Royals Rumors

Quiet Deadline Possible For Royals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 29, 2011 at 9:19am CDT

Though Jeff Francis, Bruce Chen and Kyle Davies are drawing interest from several clubs, the Royals may hold onto all three and continue using a six-man rotation, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Royals continue to say they’re happy to hold onto the starters, who hit free agency after the season.

“Nothing has changed with our situation,” GM Dayton Moore told Dutton. “The guys we have, I think, are more valuable to us than the potential [return].”

Chen projects as a Type B free agent under our most recent projections, so the Royals could obtain a supplementary draft pick if the left-hander turns down an offer of arbitration to sign elsewhere. Francis and Davies, however, don’t currently project as ranked free agents, so the Royals can’t expect picks for them.

Kansas City appears to be seeking a number three starter (or close to it) for Melky Cabrera or Jeff Francoeur. However, trades involving the two outfielders don’t appear to be brewing at the moment.

AL Central Notes: Indians, Marquis, Soria

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 28, 2011 at 9:08pm CDT

The Indians acquired Kosuke Fukudome from the Cubs today and they might not be done yet. GM Chris Antonetti told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he’s open to adding another pitcher or a hitter – even another outfielder. Here are some other notes and rumors from around the AL Central…

The Indians should see a "marginal improvement" after adding Fukudome, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law. The Indians, who gave up two "fringy" prospects for the outfielder, are getting a player with enough on-base skills to help out.
Antonetti, by the way, called the improvement “incremental.”
MLB.com’s Bill Ladson confirms that the Tigers are interested in Jason Marquis (Twitter link). A scout suggested to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Marquis is out there now and could clear waivers next month to enable an August trade (Twitter link).
There are indications that Joakim Soria will stay in Kansas City, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Royals Reach Agreement With Adalberto Mondesi

By Tim Dierkes | July 27, 2011 at 8:56am CDT

The Royals reached a $2MM agreement with 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, reports ESPN's Enrique Rojas (link in Spanish). Adalberto's father is Raul Mondesi, the former 1994 Rookie of the Year and current mayor of San Cristobal.

The scouting report from Baseball America:

Mondesi has a thin frame and is one of the few high-profile Latin American shortstops this year who projects to stay at the position. He's an above-average runner with good quickness, an average arm and solid hands. He doesn't have flashy tools, but they play up because he has good baseball instincts.

The Royals haven't been shy about spending money on international free agents, having landed Dominican outfielder Elier Hernandez for $3.05MM earlier this month.

Passan On Upton, Nationals, Melky, Francoeur

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 26, 2011 at 11:30pm CDT

The latest on the trade market from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan…

A number of MLB officials tell Passan that they consider the Nationals the favorites for B.J. Upton. However, a Rays official says there’s no favorite at this point (click here for the latest on Upton).
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has told teams that pitching prospect Brad Peacock is not available.
Nationals executives and scouts have told others that Ian Desmond is available (despite reports that that Washington will hold onto its shortstop).
The Royals are leaning toward keeping Melky Cabrera in 2012, according to Passan. Cabrera, who is having an excellent season and remains under team control next year, might not fetch enough in a trade for GM Dayton Moore to pull the trigger.
The Royals are hoping to work out some kind of contract for next year with Jeff Francoeur. The sides have a 2012 mutual option for $4MM, but the Royals would likely have to offer more to lock Francoeur up for next season. They get the impression that the 27-year-old is interested in staying in Kansas City.

B.J. Upton Rumors: Tuesday

By Tim Dierkes | July 26, 2011 at 2:50pm CDT

The latest on Rays center fielder B.J. Upton, who owns a .229/.310/.399 line on the season:

The Rays had a scout watching the Nationals' Triple-A team yesterday, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
The Giants are showing strong interest, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
The Indians, Giants, Braves, and Pirates are among the teams in on Upton, report Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal. The Royals are not seriously pursuing Upton, while the Brewers, Rangers, and Phillies are not involved.
The Nationals have balked at trading pitchers Ross Detwiler or Brad Peacock for Upton, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. One executive says the Giants have moved in.
Five teams are "in play" for Upton, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

My apologies for an earlier error in which I erroneously attributed Joel Sherman's "asking for a ton" quote to the Rays and B.J. Upton. The quote actually referred to the Cardinals and Colby Rasmus.

Passan On Upton, Nationals, Melky, Francoeur

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 26, 2011 at 11:50am CDT

The latest on the trade market from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan…

A number of MLB officials tell Passan that they consider the Nationals the favorites for B.J. Upton. However, a Rays official says there’s no favorite at this point (click here for the latest on Upton).
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has told teams that pitching prospect Brad Peacock is not available.
Nationals executives and scouts have told others that Ian Desmond is available (despite reports that that Washington will hold onto its shortstop).
The Royals are leaning toward keeping Melky Cabrera in 2012, according to Passan. Cabrera, who is having an excellent season and remains under team control next year, might not fetch enough in a trade for GM Dayton Moore to pull the trigger.
The Royals are hoping to work out some kind of contract for next year with Jeff Francoeur. The sides have a 2012 mutual option for $4MM, but the Royals would likely have to offer more to lock Francoeur up for next season. They get the impression that the 27-year-old is interested in staying in Kansas City.

Red Sox Notes: Drew, Reddick, Francoeur

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 25, 2011 at 8:44pm CDT

The Red Sox, who are already 25 games above .500, open a series against the Royals tonight. Here's the latest from Boston as Theo Epstein & Co. consider possible moves…

The Red Sox have tons of feelers out and scouts are watching their Double-A Portland club intently, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
J.D. Drew hit the disabled list with a left shoulder impingement today, but Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald hears that the injury won't make Red Sox more aggressive in talks for outfield help. Josh Reddick's emergence means the Red Sox have an in-house alternative to Drew.
Jeff Francoeur told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that it would be "neat" to be traded to Boston, though he's happy in Kansas City. "My dad took a train with my grandpa for tons of games to Fenway," Francoeur said. "I was in high school and had a Boston Red Sox credit card."

B.J. Upton Rumors: Monday

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 12:07pm CDT

Rays center fielder B.J. Upton may not crack the top 20 on our list of available bats ranked by wOBA, but his defense and potential are enough to make him a hot name on the 2011 trade market. The latest:

The Phillies have some interest in Upton, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but most calls to the Rays are coming from the Nationals, Braves, Pirates, Reds, and Cardinals. The Cardinals would have interest if they trade Colby Rasmus for pitching. Sherman adds that the Royals have interest in Upton with an eye on contending next year.
The Rays would want Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Mike Minor, or Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves for Upton, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick does not find the Braves likely to make such a move.

Central Notes: Slowey, Cardinals, Paulino, Brewers

By Mark Polishuk | July 23, 2011 at 11:04pm CDT

Let's check in with the latest from the middle of the MLB map….

The Pirates are not interested in Twins right-hander Kevin Slowey, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. (Twitter link) We heard last week that the Bucs were looking at Slowey, who went to high school in Pennsylvania.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is hoping to improve his team without moving a player from the Major League roster, but Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that "to accomplish [their] trade goal," the Cards will have to deal at least one Major Leaguer.
With the Cardinals aggressively pursuing starting pitching, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch roundtable discusses which pitchers would be available at the lowest cost to the Cards. I like the idea of St. Louis getting a second-tier arm like Chris Capuano, since the Cardinals' search for bullpen help means they won't be able to meet the asking price for both a top starter and a top reliever such as Heath Bell.
Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star details the Royals' scouting and pursuit of Felipe Paulino, who has pitched well since being acquired from the Rockies in May.
The Brewers are continuing negotiations with first-round draft picks Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid described the talks as "a work in progress," while GM Doug Melvin felt the draft picks' respective agents weren't approaching the talks with much urgency leading up to the August 15 deadline.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Upton, Webb, Inge, Mariners

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 22, 2011 at 11:26pm CDT

With nine days remaining before the trade deadline, the biggest trade chips in baseball are arguably Carlos Beltran (latest rumors) and Hunter Pence (latest rumors). Here are some other relevant links from around MLB…

The Nationals are in greater need of outfield depth than infield help or a catcher, a baseball source tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
The Rays pulled B.J. Upton and prospect Desmond Jennings from their respective games, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (via Twitter). However, Upton says that he has not been traded, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Rangers pitcher Brandon Webb will undergo surgery on his right shoulder with the intent to pitch again in 2012, according to his agent Jonathan Maurer. This will not be a full surgery of the rotator cuff but it will prevent him from throwing for four months.
The Tigers would need to eat some salary to move Brandon Inge but teams still believe that the veteran has value, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
The Reds scouted Jason Vargas and Doug Fister when the Mariners visited Toronto this week, a source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
Indians team president Mark Shapiro said that he expects the club will make a move in the next ten days, tweets Nick Camino of WTAM 1100.
Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he’s looking for a bat to insert at the top of the order or in the middle of the lineup. However, the Reds are also open to acquiring pitching, either for the rotation or the bullpen. The Reds have lots of depth, but Jocketty says he “hates” trading prospects.
Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago hears that Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick is open to a role with the Cubs. Gillick said last week that he's open to taking on a full-time role as a team president at some point in the future.
MLB talent evaluators tell Alex Speier of WEEI.com that the Red Sox have a number of players whose prospect status is starting to rise and who could become elite prospects within a year. Though the Adrian Gonzalez deal made a major dent in Boston’s farm system, Speier’s sources say the Red Sox still have secondary prospects who could be valuable trade bait this summer. Third baseman Will Middlebrooks and right-hander Anthony Ranaudo are among the organization’s top prospects.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports confirms that the Red Sox have had exploratory conversations with the Royals about Jeff Francoeur.

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