kris Bryant). And obviously, a good start to a rebuild doesn’t always lead to the sort of success the Cubs have had. But the number of premium talents the White Sox already have in place would appear to put them in good position overall. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

Andrew McCutchen’s struggles this season could potentially leave the Pirates with a decision about whether to exercise his $14.5MM 2018 option (which comes with a $1M buyout), Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs writes. That call wouldn’t have seemed like a difficult one even after McCutchen’s lackluster 2016 season, but after a modest .232/.313/.419 start in 2017, it perhaps seems possible now. The Pirates could also consider dealing him at the deadline after keeping him over the winter. McCutchen did recently make a mechanical adjustment and is batting .394/.500/.727 over the past two weeks, and he could change his outlook entirely with more of that kind of hitting. Of course, the evidence that he can continue to hit so well after over a year of mediocre work at the plate is still a bit limited, and as Sawchik suggests, the Pirates are running out of time to figure out what to do with him.
The Royals have announced that they’ve recalled righty Jake Junis from Triple-A Omaha and optioned fellow righty Seth Maness to Omaha. Junis will start tonight against the Astros; the Royals’ rotation has struggled lately with injuries to Danny Duffy and Nate Karns, and will now lean on Junis, who has a strong 2.34 ERA, 12.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings in Omaha thus far this season. (Junis has also already made three appearances in the big leagues, striking out six but walking seven over 6 2/3 innings.) Maness briefly pitched for Omaha earlier this season while he was returning from injury, but this will be the first time he’s been optioned to Triple-A since the Cardinals first selected his contract in 2013. He’s allowed five runs, four earned, while striking out four and walking two in 9 2/3 innings with the Royals this season.

Central Notes: Phillips, Verlander, Royals, Cardinals

By Steve Adams | June 5, 2017 at 12:44pm CDT

The Brewers announced that third baseman Travis Shaw has been placed on the paternity list, with center field prospect Brett Phillips getting his first MLB promotion to temporarily take Shaw’s roster spot. Phillips is just a year removed from being a consensus top 100 prospect throughout the game, but a rough 2016 campaign in which he batted just .229/.332/.397 caused his stock to drop a ways heading into the ’17 season. He’s done well to restore some of the hype this year, however, hitting a robust .297/.369/.589 with 11 homers, 10 doubles and four triples, albeit in the hitter-friendly environs of Colorado Springs. Phillips’ first big league look seems likely to be brief in nature, given that he’s replacing someone on paternity leave, but his strong play could force him into the Brewers’ plans later this summer. Those interested in getting to know a bit more about Phillips can check out his 2015 appearance on the MLBTR Podcast.

Central Notes: Royals, Cardinals, White Sox, Brewers

By Connor Byrne | June 4, 2017 at 9:13am CDT

Five games back of a playoff spot, the Royals aren’t ready to sell yet, but contending clubs are eyeing their potential trade chips, reports Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. The changed qualifying offer system in the new collective bargaining agreement could impact the Royals’ decisions, per Dodd, who notes that draft-pick compensation isn’t as appealing as it was previously. Had the Royals been in this situation last year, they could have kept impending free agents such as Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas, issued them qualifying offers and landed first-round picks had they signed elsewhere. Now, in order to secure a first-rounder, KC would need to offer a QO, have the player reject it and then join another team for $50MM-plus. Otherwise, if a player signs someplace else for less than $50MM, the Royals will get a pick after the second round.

Royals Option Jorge Soler To Triple-A

By Mark Polishuk | June 3, 2017 at 12:06pm CDT

The Royals have optioned outfielder Jorge Soler to Triple-A Omaha, the team announced. Outfielder Billy Burns has been called up in a corresponding move.

[Updated Royals depth chart at Roster Resource]

As Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star notes (on Twitter), the move has some strategic short-term logic, as Burns provides more defensive versatility for the Royals’ five games in NL ballparks next week. In the big picture, however, the move comes as a way to get Soler some regular playing time during what has been a very lackluster start to his Royals career.

Kansas City acquired Soler from the Cubs in a one-for-one trade for Wade Davis in the offseason, with the hopes that Soler would emerge as something of a post-hype breakout candidate. A heavily-touted prospect out of Cuba, Soler battled injuries and hit .258/.328/.434 over 765 PA as a Cub from 2014-16, eventually getting squeezed out of playing time due to Chicago’s outfield depth.

Since joining the Royals, however, injuries and a roster crunch have again limited Soler’s value. After missing all of April with an oblique strain, Soler has posted just a .565 OPS over 65 plate appearances this season and lost the regular right field job to the hot-hitting Jorge Bonifacio. With Brandon Moss in the DH spot on most days, there simply hasn’t been much room for Soler to get into the lineup, especially given his lack of performance.

Soler is still just 25 and is under contract through the 2020 season, as per his original nine-year, $30MM deal with the Cubs. The Royals clearly still see the outfielder as an important long-term piece, so it behooves both sides that Soler gets on track with an everyday role in Triple-A. It’s hard to estimate exactly how long Soler will be in the minors, though with the Royals in last place and potentially facing a selloff of several veterans at the deadline, he’ll surely be back in K.C. before the season is out.

Bobby Parnell Opts Out Of Royals Contract

By Steve Adams | June 2, 2017 at 10:50am CDT

Right-hander Bobby Parnell has exercised an out clause in his minor league deal with the Royals and is now a free agent, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

Parnell, 32, has totaled 21 innings with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate in Omaha, pitching to a 4.71 ERA with 17 strikeouts against 13 walks with a 42.2 percent ground-ball rate. Opponents actually aren’t hitting Parnell all that hard (.244/.354/.305, no homers allowed), but his control issues and a poor 61.8 percent strand rate have haunted him thus far.

The former Mets closer tallied just 30 1/3 innings in the Majors over the past three seasons combined due to myriad injuries, including 2014 Tommy John surgery. Prior to that TJ operation, Parnell had risen from middle reliever to setup man to closer in Queens, pitching to a 2.79 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 across 213 innings from 2010-13. He’s yet to be able to approach that form in any of his comeback attempts, however, and Parnell’s once-97 mph heater was averaging a diminished (but still solid) 94 mph in his brief big league stint with the Tigers last year.

Heyman’s Latest: Managers, Quintana, Royals, Cubs, Holland, Bush

By Steve Adams | June 1, 2017 at 9:32pm CDT

There’ve been an average of 3.4 in-season managerial firings since the 2007, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in the intro to his latest weekly notes column, but the 2017 campaign may be the rare year where all 30 Opening Day skippers are still at the helm of their respective teams at the conclusion of the regular season. Heyman notes that while there’s been plenty of fan and/or media criticism of high-profile managers like John Farrell (Red Sox) and Terry Collins (Mets), no manager seems to be on a particularly hot seat at the moment. He also runs down a list of nearly half the managers in the league and examines their chances of being dismissed, though again, the primary takeaway is that most seem to be rather safe.

Some highlights from both his American League and National League roundups…

The GM of a rival club tells Heyman that he doesn’t think the shaky start to the season for White Sox lefty Jose Quintana will negatively impact his trade value all that much. While some have suggested that the Sox missed an opportunity to move him this offseason, there are of course still three and a half very affordable years on Quintana’s contract, and his 8.95 K/9 rate is actually a career-best. In more loosely related ChiSox news, he notes that Brett Lawrie is still waiting for his ailing foot to get back to full health before seeking out a new team.
Though the Royals recently lost Danny Duffy for the next six to eight weeks, they’re still planning to see if there’s one more run with their longstanding core for the time being. A sale from Kansas City still looks likely to me, given that the Royals have the worst record in the American League and plenty of potential rental pieces to market this summer. It’s worth noting, though, that even with the worst record in the AL, they entered play today a relatively manageable six games back from the division lead and from a Wild Card spot.
The Diamondbacks have sent out indications that they’re planning to wait until the last minute to determine whether they’re going to add pieces prior to the non-waiver deadline or sell off some shorter-term assets. Arizona is currently a half-game back of the NL West division lead and is in possession of a Wild Card slot at the moment, though it seems that the new front office is understandably not looking to react rashly to the team’s hot start.
With both Jake Arrieta and John Lackey set to hit free agency (and a shaky mix in the five-spot in the rotation), the Cubs are likely to pursue at least two starters following the 2017 season, per Heyman. He lists Marco Estrada and Derek Holland as some semi-speculative picks, noting that one exec from another club feels they fit the mold of arms the Cubs are likely to eye. Chicago, of course, is certainly a candidate to add some rotation help this summer and could well pick up an arm controllable beyond the current season, which would impact their offseason trajectory.
The Nationals and Rangers were among the teams to make a play for Greg Holland, Heyman writes, but only the Rockies were willing to take the significant risk of including a vesting player option worth as much as $15MM. Washington GM Mike Rizzo was actually on board with the concept of a vesting player option, but Nationals ownership, on the other hand, was not. The Rangers didn’t come as close in talks as the Nats did, he adds. Holland’s $15MM player option will trigger once he finishes 30 games or appears in 50 (the former will happen first), and barring an injury he seems like a lock to turn that down and reenter free agency in search of a four- or five-year pact.
Jeb Bush’s departure from the potential Marlins ownership group he’d been assembling with Derek Jeter was due to a disagreement over who’d be the “control person,” Heyman writes. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently reported that Bush was set to commit less than $20MM to the sale, and Heyman now adds that Bush was on the hook for just $10MM of his own money, which would understandably make him a curious choice as the point person in the group. It’s still not known how much Jeter is planning to invest if his group is selected, but the Marlins were apparently aware that Bush could be leaving the group and remain interested in working out an agreement with Jeter and his investors.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/1/17

By Steve Adams | June 1, 2017 at 4:48pm CDT

Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

The Tigers announced that right-hander William Cuevas, who was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo earlier this week, has rejected the assignment and instead elected free agency. The 26-year-old allowed four runs in a third of an inning in his lone appearance for Detroit this season and has made just four total MLB appearances over the past two seasons (three with Boston in addition to this year’s game with Detroit), but he does have a nice track record in Triple-A. Through 216 1/3 innings of work at that level, Cuevas has a 3.87 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9. He’ll look to latch on with another club, presumably on a minor league deal, now that he’s hit the open market.
The Royals announced a minor roster shuffle on Thursday. Infielder and former first-round pick Hunter Dozier has been reinstated from the MLB 60-day disabled list and optioned back to Triple-A Omaha after spending the first two months of the season sidelined with a strained oblique. The Royals had a full 40-man roster, so in order to clear a spot for Dozier, they’ve recalled outfielder Paulo Orlando and placed him directly onto the Major League 60-day disabled list. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets that Orlando suffered a fractured tibia a few weeks ago when he fouled a ball into his shin.

AL Notes: Kluber, Twins, A’s, Dyson, Soler/Bonifacio

By Jeff Todd | June 1, 2017 at 8:42am CDT

As expected, the Indians have activated righty Corey Kluber. He’s back on the hill today for Cleveland after missing a few weeks resting his lower back. The 31-year-old will be looking to improve upon a tepid start to the season. Over his first 37 1/3 innings, he has managed only a 5.06 ERA with 9.9 K/9 but an uncharacteristically high 3.1 BB/9. Righty Shawn Armstrong was optioned to create roster space.

Here’s the latest from the American League:

Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey discussed the club’s first overall selection in the upcoming amateur draft, as Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reports. The team is taking a closer look at “a group of five to six [players], probably,” according to the club’s top baseball decisionmaker. With several candidates slated to visit with the organization just days before the draft, there’s still time for new information to shape the picture. Falvey says the Twins intend to “ask some difficult questions” of the candidates when they sit down with them, in addition to taking another look at their skills. As Miller well explains, the club’s management of its overall bonus pool will also factor in. Falvey acknowledged the possibility of reallocating some of the top slot’s cash to sign other players — though he also said he’s “not yet ready to say it’s something we’d do in the first round” — and acknowledged the need “to add as many upside assets” as possible.
With the Athletics still lagging in the standings, eyes are beginning to turn to their deadline plans. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, the organization will likely increasingly turn to more youthful options as it deals away veteran assets. In particular, she says, second baseman Jed Lowrie “almost certainly will be dealt” — helping clear the way for top prospect Franklin Barreto. The A’s will surely also entertain a move involving surprising slugger Yonder Alonso, and Slusser notes that the club could also part with a few lesser-performing veterans as well.
The struggles have continued for former Rangers closer Sam Dyson. As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes, Dyson surrendered two home runs as the club went down in extra innings. While he is still generating grounders at a healthy clip, everything else has gone wrong for Dyson, who now owns a 10.80 ERA with a dozen walks and just seven strikeouts through 16 2/3 innings. It’s not clear what the organization will do with the out-of-options righty, but manager Jeff Banister did not exactly deliver a strong vote of confidence after the game. “It’s an extreme challenge right now,” Banister said. “He’s on our staff. He’s one of our pitchers right now, and we have to find a way to continue to work.”
The Royals had hoped that Jorge Soler would blossom upon arriving over the winter, but another young outfielder by the same first name is currently keeping him out of the lineup, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports. Jorge Bonifacio, who’ll turn 24 in a few days, is off to a .273/.325/.500 batting line with seven home runs in 120 plate appearances. That may not be quite sustainable, of course, but for now he’s producing and the Royals are giving him a chance to show it’s real. That’s not to say that K.C. is giving up on Soler, who has only seen 18 games of action due to injury and the limited opportunities he has found upon his return.

Royals Place Danny Duffy On DL, Select Contract Of Eric Skoglund

By Steve Adams | May 30, 2017 at 11:55am CDT

May 30: The Royals have formally announced that Duffy has been placed on the 10-day DL, and Skoglund’s contract has indeed been selected from Omaha in a corresponding move.

The 24-year-old Skoglung was Kansas City’s third-round pick back in 2014 and entered the year ranked third and fourth, respectively, among Royals farmhands according to MLB.com and Baseball America. Both outlets call Skoglund a potential back-of-the-rotation arm, with MLB.com noting that he has a high floor. BA writes that he has three average pitches and excellent control but no plus offerings or a true out pitch.

Prior to his promotion, Skoglund had pitched to a 4.53 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 45.3 percent ground-ball rate in 43 2/3 innings with Omaha. If he can get off to a decent start, it’s possible that he’ll pitch himself into the club’s 2018 rotation plans.

May 29: Royals left-hander Danny Duffy will be placed on the 10-day disabled list and miss the next six to eight weeks due to a grade one oblique strain, reports MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter).

The loss of Duffy, who leads the Royals in innings pitched and has the second-best ERA in their rotation, is yet another blow to a Kansas City club that has gotten off to a dismal 21-28 start to the season and currently sits in last place (6.5 games out of first place) in the American League Central. He’ll join rotation-mate Nate Karns on the 10-day DL.

It’s not immediately clear how they’ll replace him in the rotation, though Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star suggested earlier today (Twitter link) that Eric Skoglund, who was held out of his last start in Omaha, could make tomorrow’s start for the Royals. The team does not yet have a starter listed for that contest, as Karns was only recently placed on the disabled list. Now, with Duffy on the shelf, they’ll need to find a second option to add to the rotation.

For a Royals club that many expect to operate as a seller prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, the loss of one of its best arms for a considerable chunk of the season only seems to make an eventual sale likelier. Players such as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Mike Minor are all free agents at season’s end, while Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria, Brandon Moss and Jason Hammel are all controlled through the 2018 season.

Quick Hits: Greinke, Hazen, D’Backs, Felix, Iwakuma, Royals

By Mark Polishuk | May 28, 2017 at 11:15pm CDT

The trade that brought Zack Greinke to the Brewers from the Royals in December 2010 is still making an impact on multiple franchises over six years later, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. The players involved in that deal (Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi) have since been involved in several other blockbuster trades and transactions, such as the Royals sending Odorizzi to Tampa Bay as part of the package that sent James Shields and Wade Davis to K.C., or the Brewers parting ways with Greinke in 2012 and getting Jean Segura back from the Angels. It’s quite a remarkable list of trades linked to that original deal, with the Royals of course standing out as the big winner thanks to their 2015 World Series title.

Here’s some more from around the baseball world as we head into the new week…

While some reports have suggested that the Diamondbacks would be open to trading Greinke, A.J. Pollock or Patrick Corbin even if the team is in contention, GM Mike Hazen told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that such a major trade wouldn’t make sense for a team in the playoff race. “If the opportunity has passed on trading one guy or two guys as opposed to the opportunity to win? To me, I’m going to take that tradeoff. That’s a tradeoff that I think we have to take,” Hazen said. None of the aforementioned three players are free agents this winter, Hazen noted, so the club doesn’t have any specific need to trade any of them immediately. Even after today’s loss to the Brewers, the D’Backs are still 31-21 on the year and they hold a 4.5 game lead on the second NL wild card slot.
Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma are tentatively scheduled to return to the Mariners rotation in mid-to-late June, MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes, though both pitchers are still in the very early stages of their recovery process. Hernandez (righth shoulder bursitis) and Iwakuma (right shoulder inflammation) each threw their first bullpen sessions today, and still have multiple more bullpens and then minor league rehab outings to undertake before leaving the disabled list.
Teams interested in the Royals’ trade chips are being told that K.C. is still trying to contend, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required). At 21-28, the Royals have the worst record in the American League but they sit just 4.5 games out of a wild card spot and 6.5 games behind the AL Central-leading Twins. Given the parity within the league and the Royals’ natural resistance to break up their longstanding core until they have to, it could still be some weeks before we know whether the Royals are clear buyers or sellers at the deadline.
Several contenders have been boosted by players capable of playing multiple positions, and the next step could be players who can provide bench depth both on the field and on the mound, Peter Gammons writes in his latest GammonsDaily.com entry. The Dodgers are toying with the idea of using Brett Eibner as both an outfielder and reliever, and teams could consider grooming their own two-way players if Eibner succeeds in this role.

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