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Royals To Seek Rotation Help

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Royals owner David Glass wants his team’s starting rotation to improve in 2013, and he’s prepared to spend if that’s what it takes to upgrade the Kansas City pitching staff. Glass told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that the starting rotation will get better in 2013.

“What I’ve always said is when we get to the point where we’re competitive,” Glass said, “we’ll do what we have to do to improve our position. Yes, we’ll do what we need to do. We are committed to improving our starting pitching.

Glass said the Royals will contend if they can upgrade their rotation. The bullpen and position players “stack it up against anybody” in the American League Central in Glass’ estimation. The owner indicated a willingness to operate at a loss from a financial standpoint if necessary.

Royals starters have combined for a 4.98 ERA (26th in MLB) in 833 2/3 innings (28th in MLB). Jeremy Guthrie hits free agency this offseason, but Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar, Luis Mendoza, Will Smith, Felipe Paulino, Danny Duffy and Jake Odorizzi are among Kansas City's internal options for 2013. Glass has yet to create a list off offseason targets with general manager Dayton Moore, Dutton reports.

Olney On Price, Andrus, Leyland

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Some talent evaluators believe Rays left-hander David Price could be traded this winter, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. Here’s the latest from Olney, who runs down potential suitors for Price in his latest column…

  • Price’s trade value will never be higher than it will be this winter, Olney writes. However, the left-hander’s salary will rise considerably from $4.35MM following his Cy Young-caliber 2012 season. This means the budget-conscious Rays will probably decide to part with Price at some point between now and when he hits free agency after the 2015 season. “There will be a day when the Rays trade him,” Olney writes. 
  • Tampa Bay could seek up-the-middle players for Price, who has extraordinary trade value as a controllable top-of-the-rotation left-hander.
  • There’s a wide expectation that the Rangers will trade Elvis Andrus this winter. But Andrus isn’t a great fit for the Rays given his salary and service time, so they’d presumably ask about shortstop prospect Jurickson Profar in talks for Price.
  • It’s hard to imagine the Royals obtaining Price from the Rays without giving up Wil Myers, Salvador Perez, Mike Moustakas or Eric Hosmer, Olney writes.
  • Though the Tigers aren’t a strong defensive team their pitchers haven’t complained publicly about the glovework behind them. Olney credits Detroit’s player and manager Jim Leyland for this display of support.

Non-Tender Candidate: Luke Hochevar

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The next strikeout Luke Hochevar records will set a new career-high for the right-hander, but that's one of few positives to take away from an otherwise disappointing season. The 29-year-old has pitched to a 5.46 ERA despite reasonable peripheral stats such as his 6.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and 43.6 percent ground-ball rate. All of those are pretty close to the numbers Hochevar has posted to date in his career: a 5.33 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 47.9 percent ground-ball rate. Suffice it to say, that's not quite what the Royals were hoping for when they selected Hochevar first overall in the 2006 draft. Hochevar

The University of Tennessee product has spent his entire career with the Royals after refusing to sign with the Dodgers when they selected him in both 2002 and 2005. He appeared on Baseball America's list of Top 100 prospects prior to both the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but that pedigree never manifested at the Major League level.

Hochevar avoided arbitration with the Royals last winter, agreeing to a one-year deal that guaranteed him $3.51MM. At the time, he was coming off a 198-inning season in which he posted a 3.52 ERA in the season's second half. That won't be the case this upcoming offseason, but he's still on pace to rattle off roughly 180 innings. That durability will lead to another raise for Hochevar through arbitration, which could push his salary north of $5MM.

As Rany Jazayerli recently pointed out, Hochevar has the fifth-worst ERA and sixth-worst ERA+ of any starting pitcher to ever exceed 120 starts at the Major League level. Given the 752-inning sample size of subpar performance, it seems likely that even a pitching-starved organization like the Royals could move on from Hochevar and seek alternative rotation options. In the event that he's non-tendered, Hochevar would likely be in line for a one-year deal with a low base salary and some performance-based incentives from his new club.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Presswire.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Jeremy Guthrie

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Before Jeremy Guthrie was traded to the Royals, he was in the midst of a career-worst season and appeared to be headed for a minor league contract in free agency. Since the Royals acquired Guthrie for Jonathan Sanchez on July 20th, the right-hander has pitched effectively, returning to his career norms. The turnaround should assure him of a guaranteed contract as a free agent this offseason and a multiyear deal remains possible.

Jeremy Guthrie - Royals (PW)

Coors Field was not a particularly welcoming home to Guthrie this year. Opponents posted a Bonds-esque .368/.415/.720 batting line against him in Denver’s thin air. Overall, Guthrie posted a 6.35 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 90 2/3 innings for the Rockies. He allowed 12 hits and two home runs per nine innings. Not surprisingly, he lost his rotation spot and, eventually, his place on the team.

Credit Royals general manager Dayton Moore for looking past those numbers. Since Guthrie has joined the Royals he has a 3.13 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 72 innings over the course of 11 starts. He’s generating more swings and misses with Kansas City (7.7% swinging strike rate) and averaging 93mph with his fastball.

Guthrie should appeal to the Royals when he hits free agency this offseason, as Kansas City could use more starting pitching. Moore has said that the club will "probably" wait until after the season to explore contract talks with Guthrie

Guthrie’s representatives at CAA Sports figure to look for a multiyear contract in free agency and it sounds as though some longtime Royals observers aren’t opposed to the possibility. Rany Jazayerli has suggested a two year, $15MM contract could work for both sides. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star has suggested a two year, $18MM contract with a club option. 

A multiyear deal is certainly possible for the 33-year-old Guthrie. But in some ways he reminds me of Joe Saunders, who was selected ten spots before Guthrie in the first round of the 2002 draft. Both are innings eaters who limit walks, don’t induce many strikeouts and allow lots of hits. The combination generally leads to substantial salaries through arbitration, but it doesn’t do as well in free agency. Saunders, for example, signed a one-year, $6MM contract with Arizona last offseason. I expect Guthrie to sign a contract in that range following his up and down 2012 campaign.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Berkman, Nationals, Royals, Pagan

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The Orioles drew first blood in their big four-game series with the Yankees, slugging six homers en route to a 10-6 victory.  Mark Reynolds hit two home runs, and has now enjoyed three multi-homer games against New York within the span of a week.  Baltimore is now tied with the Yankees atop the AL East.

Here's some news from around baseball…

  • If Lance Berkman retires, he tells Mark Berman of FOX 26 Sports Houston that he intends to finish his degree at Rice and be an assistant coach for the school's baseball team.  Berkman said he is still leaning towards retirement but is focused on the Cardinals right now and will save a final decision under the offseason.
  • Between Bryce Harper's play in center field and new leadoff hitter Jayson Werth's performance (a 1.014 OPS in 14 games as the leadoff man entering tonight's action), Amanda Comak of the Washington Times wonders if the Nationals may not need to focus on these long-time problems areas this offseason. 
  • The Royals should re-sign Jeremy Guthrie to a two-year, $15MM contract and non-tender Luke Hochevar, opines Rany Jazayerli of Rany On The Royals.  Jazayerli believes Guthrie would pitch well in the AL Central while Hochevar hasn't been able to translate his decent advanced metrics into on-the-field success.
  • Fangraphs' Dave Cameron cites Angel Pagan as "the most underrated player in baseball."  Pagan has a .284/.336/.430 line with eight homers, 78 runs scored and 23 steals for the Giants this season.  He is also a free agent this winter, and compares well with bigger-name free agent center fielders like Michael Bourn or B.J. Upton.
  • Players and owners aren't close to a decision about limiting September roster sizes, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  We heard earlier this week that MLB was looking to change the rules for next season, but Rosenthal reports that since different teams deal with the September rosters in different ways, some clubs aren't willing to commit to the players' demands for minimum number of active roster spots for each game.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Guthrie, D’Backs, Brewers

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The Yankees are faced with a number of issues in the short-term and long-term, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Among their long-term issues is the fact that their position player average age is 32.7 years.  One scout is also concerned that Robinson Cano hasn't looked like himself lately which is an unfortunate development for the Yanks as they appear to be intent on locking him up for the long-term.  Here's more from around baseball.

  • Royals General Manager Dayton Moore says that the club will "probably" wait until after the season to explore contract talks with pending free agent Jeremy Guthrie, tweets Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star.  Moore recently said that he will be focusing on the rotation this offseason, which includes trying to re-sign Guthrie.  The 33-year-old is earning $8.5MM this season.
  • One has to imagine that Diamondbacks pitchers Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson regret not signing lucrative extensions when they had the chance prior to this season, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.  It's not known how much Arizona was offering to each pitcher, but Piecoro estimates that for Kennedy it was something close to $30MM and around $15MM for Hudson.
  • A source tells Ben Badler of Baseball America that the Brewers are not planning to renew the contract of Fernando Arango, who has been one of the team's top scouts in Latin America since 2003.  The club is looking for more production out of their Latin American department as they continue to work with a low-to-mid-range budget.

Quick Hits: Myers, Red Sox, Strasburg

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Early September is always a good time to be a minor league player on the 40-man roster of an MLB team. So far today 21 players have been recalled to the MLB level, where they’ll earn a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary and collect service time. Here are today’s links…

  • Congratulations to Wil Myers, who was named Baseball America's 2012 Minor League Player Of The Year. He hit 37 home runs and posted a .313/.387/.600 batting line in the upper minors this year while playing third base, center field and right field. Before long he’ll be hitting in the middle of the Royals’ lineup, J.J. Cooper writes at Baseball America.
  • In light of Boston’s disappointing year, Alex Speier of WEEI.com recalls some recent teams that reached the postseason following losing seasons. Rarely have big ticket free agents played a role in these bounce-back campaigns, so it probably makes sense for Red Sox GM Ben Cherington to maintain a disciplined approach to spending, Speier writes.
  • Here are some more notes about the Red Sox from earlier today.
  • Manager John Farrell said he's "unequivocally" focused on the Blue Jays and acknowledged he has one year remaining on his contract with the team, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (on Twitter).
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo deserves credit for protecting Stephen Strasburg and taking responsibility for his decision, Tom Verducci writes at SI.com. The decision to limit Strasburg’s innings is a truly modern one, “made with the kind of awareness, statistical study and medical information" that wasn't out there a decade ago, Verducci adds.

Royals Have No Interest In Clemens

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Roger Clemens made his return to the mound for the Sugar Land Skeeters last night with two Royals officials in attendance. Senior pitching advisor Bill Fischer and independent league scout Ron Toenjes were at the game, but Royals GM Dayton Moore quickly doused any speculation of interest, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.

Moore said Fischer, a former pitching coach of Clemens in Boston, was invited to the game by the right-hander and that Toenjes "wasn't sent there to scout the game. He was sent there to be along with Fish, and that's all. We were not there scouting Roger Clemens."  

With Fischer with him in the dugout, Clemens allowed only one hit, no walks, and struck out two during 3 1/3 innings, reports Alyson Footer of MLB.com. Clemens hit 88 mph with his fastball as 24 of his 37 pitches went for strikes. 

"It was good." Clemens said of his outing. "Everyone says it's like riding a bike. I just wanted to make sure I got out of there uninjured but still make a good showing."  

Will this showing lead to a possible return to the Major Leagues? "It's a great deal of work," Clemens said, "and I'm not thinking that at this point."

Quick Hits: Giants, Ross, Rangers, Morneau, Royals

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One of the largest trades in baseball history was made official on Saturday, but here's a look at what else is going on in baseball…

  • The Giants' search for an outfielder is going "nowhere fast," reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have waiver priority and can block deals, though San Francisco likes having Gregor Blanco's defense in left for their fly ball pitching staff.
  • Following their recent major move, the Red Sox want to keep Cody Ross according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston says that Ross knows this and an extension could happen before the end of the season (Twitter links). Talks have not yet begun, however.
  • The Rangers have claimed a number of players this month, including Justin Upton according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The club is looking for a number of ways to improve prior to August 31st.
  • Before moving on to Adrian Gonzalez, the Dodgers made another attempt to acquire Justin Morneau last week according to Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. They tried to land the Twins' slugger prior to the trade deadline as well.
  • There is mutual interest between the Marlins and Carlos Lee about a return next season, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Earlier this month we heard that Lee wanted to return to Miami, but the club's intentions were unclear.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star that the team's focus this offseason will be the pitching staff, including an attempt to re-sign Jeremy Guthrie.
  • Jonny Gomes told Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle that he would like to return to the Athletics next season. The 31-year-old is hitting .248/.360/.478 with 15 homers in 267 plate appearances this year.

AL Central Notes: Acta, Myers, Francoeur

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Bob Feller made his first Major League start on this day in 1936 and immediately set the tone for his Hall of Fame career.  Feller struck out 15 St. Louis Browns hitters, falling just short of the then-AL record of 16 strikeouts in a game.  Perhaps the most impressive stat from Feller's first start was his age — Rapid Robert was just 17 years old.

Here are some items from Feller's former team in Cleveland and elsewhere in the AL Central…

  • The Indians' roster construction is to blame for the team's recent woes, not manager Manny Acta, opines Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Indians CEO Paul Dolan said today that Acta's job is safe for 2013, as well as the jobs of GM Chris Antonetti and team president Mark Shapiro.
  • Brett Myers' $10MM contract option for 2013 will vest if he finishes 45 games this season, but White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper tells MLB.com's Scott Merkin that the team will use Myers in any manner necessary as the club battles for the AL Central title.  Myers currently has 36 games finished, seven since joining the White Sox on July 21.  Addison Reed will finish the majority of games down the stretch as the Sox closer, but Myers figures to be the backup closing option should Reed get injured or become ineffective.
  • Royals officials tell Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Wil Myers might not be called up this season so the Royals can avoid having to protect him (and leave someone else unprotected) in the Rule 5 draft.  Two team officials also think Myers may yet not quite be ready for Major League pitching, despite his .927 OPS in 388 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
  • With Myers in Triple-A, Jeff Francoeur is still the incumbent right fielder.  Dutton reports that the Royals would like to deal Francoeur but aren't willing to do so in a salary dump or for a negligible return.
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