- Heyman also notes that he’s heard the Red Sox mentioned in connection with Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield. The 29-year-old has reportedly drawn interest from the Phillies and from the Brewers already, and the Sox would be a logical addition to that market, depending on the status of Dustin Pedroia. As Heyman notes, Merrifield is particularly enticing for the Sox given his minimal salary and their proximity to the top tier of luxury tax penalization. He’s shown, too, that he can play a number of positions, which would make him ideal for a utility role if the Sox get everyone healthy. That said, there’s no characterization of particularly strong interest in the report, the Sox have a thin farm system, and the Royals are under no urgency to trade Merrifield, who is controlled through 2022. Bullpen help has been rumored to be Boston’s primary focus on the trade market so far.
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Royals Rumors
Royals Place Ian Kennedy On 10-Day DL
The Royals announced this morning that righty Ian Kennedy is heading back to the 10-day disabled list. He had only just been activated to pitch yesterday, but left his outing after three frames.
The team indicates that a left oblique strain is again to blame for the placement, though the outlook isn’t yet clear this time around. Kennedy only missed one start in his prior stint on the DL, so perhaps there’s hope that this is still a fairly minor ailment. It surely helps that the All-Star break is right around the corner.
Of course, hitting the shelf now won’t do much for Kennedy’s prospects as a trade candidate. Truth be told, though, there was never much likelihood he’d be moved with a $16MM salary this year and $33MM left to go over the next two seasons.
Since joining the Kansas City staff in the 2016 campaign, the now-33-year-old Kennedy has compiled 444 1/3 innings of 4.58 ERA ball. But the results have headed in the wrong direction of late, as he has allowed more than five earned per nine over the past two seasons, due in large part to allowing far too many home runs.
Whit Merrifield Says He Hopes For Long-Term Deal With Royals
Royals utilityman extraordinaire Whit Merrifield has been a bright spot on a struggling roster, playing his way into trade consideration. If he has his way, though, he’ll remain with the Kansas City organization on a long-term deal, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports (subscription link).
Merrifield is an unusual player. Not only is he a late bloomer — the 29-year-old entered the current season with just 1.101 years on his service clock — but he has succeeded thus far in the majors with a still-evolving profile.
Last year, he hit a surprising 19 home runs but registered only a .324 on-base percentage even with a lofty .288 batting average. Thus far in 2018, the power is down (five home runs, .427 SLG, .125 ISO) but Merrifield sports a .369 OBP. He has already drawn more walks (32) than he did in nearly twice the plate appearances in 2017 (29).
Meanwhile, Merrifield has diversified his game on the defensive side. He has continued to grade out as a quality fielder at second. But he’s also holding his own in the outfield, with positive marks on his 102 innings in center field. Of course, Merrifield remains one of the game’s better baserunners, too.
Clearly, the overall profile is rather compelling. I examined the case for a long-term arrangement with Merrifield earlier this year and he has only continued to impress. Despite the fact that the Royals are really only just now launching a rebuilding effort, the team is hoping it’ll be a relatively quick turnaround, as evidenced by their prioritization of college arms in the recent amateur draft.
If there’s a compelling case to be made for K.C. to do a deal, it’s that locking up Merrifield would not only ensconce him as part of a new roster core, but could also provide an opportunity to realize significant value. The control rights leave the team with leverage. And it certainly seems as if he’s keen to sign on for the long run.
Indeed, per Dodd, Merrifield and his representatives sought to get talks started on an extension last winter. While that didn’t lead anywhere, he expressed an interest in revisiting talks — after the current season, at least. “Hopefully it’s something that could be possible down the road,” he says.
What’s interesting about this dynamic is that it offers a tantalizing and clear alternative to the Royals as the summer trade period gets underway in earnest. The possibility of an affordable, long-term arrangement will surely be weighed as part of the decisionmaking when offers come in the door.
Of course, the club already controls Merrifield for quite some time, and the limits of the arbitration process cap his potential earnings, so the possibility of a lengthier pact doesn’t drastically change the situation. But for an organization weighing how best to engineer a turnaround, and retain the goodwill it built with its fans over a multi-year run of contention, it’s a factor. The fact that Merrifield can play multiple positions makes it less likely that he’d get in the way of young talent, too.
All that being said, there ought to be some interesting possibilities on the trade front, too — whether at the deadline or in the ensuing offseason. Merrifield would fit quite nicely on quite a few contending rosters. His cheap remaining seasons of control will have plenty of appeal, even if the true upside is discounted a bit by his age and (to a lesser extent) lack of a lengthy MLB track record, particularly given that he’s shown aptitude in multiple places on the diamond.
Royals Release Justin Grimm
July 9: The Royals announced that Grimm has cleared release waivers and is now a free agent. He can sign with any club for only the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time spent in the minors, with the Royals on the hook for the remainder of his $1.25MM base salary.
July 7: The Royals have requested unconditional release waivers on right-hander Justin Grimm, as Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star and other media members have reported.
After being released by the Cubs in mid-March, Grimm caught on with the Royals just a few days later on a one-year, $1.25MM contract. Between that salary and the $541K in termination pay owed to him by the Cubs, Grimm recouped much of the $2.2MM he was originally slated to receive this season after losing an arbitration hearing to Chicago earlier in the offseason.
Unfortunately for Grimm, he simply never got things together with the Royals, posting a 13.50 ERA over 12 2/3 innings and recording more walks (14) than strikeouts (eight). It has now been back-to-back rough seasons for Grimm, who had a 5.53 ERA for the Cubs last season thanks in large part to an ungainly 12 homers allowed over 55 1/3 innings.
Grimm’s peripheral numbers were at least decent in 2017, whereas things have been pretty ugly across the board for him this season. It’s fair to state that injuries have played a part in his struggles, as Grimm missed time with a back problem earlier this season and is currently on the Royals’ disabled list due to right shoulder impingement syndrome.
Royals Scouting Yankees' Triple-A Club
- Aroldis Chapman will likely be dealing with his current left knee issue for the rest of the season, Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said before yesterday’s game (link via George A. King III of the New York Post). Chapman has been playing through a minor bout of tedinitis in his left knee and was held out of yesterday’s game even when the Yankees found themselves with a late 2-1 lead. Boone explained that he wanted to stay away from Chapman and Dellin Betances, instead turning to David Robertson to nail down the save. With a doubleheader set for Monday, it makes some sense to give Chapman that extra day of rest. King also notes that the Reds, Rangers and Royals were all among the rebuilding teams scouting the Triple-A tilt between the Yankees and Red Sox’ top affiliates yesterday. Several contending clubs were on hand as well, though, including the Indians, Phillies and D-backs.
Royals Notes: Hammel, Cuthbert
- The Royals have demoted right-hander Jason Hammel to the bullpen for the time being, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com was among those to tweet. Hammel had been slated to make his next start Wednesday, but Burch Smith will take his place. With the Royals in the midst of a rebuild and Hammel in the final guaranteed year of his contract, he could have emerged as a summer trade chip with a good showing in the season’s first few months. Instead, the once-competent Hammel has begun his age-35 season with a 6.16 ERA and his lowest K/9 (5.8) since 2011 over 102 1/3 innings. It’s the second disappointing campaign in a row for Hammel, who has combined for a 5.60 ERA across 280 2/3 frames since KC added him on a two-year, $16MM guarantee entering 2017. Hammel, to his credit, is taking his new role in stride, as he told Rustin Dodd of The Athletic (subscription required) and other reporters: “It’s a little slice of humble pie. But sometimes it’s necessary to reshape, reinvent, right the ship. I’ll go down and help out.”
- One of Hammel’s Royals teammates, infielder Cheslor Cuthbert, has been out for nearly two months with a lower back strain, and his return isn’t imminent. Cuthbert suffered a setback during his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha, per Flanagan, who adds that the player “likely will be pulled off his rehab while they determine the next medical step.” That’s a discouraging development for both Cuthbert and Kansas City, the latter of which is in position to evaluate its young players. At 25, Cuthbert’s part of that group, though his production has been rather poor dating back to last season (.215/.278/.313 in 270 plate trips).
Royals Sign Dallas Beeler
- The Royals have signed right-hander Dallas Beeler to a minor league contract and assigned him to their Double-A affiliate, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. The 29-year-old Beeler comes with a bit of major league experience, having pitched 19 1/3 innings for the Cubs from 2014-15. Beeler has mostly worked at the Triple-A level as a professional, combining for a 3.73 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 243 2/3 innings. He didn’t pitch for anyone last season, though, and then opened 2018 with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League.
Royals Place Jakob Junis On DL, Select Glenn Sparkman
The Royals have placed right-hander Jakob Junis on the 10-day disabled list with low back inflammation, per Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star. Additonally, the club selected the contract of righty Glenn Sparkman from Triple-A Omaha, giving Kansas City a full 40-man roster.
Junis had been scheduled to start the Royals’ game against the Red Sox on Sunday, but righty Heath Fillmyer will take the ball instead. Across 17 starts and 101 2/3 innings this season, the 25-year-old Junis has struggled to a 5.13 ERA/5.47 FIP, though he has managed 8.14 K/9 against 2.48 BB/9.
Fillmyer, 24, is now set to make his first big league start. He joined the Royals in an offseason trade with the Athletics and has made his first three major league appearances this year, throwing nine innings of two-run ball out of KC’s bullpen. He hasn’t fared nearly that well in 13 Triple-A starts, though, with a 5.75 ERA/4.62 FIP in 67 1/3 frames.
Sparkman is in position to see the second MLB action of his career. He tossed one inning in 2017 with the Blue Jays, who took him from the Royals in the 2016 Rule 5 draft but then returned him to Kansas City last July. The 26-year-old has divided this season between the minors’ two highest levels and combined for a 3.96 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9 in 16 starts and 88 2/3 innings.
Phillies Notes: Merrifield, Eickhoff, Int’l Scouting
Here’s the latest from the City Of Brotherly Love…
- The Phillies have interest in Royals utilityman Whit Merrifield, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports. Merrifield has mostly played second base in K.C. this season, though he has also seen time at first base, center field, and right field, plus he’s seen time in left field and third base in past seasons. As Morosi notes, this makes him an ideal fit on a Phillies team that values multi-position players. The Royals have already begun trading veterans prior to the deadline, though Merrifield would command a noteworthy price tag since he’s under team control through the 2022 season.
- Jerad Eickhoff experienced more numbness in his fingers during a throwing session, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reports (Twitter link), and is undergo more tests to try and determine the problem. Eickhoff’s last set of examinations “ruled out a lot of bad stuff” in the words of Phillies GM Matt Klentak, though it obviously isn’t a good sign that Eickhoff’s problems are continuing after another month. Eickhoff has yet to pitch this season, initially beginning the DL due to a lat strain before his rehab was shut down by the numbness issues.
- The Phillies have put a lot of focus on expanding their international scouting operations, including going beyond the usual set of countries to find players, The Athletic’s Meghan Montemurro writes (subscription required). The piece includes a look at some of the international names in Philadelphia’s farm system, including Russian left-hander Anton Kuznetsov, New Zealander right-hander Kyle Glogoski, and Australian lefty Josh Tols.
Royals Scouting Yankees' MLB And Minor League Rosters
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman “wouldn’t comment” to media (including the New York Post’s George A. King III) on a recent report from MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi about the Yankees’ interest in Mike Moustakas as a possible first base option. King did note that the Royals recently had scouts watching not just the Yankees, but also New York’s Double-A and Triple-A teams as well, so Kansas City seems to be checking out both Major League and minor league players in the organization. In terms of what the return could be on a potential Moustakas trade, King doubts that the Yankees would part with current first baseman Greg Bird for just two-plus months of Moustakas’ services.
