Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Royals Rumors

Red Sox Notes: Hochevar, K-Rod, Wilson, Workman

By | at

The biggest news of the day from Fenway Park is Dustin Pedroia's seven-year, $100MM extension with the Red Sox, and we already have heard a lot of reaction to the big contract.  While locking up Pedroia is a major long-term move for the team, the Red Sox could make a move for their immediate future by adding a reliever before the trade deadline.  Here's the latest…

  • The Red Sox are interested in Royals reliever Luke Hochevar and have been scouting the right-hander, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports.  The two teams haven't engaged in trade discussions, however, as the Royals aren't yet open to dealing their veterans.  Hochevar, the first overall pick of the 2006 draft, has posted a 2.00 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 3.8 K/BB ratio in 36 IP in his first season as a reliever.  Hochevar is earning $4.56MM this year and will get an arbitration raise this winter, however, so he could be too expensive for the Royals to retain.
  • The Sox had spoken to the Brewers about Francisco Rodriguez but thought Milwaukee's asking price was too high for a reliever who will be a free agent this winter, WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports.  Boston will now have to deal with K-Rod in the AL East pennant race now that the veteran righty has been acquired by the Orioles.
  • The Red Sox have no current interest in Brian Wilson, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports (via Twitter).  The former Giants closer will be showcasing his arm for teams within the next few weeks as he attempts to return from Tommy John surgery.
  • Brandon Workman has pitched well as a stopgap starter for Boston but manager John Farrell admitted that even if the righty keeps performing, it wouldn't stop the club from pursuing starting pitching help if necessary.  “[GM Ben Cherington] will be aggressive in a situation in a deal that makes sense for us,” Farrell told reporters, including Alex Speier. “I wouldn’t pin our assessment of the trade market on Brandon Workman. He’s not the linchpin to whether we make a trade or not.”

Minor Moves: Hernandez, Gonzalez, Moskos

By | at

Here is Tuesday's rundown of minor moves from around the league…

Central Notes: Royals, Konerko, Gregg, Pirates

By | at

Baseball's central divisions have four clear sellers in the Cubs, Brewers, White Sox, and Twins.  At seven games out, the Royals are on the bubble.  The team sees "a winning record as an important secondary goal even if they don’t reach postseason," according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, so they may stand pat.  Meanwhile, the Tigers, Indians, Cardinals, Pirates, and Reds are the five central division buyers.   Links from both divisions…

  • In a Q&A mailbag, a reader asks Dutton how hot the seat is under Royals GM Dayton Moore.  Dutton writes that despite fan criticism for the team's longtime decision maker, there's nothing to suggest his job is actually in jeopardy.  Elsewhere in the mailbag, Dutton notes that there is no indication the team is shopping starter Ervin Santana, and that he does not expect the team to reduce payroll next year.
  • "We ought to know and be right on the first couple of picks. But it's those middle-round guys that your scouts push and say, 'We need to get this guy,' who make your organization," Royals senior advisor to the GM Mike Arbuckle told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick in regard to former 10th round draft pick Greg Holland, now the team's All-Star closer.
  • "Trying to think like another team, usually the guys who are traded are going better than I am," White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko told Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune on his minor league rehab assignment in the Southern League.  Konerko, 37, is battling a back injury in the last year of his contract with the White Sox.
  • Cubs closer Kevin Gregg is on the trading block alongside starter Matt Garza, and Gregg seems ready to jump to a contender.  "Garza’s a headline piece, but I think that in the baseball world, people are looking for relievers.  I hope I’m on that list," Gregg told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times recently.  The 35-year-old has enjoyed an improbable rise back to prominence and the Cubs' closer job, though he has a 7.36 ERA over the last month.
  • Speaking to Tom Singer of MLB.com, Pirates GM Neal Huntington explained that his strong farm system gives him the confidence to make trades without depleting it.  Huntington didn't rule out rental players, saying, "We've never gone in with a premeditated view on rentals, whether we want or don't want them.  We've gone into the Deadline to impact that year's club as best we could. Now, while it does not make a ton of sense for us to give up an elite prospect for a two-month rental, you've always got to have the majority of attention on today."

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AL Central Links: Morneau, Royals, Gonzalez, Linares

By | at

Earlier tonight, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports took a look at the Twins' trade chips, noting that the market for Justin Morneau is soft at this time, with a few interested parties deterred by the $6MM remaining on the former MVP's contract. Here's more on Morneau and the rest of the AL Central…

  • Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that the M&M Boys (Joe Mauer and Morneau) in Minnesota is coming to an end. Berardino took some time over the All-Star break to talk to Mauer and former teammates Michael Cuddyer, Joe Nathan and Carlos Gomez about Morneau's leadership abilities. All spoke with the utmost respect for the Canadian slugger.
  • Royals general manager Dayton Moore is not in sell mode despite the team's recent slide in the standings, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Moore says he won't shift gears and focus on the future, though that doesn't mean he won't acquire players who can help the team beyond 2013. He also won't entertain offers for free-agent-to-be Ervin Santana.
  • A source close to Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that there's no steam between the Twins and Gonzalez (Twitter link). Earlier tonight, the Twins were connected to Gonzalez but listed as a long shot due to his price tag.
  • The White Sox and Indians are two of the three teams that MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports as suitors for 19-year-old Cuban right-hander Leandro Linares (Twitter links). The Marlins also have interest in Linares, who does fall under the newest CBA's international signing guidelines.

Royals Outright Pedro Ciriaco

By | at

THURSDAY: The Royals have outrighted Ciriaco to Triple-A Omaha, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). It seems likely that the Royals were interested in adding Ciriaco as organizational depth but didn't want to use a 40-man roster spot on him and placed him on waivers. This time, he cleared and was assigned to the minor leagues.

TUESDAY: The Royals claimed shortstop Pedro Ciriaco off waivers from the Padres, according to a team press release.  Ciriaco had been designated for assignment on Friday.  The Royals now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Ciriaco, 27, hit .228/.288/.342 in 126 plate appearances for the Red Sox and Padres this year, spending most of his time at shortstop.  Ciriaco was signed by the Diamondbacks out of the Dominican Republic in 2003.  He went to the Pirates in a trade deadline deal three years ago, was granted free agency after the 2011 season, signed as a minor league free agent with Boston in January 2012, and was acquired in trade by the Padres in June of this year after they had designated him for assignment.

Prior to the 2011 season, Ciriaco was ranked 27th among Pirates prospects by Baseball America.  They noted his "plus speed, smooth glove, and strong arm," suggesting his bat would determine whether he could land an everyday role.  The Royals' middle infield mix currently consists of Alcides Escobar, Johnny Giavotella, Miguel Tejada, and Elliot Johnson.

Quick Hits: Gardenhire, Twins, Giants

By | at

Chase Lambin is the oldest active minor league player to have never played a game in the majors, but the 34-year-old is still chasing the dream, writes Kent Babb of the Washington Post.  Lambin, whose career has taken him to multiple stops in the minors and even Japan, is with the Royals' Triple-A affiliate in Omaha and hoping to get the call up to Kansas City.  If it doesn't come this year, Lambin says he'll keep playing until there are no more contracts, whether here in the states or overseas.  Here's tonight's look around baseball..

  • There have been questions about manager Ron Gardenhire's job security with the Twins, but people around the team tell Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that there's very little chance that he won't be asked back for 2014.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Sulia link) spoke with a rival front office executive who said that the Giants'' best trade bait is their pitching in the low minors along with Double-A catcher Andrew Susac in return for big-league talent, if they're buying at the deadline.  San Fran is 43-51, 6.5 games back of the first place D'Backs.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the up-to-date international bonus pool figures for all 30 big league teams.  
  • Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball compiled a list of the players earning bonuses for their appearance in the 2013 All-Star game.  The Tigers wound up doling out $400K in bonuses to five players, including Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, and Torii Hunter, who made $100K each for their trip to Queens.

2014 Competitive Balance Lottery Results

By | at

The Competitive Balance Lottery for the 2014 MLB Draft took place today. Twelve competitive balance picks are awarded, with the first six taking place after the first round's conclusion and the next six taking place following conclusion of the second round. Here are the results, per MLB.com (Twitter links)…

Competitive Balance Round A

  1. Rockies
  2. Orioles
  3. Indians
  4. Marlins
  5. Royals
  6. Brewers

Competitive Balance Round B

  1. Padres
  2. Diamondbacks
  3. Cardinals
  4. Rays
  5. Pirates
  6. Mariners

As explained by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, the teams in the 10 smallest markets and teams with the 10 lowest revenues were eligible to be entered into the Round A lottery. This doesn't mean there were 20 teams in the lottery, as there's overlap in that criteria. All teams who don't win a pick in the first round are re-entered into the second round, along with any team that received revenue sharing this year, which accounted only for the Mariners.

These picks are eligible to be traded, as we saw in 2012. Last year, the Tigers and Marlins swapped Competitive Balance picks as part of the Anibal Sanchez trade. The Marlins received a second Competitive Balance pick when they traded Gaby Sanchez to the Pirates in the offseason.

The A's and Reds are the two eligible teams from this year's selection that were not awarded a Competitive Balance pick.

Royals Designate J.C. Gutierrez For Assignment

By | at

The Royals have designated right-hander J.C. Gutierrez for assignment, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).  The move allows the club to clear space for fellow righty Wade Davis, who is rejoining the club after paternity leave.

Gutierrez, who celebrates his 30th birthday today, posted a 3.38 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 25 relief appearances this season.  For his big league career, Gutierrez has a 4.58 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in parts of five campaigns for the Astros, Diamondbacks, and Royals.  The right-hander boasts a mid-90s fastball and so far in 2013 he's been clocking in with a career high 95 mph average.

AL Central Links: Morneau, Indians, Santana

By | at

The Twins have dropped nine of their past 10 games and now sit 15 games below .500 and 12 games out of first place in the AL Central division. General manager Terry Ryan said on Saturday that the team's current 10-game road trip would determine if they're buyers or sellers, and they've now lost five in a row. Here's more on the Twins and the rest of the AL Central…

  • A source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com that they expect the Twins to approach Justin Morneau about the potential price tag of an extension before the trade deadline (Twitter link). However, the Twins have yet to do so, Wolfson says.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Indians are on the lookout for rotation upgrades, but they prefer pitchers who are controllable beyond 2013. As such, Matt Garza is a tough fit for the Tribe.
  • The Royals are likely to retain Ervin Santana, though he'd "instantly become one of the hottest names on the market" if he were shopped, Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports. One scout tells Knobler that Santana "might be better than Garza." Kansas City has the best record in baseball over the last 36 days, but is eight games into 20 consecutive matchups with teams that have winning records. If the Royals fall far out of contention, GM Dayton Moore would probably field offers for the righty, Knobler says.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Prospect Rumor Roundup: First Half Disappointments

By | at

We're just past the halfway mark of the 2013 Major League Baseball season and well past the midway point of the Minor League Baseball season. While taking stock of the top prospects from around baseball, a number of names appear in the "disappointment column," which is not surprising given the general volatility of young players. Below, we take a look at some of the prospects having disappointing seasons, as well as some educated guesses as to what might be ailing them.

Matt Barnes, RHP, Red Sox: Barnes' season hasn't been as bad as some of the other players on this list but it's still been a disappointing 2013 for the right-handed hurler. The former first-round pick was expected to zoom through the minor leagues and possibly even help the big league club this season, but he currently has a 5.32 ERA with 78 hits allowed in 67 2/3 innings at the Double-A level. As the Boston Globe's Julian Benbow explained, Barnes has been working on fleshing out his secondary pitches this season so he doesn't have to rely so heavily on his low-to-mid-90s fastball.

Trevor Bauer, RHP, Indians: Bauer is the perfect example of the volatility of prospects. Selected third overall in the 2011 amateur draft, the right-hander out of UCLA dominated competition during his first taste of pro ball but the wheels fell off the wagon towards the end of 2012. Bauer's issues — both on and off the field — lead to an offseason trade and continued into 2013. His results at Triple-A have been less than ideal. After his most recent disastrous big league start, the young pitcher was returned to the minors and — according to a piece by Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal — he may focus on pitching exclusively from the stretch as a starter.

Kaleb Cowart, 3B, Angels: Los Angeles doesn't have a very deep minor league system whatsoever so when their top prospects stumble, it hurts them more than most organizations. The young third baseman is hitting just .215/.280/.309 at Double-A this season and some adjustments he made during the springtime could be to blame for his slow start. As Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com explained, the switch-hitting Cowart quieted his stance and eliminated the leg kick from the left side of the plate. He's still hitting just .198/.261/.275 versus right-handed pitching so clearly there are more wrinkles to iron out.

David Dahl, OF, Rockies: Like Bauer, Dahl's value is down as a result of well-documented off-the-field actions and maturity concerns. But those aren't the only things that have gone wrong for the outfielder in 2013. In early May, Dahl suffered what was expected to be a pulled hamstring while running the bases. About a week later, though, the prospect revealed on Twitter that his hamstring had been torn and was much more serious than first reported. That halted his season after 10 games (He got off to a late start because of the maturity issues mentioned above) and he hasn't appeared in a game since that time. His timetable for a return to the game is still up in the air.

Billy Hamilton, OF, Reds: Hamilton, 22, hasn't had a terrible year but he has yet to build off of the momentum he created last season when he hit .323/.413/.439 in High-A ball and stole 155 bases between two minor league clubs. Promoted to Triple-A to begin 2013 after spending just 50 games at the Double-A level, the speedy Hamilton has struggled to find his footing at the plate. On the plus side, the shortstop-turned-outfielder has nabbed 50 bases in just 80 games. His stolen base total could become much higher once he improves upon his .300 on-base percentage.

Courtney Hawkins, OF, White Sox: Hawkins has experienced a lot of struggles in his first full professional season. After hitting a combined .284 between three levels during last season's debut, he's batting just .191/.273/.485 with 95 strikeouts in 55 games during 2013. Scott Merkin of MLB.com talked to Hawkins regarding the learning curve he's experienced in High-A ball and how he plans to come out ahead.

Bubba Starling, OF, Royals: Starling opened 2013 with huge expectations surrounding him, but he hit just .195/.263/.379 with a massive strikeout rate in April. As Danny Wild of MiLB.com explained, things got so bad that Starling was sent to have his eyes examined for possible LASIK surgery in May — similar to what the Rangers did with third base prospect Mike Olt. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com later updated the story to report that the outfield prospect underwent the procedure on May 16. In June, after the eye surgery, Starling improved to hit .250/.327/.369 for the month, but he continued to strike out at a similar rate. He also hit jut one home run in 24 games. Clearly, there is more work to be done.

Kyle Zimmer, RHP, Royals: During the first three months of the year, Zimmer posted an ERA of more than 5.00 despite showing the same strong repertoire that caused him to be chosen fifth overall during the 2012 amateur draft. Thankfully, the right-hander may have finally turned a corner in July. He's posted a 2.77 ERA with no walks and 20 strikeouts in 13 innings. On the season, he's now whiffed 103 batters in 84 2/3 innings of work. Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com spoke to Zimmer, who stated that he's finally becoming comfortable with his pitching mechanics, which is in turn allowing him to provide more consistent command.

A number of prospects have also suffered significant loss in value due to serious injuries. The list of walking wounded include: Dylan Bundy, RHP, Orioles; Travis d'Arnaud, C, Mets; Danny Hultzen, LHP, Mariners; Casey Kelly, RHP, Padres; Hak-Ju Lee, SS, Rays; and Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Cubs.

Show all

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top