Royals Rumors

Ian Kennedy, The Reliever, Is Interesting

By Steve Adams | May 23, 2019 at 4:29pm CDT

When the Royals moved Ian Kennedy to the bullpen, it seemed to mark a rock-bottom moment for the right-hander’s value. Kennedy was owed a total of $33MM from 2019-20 after a two-year stretch in which he logged a 5.06 ERA and 5.17 FIP. He was being taken out of a rebuilding team’s rotation in favor of Homer Bailey, another veteran whose underperforming contract was being paid off by another team.

Fast forward a couple of months, and not much has gone right with the Royals’ pitching staff, but the Kennedy bullpen experiment has been nothing short of excellent. While teams still won’t be interested in his contract, they may have interest in acquiring Kennedy if the Royals are willing to pay down some of the salary.

It’s only 19 2/3 innings, but Kennedy has a 3.20 ERA with a 23-to-2 K/BB ratio and a 47 percent ground-ball rate out of the bullpen. His average fastball has jumped from 91.9 mph to 93.4 mph now that he’s working in short stints. Perhaps there’s reason to be skeptical of the strikeout rate given a lack of swinging strikes, but Kennedy is also among the league leaders in weak contact induced. Opponents are averaging just 84.7 mph in terms of exit velocity against him, and Statcast pegs his .266 expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) in the 86th percentile league-wide.

Kennedy has dropped his changeup entirely in favor of a four-seam/curveball/cutter arsenal that has proven to be more effective than his prior pitch mix. While his curve has never been a source of many whiffs, Kennedy is suddenly sporting a 17.7 percent swinging-strike rate on the pitch — up substantially from the roughly nine percent mark he posted in the three prior seasons. He’s altered his release point on his curve and picked up more movement than he’s seen in recent seasons, which has not only led to misses but also quite a few more ground-balls (55 percent). Kennedy’s curve hasn’t generated great results yet (both the homers hit against him this season have come on the pitch) but the .444 average on balls in play opponents have recorded against that offering figures to regress.

Prior to Opening Day, Kennedy would’ve been the type of arm one would expect to receive a minor league contract and a Spring Training invite in a free-agent setting, but he now looks more like a reliever who’d command a reasonably significant big league deal. If he can sustain this output or even improve upon it, he could even be the type of pitcher who’d command a two-year pact in a theoretical open market. He doesn’t have the track record for clubs to look at him as a David Robertson/Andrew Miller type that’d make $11-12MM per year, but we’ve seen quite a few two-year deals in the $4-7MM annual salary range in recent offseasons — even for pitchers who don’t have lengthy track records (e.g. Jesse Chavez, Brandon Kintzler, Anthony Swarzak).

It’s suddenly not crazy to think that in a couple months’ time, teams could view Kennedy as reliever worth paying $5-7MM per season. Some teams may already be starting to think that way. If the Royals were willing to pay down $10-11MM of next season’s $16.5MM salary (and the prorated equivalent of that sum for the remainder of the 2019 campaign), Kennedy could suddenly be movable. Being movable is different than having much in the way of positive trade value, but the very fact that it appears possible is a nice, somewhat unexpected development for Kansas City.

And if the Royals were willing to pay down even more of that sum, perhaps they could pry a decent return out of the whole deal. No team is going to give up anything of value just for the right to pay Kennedy at what could be the high end of his market value, no matter how well he throws between now and July 31. If the Royals pay him down to the point where he’s only owed a couple million dollars in 2019 and 2020, though, surplus value could be created.

There has already been a bit of chatter involving Kennedy, though there’s no indication of actual trade talks. Recent suggestions of some type of deal involving Dominic Smith don’t make any sense to me, even if Smith is blocked by Pete Alonso in New York. But if Kennedy can sustain his bullpen renaissance — and the numbers suggest that he can — then the Royals can score some salary relief and maybe even a mid-range prospect or two this summer. This outcome isn’t what they were anticipating when they signed Kennedy, but it’s about as good as they could’ve hoped for when they moved him to the ’pen.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/18/19

By Ty Bradley | May 18, 2019 at 4:17pm CDT

The latest in minor moves from around the game…

Cory Spangenberg, designated for assignment Tuesday by Milwaukee, cleared waivers and has been outrighted to AAA-San Antonio, tweets MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. It’s a bit of a surprise that Spangenberg wasn’t claimed, given his versatility and near-league-average offensive performance when afforded full-time play. The former tenth overall pick’s plate discipline continues to slide, however, and this year his strikeout rate had plummeted to a career-worst 33.9% at San Antonio. In 329 plate appearances for San Diego last season, the 28-year-old slashed .235/.298/.362 with a 32.4% strikeout rate, though his output in 2015 and ’17 for the team – his two previous seasons uninterrupted by injury – was far better. Spangenberg has MLB experience at nearly every non-catcher position on the diamond, so any prolonged hot streak should afford him another big-league opportunity in the near future.
The Royals have requested unconditional release waivers on 1B Frank Schwindel, tweets Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star. Schwindel, 26, was in his seventh season in the KC system but had plunged to unfortunate depths in ’19, slashing just .186/.237/.286 over 76 plate appearances in the surface-of-the-moon environs of the Pacific Coast League. Schwindel was designated for assignment by Kansas City on Tuesday.

Alex Gordon Discusses Future Plans

By Jeff Todd | May 17, 2019 at 11:27pm CDT

There has been some indication that Royals outfielder Alex Gordon might hang up his spikes at the end of the year, but his hot start has him leaning in the other direction. The veteran tells MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan that he’s “at about 60-40” in favor of continuing his career past the 2019 season.

Gordon is all but certain to be a free agent at the end of the year after earning $20MM in the final guaranteed season of his contract. The deal comes with a $23MM mutual option and $4MM buyout. It’s all but unfathomable that the Kansas City organization will pony up the extra $19MM, even with Gordon in the midst of a revival.

There’s an argument to be made that the Royals ought to be preparing to deal away Gordon, even if it means paying down much of the remainder of the deal. The 35-year-old’s renaissance after three poor campaigns at the plate is increasingly believable. He’s swinging at and making contact on pitches in the zone more than ever before, leading to a career-low 12.8% strikeout rate.

Gordon’s power output will likely shrink once his 17.4% HR/FB rate comes back to earth, but it’s now plausible to view him once more as a solid hitter, good defender, and quality clubhouse presence of the sort that many contenders would love to have. He isn’t suddenly a premium market asset. But in the midst of this Nick Markakis act, Gordon would be of clear interest even with some anticipated regression.

Trouble is, Gordon has 10-and-5 rights, meaning he can veto any deal. And it doesn’t sound as if he has the slightest bit of interest in a swap. (Neither is it clear that the Royals would be so inclined, particularly given that they’re actually putting out word that they think they can make a run at a Wild Card.)

“I don’t want to play anywhere else,” says Gordon. “Yeah, I want to retire as a Royal. I’ve established my family here with my kids. This is home.”

That probably settles that so far as a mid-season trade is concerned. But what of the future? That same commitment could well set up an ongoing relationship with the Royals. GM Dayton Moore wouldn’t weigh in on that possibility, but it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see the sides line up on a deal to keep things going. It’s arguable that the team should save its plate appearances for younger players, but every team needs its veterans and this one has managed to find roster spots for questionably suited fits in Lucas Duda and Terrance Gore.

AL Central Notes: McCann, Zimmermann, Tribe, Twins, Royals

By Mark Polishuk | May 16, 2019 at 8:25pm CDT

It isn’t any secret that the White Sox are eager to keep Jose Abreu in the fold, though another veteran may also be a candidate for a longer-term stint with the club. While expressing to the Athletic’s James Fegan (subscription link) about how much the Sox would like to continue their relationship with Abreu, GM Rick Hahn also praised James McCann’s work at catcher. “He’s been everything we had hoped for in terms of in the clubhouse and from a defensive standpoint and quite frankly more than we had even hoped for offensively,” Hahn said. “He made an adjustment with his stance in the offseason….That’s really clicked for him. He’s been a great acquisition for us. We have control of him through arbitration next year and certainly look forward to having him around for a while.”

McCann signed a one-year, $2.5MM free agent deal with Chicago after being non-tendered by the Tigers in the offseason, and has enjoyed perhaps the hottest stretch of his career at the plate. McCann is batting .366/.404/.581 through 99 plate appearances, absurd numbers for a hitter who had just a .653 OPS over 1658 career PA heading into the season. While some regression at the plate is inevitable, Fegan feels the Sox would prefer keeping McCann over Welington Castillo for 2020, since even McCann on an arbitration raise will cost less than Castillo’s $8MM club option.

Here’s more from around the AL Central…

Jordan Zimmermann is “probably a month” or so away from returning, Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire told The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen (Twitter link) and other media. Gardenhire revealed that Zimmermann has been battling a muscle strain in addition to the UCL sprain that initially sent him to the injured list back on April 26.
Indians manager Terry Francona provided MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (Twitter links) and other reporters with injury updates today, including the news that Adam Plutko will start for Cleveland on Saturday. Plutko has missed the entire season due to a right forearm sprain, and has only a 5.38 ERA over 80 1/3 career innings in the majors, though the Tribe is looking to fill holes in the rotation with both Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger on the IL. Speaking of the Cleveland injury list, Francona also said Tyler Naquin will be kept out of baseball activities for two weeks due to swelling behind the outfielder’s knee.
“The expectation both within the organization and outside is that the Twins, like so many other teams, must address their bullpen if they want to be real contenders,” The Athletic’s Dan Hayes writes in a look at Minnesota’s relief corps. The Twins are around the middle of the pack in most relief categories, with Taylor Rogers, Blake Parker, Trevor May, and Ryne Harper all delivering excellent results thus far, though there isn’t a lot of experience within that group. While Minnesota will surely explore adding a reliever before the trade deadline if the team remains in the race, GM Thad Levine notes that “I think it’s a little too early to see that market take shape,” noting that teams with bullpen assets to sell right now are putting a big asking price on that pitching.
While Alex Gordon is posting big numbers and can be a free agent after the season, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) feels “the safer bet is that he stays put, then re-signs with the Royals and finishes his career in Kansas City.” The long-time face of the Royals franchise can’t be traded without his permission due to 10-and-5 rights, though if he did want to be dealt, “the Royals almost certainly would try to accommodate him.” There’s also a notable financial element to any potential Gordon trade, as the $4MM buyout attached to his $23MM mutual option for the 2020 season would become a $4MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade, as the mutual option would then be voided. Plus, Gordon still has roughly $15MM remaining on his $20MM salary for the 2019 season.

Royals Designate Frank Schwindel For Assignment

By Steve Adams | May 14, 2019 at 3:38pm CDT

The Royals have designated first baseman Frank Schwindel for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for infield prospect Nicky Lopez, whose previously announced promotion to the Major Leagues is now official (Twitter link via Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star).

Schwindel, 26, opened the 2019 season on the active roster with the Royal but appeared in only six games before returning to the minors. He’s had a rough go of it so far in Triple-A Omaha, hitting just .186/.237/.286 with a homer and four doubles through 76 trips to the plate. That said, Schwindel enjoyed a much more productive 2018 run in Omaha when he hit .286/.336/.506 with 24 homers and 38 doubles, and he’s generally been a productive bat since arriving on the scene in Triple-A back in 2017.

The move to designate Schwindel buys struggling veteran Chris Owings some additional time on the active roster. Kansas City signed the former D-backs utilityman to a one-year deal worth $3MM this past offseason, but Owings has mustered only a .143/.209/.244 output in 129 trips to the plate so far. For now, he’ll continue to try to sort things out at the MLB level, but Lopez’s arrival will further cut into his already dwindling playing time.

Royals Promote Nicky Lopez

By Jeff Todd | May 13, 2019 at 5:22pm CDT

The Royals have selected the contract of young infielder Nicky Lopez, per a club announcement. Righty Jake Newberry will be optioned to open an active roster spot; the 40-man move will be announced tomorrow.

Lopez’s ascent comes as a bit of a surprise. It was just two days ago, after all, that the club indicated it’d be utilizing Whit Merrifield primarily at second base. Instead, the veteran will be bumped into right field while Lopez will take the reins at the keystone. GM Dayton Moore explained that he and skipper Ned Yost changed course after discussing the matter over the weekend. (Via Rustin Dodd of The Athletic, on Twitter.)

The 24-year-old Lopez was taken out of Creighton in the fifth round of the 2016 draft. He is known more for his sturdiness than the types of loud tools that would suggest a lofty ceiling in the majors.

Lopez’s contact ability and keen approach were on display last year, when he logged a .382 on-base percentage and walked more than he struck out in a season split between the two highest levels of the minors. Entering the current campaign, he was billed as one of the organization’s ten best prospects.

While Lopez was already very much on the radar, it’s fair to say he has raised his stock quite a bit already in 2019. He hasn’t yet added significant power — and may never do so, unless he can follow the paths of a select few others that have turned contact ability into dingers in the majors — but Lopez has taken his skillset to new heights in the early going.

Over 138 plate appearances this year for Omaha, Lopez carries a .353/.457/.500 slash line with an outlandish combination of twenty walks against just five strikeouts. (That sort of BB/K ratio is associated with the original Billy Hamilton and his contemporaries, not the active Billy Hamilton who’ll soon be Lopez’s teammate.) He has also successfully swiped nine bags in a dozen attempts, which suggests an avenue for expanding his offensive value with a club that is more willing than most to tempt fate on the base paths.

Whit Merrifield Seeing Less Time In Outfield

By Connor Byrne | May 11, 2019 at 11:16pm CDT

Royals utilityman Whit Merrifield racked up a career-high 39 outfield appearances a year ago, but he’s probably not going to approach that total this season. The Royals are wary of the physical toll that the outfield could take on Merrifield and will try to keep him at his primary position, second base, as much as possible, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com and Rustin Dodd of The Athletic explain.

While Merrifield has already accrued 11 outfield appearances this season, he hasn’t played there since April 11, Flanagan notes. In the Royals’ estimation, the decision to keep Merrifield out of the grass has likely helped him continue his impressive run of durability this season. Merrifield logged 303 of a possible 324 appearances from 2017-18, including 158 of 162 last year, and has been present in all 40 of the Royals’ games in 2019.

Unlike last year, when he was by far the brightest light on a 58-win team, Merrifield’s one of several standouts on this season’s club. At 14-26, the rebuilding Royals are still looking way up toward the majors’ contending teams, but Hunter Dozier, Adalberto Mondesi, Alex Gordon and Jorge Soler are among offensive regulars who have joined Merrifield in providing reasons for optimism. Merrifield, who’s a few months removed from signing a team-friendly extension, is slashing .294/.352/.531 (131 wRC+) in his age-30 season with 20 extra-base hits (eight doubles, six homers and six triples), seven steals and just 27 strikeouts in 180 plate appearances.

Between Merrifield and Mondesi, Kansas City’s infield looks as if its locked down for the near and long term, which will have ramifications on other members of the organization. For instance, those two are blocking hot-hitting middle infield prospect Nicky Lopez, whom general manager Dayton Moore spoke about Saturday.

“There’s nobody left to call up right now [where] there’s a chance to play every day,” Moore said. “What I will say is that yes, we’re very excited about Nicky Lopez and he will have a bright future on this team, we hope.”

The 24-year-old Lopez has hit an eye-opening .363/.463/.513 (151 wRC+) with three homers and nine steals in 134 PA with Triple-A Omaha, all while drawing 20 walks and striking out just five times. Still, if we’re to believe Moore, a promotion isn’t imminent.

Quick Hits: Cards, Martinez, Reyes, Royals, Goodwin, Yanks, Ellsbury

By Connor Byrne | April 28, 2019 at 11:34am CDT

Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez, whose injured shoulder has kept him out of action this year, is “expected” to return at some point next month, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “I feel so much better. Right now I’m 85 percent, 90 percent,” Martinez declared. “In two weeks … I think I’m going to be great. When I come back to the major leagues, I’m going to be 100 percent.” The electrifying 27-year-old has flashed front-line starter potential during his career, but thanks in part to his own wishes, he’ll work out of the Cardinals’ bullpen when he comes back. However, Martinez’s goal is to rejoin the Redbirds’ rotation after the All-Star break, Hummel relays. Meanwhile, though there’s no official timetable for fellow banged-up Cardinals righty Mike Mayers’ return, he’s aiming for July. The reliever went to the injured list April 16 with a strained lat.

More from St. Louis and a couple other big league cities…

Martinez and Mayers certainly aren’t dealing with embarrassing injuries, but the same isn’t true for teammate Alex Reyes. The prized 24-year-old suffered a fractured left pinky after punching a wall following his most recent Triple-A start, general manager Michael Girsch told Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch and other reporters Sunday. Reyes will now head to the Cardinals’ facility in Jupiter, Fla., to continue building his arm up, though this injury likely leaves the righty at least a month from returning to St. Louis, per Goold.
Outfielder Brian Goodwin was on release waivers a month ago, when the Royals cut him in favor of Lucas Duda. All Goodwin has done since then is slash .333/.430/.556 in 87 plate appearances as a member of the Angels, making him one of the game’s elite hitters in the early going. The Royals could end up ruing their decision to part with Goodwin, but manager Ned Yost and GM Dayton Moore explained to Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star that they don’t regret the choice. Yost noted that Goodwin has struggled as a pinch hitter, which played a part in the Royals’ decision to release him, and observed that “it just made more sense” to have the lefty-swinging Duda and the righty-batting Frank Schwindel (who’s now in the minors) as pinch-hitting options and Terrance Gore as another bench choice. The Royals also had plenty of other outfield possibilities, notes Worthy, who points out Goodwin didn’t exactly make a case for a roster spot during an unproductive spring with KC. “There probably wouldn’t have been a lot of at-bats for him,” said Moore, who suggested he’s happy Goodwin found a better opportunity elsewhere.
Injuries continue to haunt forgotten but well-compensated Yankees outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who last appeared in a game Oct. 17, 2017. Manager Aaron Boone said Saturday (via George A. King III of the New York Post) that Ellsbury is “dealing with different things,” “a number of little things that continue to pop up,” and “certainly” won’t return in the near term. The 35-year-old Ellsbury has battled a litany of health problems over the past couple seasons, including plantar fasciitis in 2019. The Yankees owe Ellsbury $21MM salaries through 2020 and can then cut the cord on him with a $5MM buyout.

AL Injury Notes: Andujar, Eloy, Rangers, Jays, Royals

By Connor Byrne and Jeff Todd | April 27, 2019 at 8:50am CDT

The Yankees will open a seven-game homestand May 3, at which point injured third baseman Miguel Andujar could rejoin their lineup, manager Aaron Boone said Friday (via George A. King III of the New York Post). Whether that happens will depend on how Andujar fares in extended spring training and minor league rehab games over the next several days. For now, though, Boone is “cautiously optimistic” about Andujar’s torn right labrum, which looked like a potential season-ending injury when he went on the IL on April 1. The 24-year-old is one of a whopping 15 Yankees who have landed on the injured list this season, but the reserve-laden club has weathered the storm with a 15-11 start. Third base subs DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela have performed well along the way, helping to ease the burden of Andujar’s absence.

White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez exited Friday’s game with a right ankle sprain and was wearing a walking boot afterward, per James Fegan of The Athletic (subscription required). X-rays on Jimenez’s ankle came back negative, but he’ll undergo an MRI on Saturday. An IL stint seems like a distinct possibility for the 22-year-old phenom, who’s just 85 plate appearances into his career.
Rangers lefty Taylor Hearn endured a rough debut start. Now, he’s headed to the 10-day IL with elbow tightness. That’s not how the club drew things up when it called upon one of its most promising young pitchers to join the MLB roster. Hearn’s outlook isn’t yet known. That was just one of several moves, as fellow hurler Jeffrey Springs and infielder Patrick Wisdom were optioned out. Second bagger Rouned Odor was activated from the IL while pitchers Ariel Jurado and Wei-Chieh Huang were called up to provide some fresh arms.
Standout Blue Jays infield prospect Bo Bichette is down with a broken left hand, but general manager Ross Atkins said Friday he won’t require surgery, as Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. The Jays expect a four- to six-week recovery time for the 21-year-old Bichette, who’s regarded as one of the game’s premier prospects.
The Royals have placed first baseman Lucas Duda on the 10-day IL, retroactive to April 24, and recalled third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez from Triple-A Omaha, according to Pete Grathoff and Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star. Duda’s dealing with a lumbar strain, which continues a rough start to the season for the 33-year-old. The free-agent pickup has hit a miserable .174/.304/.326 in 56 trips to the plate. Meanwhile, Gutierrez batted an impressive .333/.443/.439 in 79 PA prior to his promotion, and he’s now in line for his first major league action. The Royals acquired Gutierrez, 24, from the Nationals last June as part of a deal centering on reliever Kelvin Herrera. Gutierrez currently ranks as KC’s 14th-best prospect at MLB.com.

AL Central Notes: Mize, Carrasco, Soler

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | April 25, 2019 at 8:44pm CDT

The Tigers announced Thursday that top pitching prospect Casey Mize has been promoted to Double-A Erie. Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, tore through an early assignment to Class-A Advanced, posting a comical 0.35 ERA with a 25-to-1 K/BB ratio in 26 innings of work prior to the promotion. The former Auburn ace, clearly miles ahead of the competition he faced at that first stop, looks to be on a relatively fast track to the big leagues. The 21-year-old (22 on May 1) totaled 128 1/3 innings between college ball and the minor leagues last season, so he may not even be on all that aggressive of an innings cap (although surely the Tigers will exercise some degree of caution as pertains to his workload). Widely regarded as one of the game’s best overall prospects, Mize could put himself in the conversation for a big league promotion this summer or in early 2020, at the latest, assuming things go smoothly in Double-A and Triple-A.

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