Offseason In Review: Kansas City Royals
The Royals are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League Signings
- Jeff Francoeur, RF: one year, $2.5MM.
- Bruce Chen, SP: one year, $2MM.
- Jeff Francis, SP: one year, $2MM.
- Melky Cabrera, OF: one year, $1.25MM. Can be retained for 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.
- Total spend: $7.75MM.
International Signings
- Darwin Castillo, Igor Feliz
Notable Minor League Signings
Extensions
- Billy Butler, DH/1B: four years, $30MM. Includes $12.5MM club option for 2015 with a $1MM buyout.
Trades and Claims
- Claimed IF Joaquin Arias off waivers from Mets
- Claimed IF Lance Zawadzki off waivers from Padres
- Acquired SP Vin Mazzaro and SP Justin Marks from Athletics for OF David DeJesus
- Claimed SP Nathan Adcock in Rule 5 draft from Pirates
- Acquired CF Lorenzo Cain, SS Alcides Escobar, RP Jeremy Jeffress, and SP Jake Odorizzi from Brewers for SP Zack Greinke, SS Yuniesky Betancourt, and $2MM
- Acquired 1B/3B John Whittleman from Rangers for player to be named later
- Acquired C Matt Treanor from Rangers for cash considerations
Notable Losses
- Zack Greinke, Yuniesky Betancourt, David DeJesus, Josh Fields, Brian Bannister, Gil Meche, Dusty Hughes, Bryan Bulllington, Anthony Lerew, Philip Humber
Summary
Once again Royals GM Dayton Moore spent the offseason focusing on the long-term health of the organization. Moore accommodated Greinke's trade demand, moved Royals mainstay DeJesus, locked up Butler, and dabbled with a few stopgap free agents.
There is a sense that Greinke forced the Royals' hand with his trade demand, but as ESPN's Keith Law points out, they weren't obligated to do anything. Law felt the package received from Milwaukee was more about "bulk and fit, but not impact." Granted, Law likes Jeffress and Odorizzi less than other prospect gurus, but it was surprising to see the Royals trade two years of an ace starter and not receive one top 50 prospect in return. Perhaps the Royals felt that Greinke's desire to move on would adversely affect his 2011 performance and reduce his trade value, and that their backs were up against the wall due to the pitcher's no-trade clause. He'd already rejected a trade to the Nationals that might have been superior.
Law was also down on the DeJesus return, as Mazzaro does not project as even a "medium-impact pitcher" in his mind. Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein profiled Mazzaro as "a solid fourth starter who can eat up innings," ranking him tenth among the organization's strong group of 25-and-under players. Ten Royals prospects appeared on a top 100 prospect list compiled by Law, Goldstein, or Baseball America, so the Royals can be forgiven for not shooting for the moon for one year of DeJesus, who was coming off thumb surgery. Not that a team can ever acquire too much upside, but innings guys are needed too.
Meche made the classy decision to forfeit the $12MM remaining on his contract, preferring not to have the Royals pay him to rehab from shoulder surgery. Moore did not spend the found money on pointless free agent signings, though on January 18th there wasn't much out there anyway. Moore's free agent strategy was to commit the paltry sum of $7.75MM to Francoeur, Chen, Francis, and Cabrera. These four aren't going to take playing time from top prospects, and Francis could even have trade value if he stays healthy. Moore has been knocked for finally signing his boy Francoeur, but at that price there's little harm in seeing if he has another 2007 in him.
Unlike many extensions, I don't believe the Butler contract was about arbitration savings. The deal pays Butler (pictured) $19MM for his three arbitration years, which represents minimal savings over what he might have gotten year-to-year assuming campaigns in the .300, 20 home run, 80 RBI range. Instead, the contract is about projection: the arbitration years become a bargain if Butler develops more power, which seems possible since he turns 25 this month. Plus, the Royals have a free agent season for $8MM and a club option for another at $12.5MM. At worst the contract provides mild savings and a free agent year, but there is potential here for big savings. And if Kila Ka'aihue and Eric Hosmer both prove big-league capable soon, that's a good problem to have.
The Royals have the consensus top farm system in baseball by a wide margin. Moore has earned the opportunity to build a competitive club around his top young players as they graduate to the Majors beginning this year. The Royals have lost consistently since Moore took over in 2006 and while they're a lousy team again this year, their farm system should catalyze a turnaround in the near future.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Royals Sign Jeff Suppan
The Royals signed Jeff Suppan to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. The 36-year-old righty will report to Triple-A Omaha. Suppan was a workhorse for the 1999-2002 Royals, averaging 33 starts per year. He later moved on to the Pirates, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Brewers, most recently parting ways with the Giants last week after signing a minor league deal.
Suppan was drafted by the Red Sox in '93, joining the Diamondbacks in '97 as the third overall pick in the expansion draft. He was dealt to the Royals late in the '98 season as part of a three-way trade, and by 2000 he earned the Opening Day nod. Though he earned a temporary bullpen demotion in July of that year, Suppan was still named the team's pitcher of the year after the season. He also snagged a two-year deal and the Opening Day assignments in '01 and '02. The Royals non-tendered Suppan after the '02 season.
More recently, Suppan posted a 5.06 ERA, 4.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 40.3% groundball rate for the Brewers and Cardinals in 2010. Milwaukee released him in June of last year with about $10MM remaining on a contract signed in December of '06. With serious rotation uncertainty for 2011, the Royals are a good fit for Suppan as he looks for big league starts.
Minor Deals: Swaggerty, Cruz, Brewers, Pirates
Teams are making procedural moves left and right as they finalize their Opening Day rosters. Here's the latest on some minor deals from around the majors…
- The Royals granted minor league left-hander Ben Swaggerty his release, according to MLB Reports (on Twitter). The 28-year-old has a 3.35 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in four minor league seasons as a reliever.
- The Rangers signed Luis Cruz after the Brewers released him, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). The infielder is playing short for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate tonight.
- The Brewers released a number of minor leaguers besides Cruz and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has all the details.
- The Pirates are "looking hard" into an external move, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Pittsburgh would like to add pitching.
Procedural Notes: Abreu, Blanco, Evans, Hernandez
The latest procedural notes…
- D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Tony Abreu cleared waivers and is going to Triple-A (Twitter link).
- The Royals told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link).
- Outfielder Nick Evans cleared waivers yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Mets outrighted Evans when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.
- Another Mets player, Luis Hernandez cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. He's unsure whether he'll accept a minor league assignment.
- Cubs catcher Max Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to minor league camp, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
- The Tigers outrighted infielder Audy Ciriaco to create a 40-man spot for reliever Enrique Gonzalez, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
- Retired reliever Billy Wagner was removed from the Braves' 40-man roster today, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wagner has no plans to come out of retirement, but if he did he'd have to play for the Braves in 2011. The AP has details.
- Orioles righty Rick Vandenhurk cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen, who didn't make the club out of Spring Training, agreed to spend two weeks in Port St. Lucie. According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, one condition of the extended Spring Training agreement is that "if another team approaches Isringhausen in the interim about a major league opportunity, the Mets must either call up Izzy or let him depart." The Mets chose Blaine Boyer over Isringhausen for the Opening Day roster, which so far has allowed them to retain both relievers.
- Outfielder Brandon Boggs, outrighted by the Brewers yesterday, accepted his Triple-A assignment according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Royals Designate Lucas May For Assignment
The Royals designated catcher Lucas May for assignment, the team announced. In corresponding moves, the Royals placed Jason Kendall on the 15-day DL, selected the contract of Tim Collins and outrighted Gregor Blanco to Triple-A. Kansas City now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.
The Royals acquired May from the Dodgers with Elisaul Pimentel for Scott Podsednik last July and the backstop debuted with the Royals as a September callup. He seemed ready to become a big league backup, but the Royals acquired Matt Treanor this week and he will take May's place.
May hit .283/.349/.483 for three teams in the upper minors last year, adding 16 homers and 21 doubles. The 26-year-old has thrown out 28% of would-be base stealers in his minor league career. He is out of options.
AL Central Links: Mazzaro, Tigers, Everett
Links from the AL Central as Royals prospect Mike Moustakas makes Alden Gonzalez's list of top young standouts at MLB.com…
- The Royals optioned Vin Mazzaro to Triple-A and returned Louis Coleman, Luis Mendoza and Zach Miner, Irving Falu and Lance Zawadzki to minor league camp, according to the team. Mazzaro should join the Royals in the middle of April when the club needs another starter.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that the organization has never been stronger during his nine-year tenure in the Motor City. “We have now a nice blend of young players at the big-league level, veteran players and some guys in the prime of their career,” Dombrowski said. “And they’re backed up by some guys behind them that are prospects that are talented."
- Adam Everett told Jordan Bastian and Tom Singer of MLB.com that he would have been ready to contemplate retirement if he hadn't made the Indians' Opening Day roster.
Abreu, Ramirez, Blanco, Mets On Waivers
D'Backs infielder Tony Abreu, Cubs catcher Max Ramirez, Royals outfielder Gregor Blanco and Mets infielder Luis Hernandez are on waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork adds that Nick Evans and Pat Misch of the Mets are also on waivers.
It's not surprising to see Abreu on waivers, since Arizona made him available earlier in the month. Ramirez is no stranger to waivers, having been claimed twice this past winter. Hernandez doesn't have an obvious role on the Mets and has drawn trade interest.
Royals Rumors: Pena, Treanor, May, Adcock
The latest on the Royals, who acquired Matt Treanor today…
- It seems that the Royals will team Brayan Pena and Treanor behind the plate, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). This means Lucas May might not break camp with the Royals.
- May is out of options and GM Dayton Moore says the Royals are "probably looking to do something" with him. A trade is the preferred route, according to Dutton (on Twitter).
- Moore confirmed to Dutton that Rule 5 selection Nate Adcock will make the team (Twitter link).
- Rany Jazayerli analyzes each pitcher on the Royals' projected Opening Day staff.
Royals Acquire Matt Treanor
The Royals acquired catcher Matt Treanor from the Rangers for cash considerations, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The acquisition fills up the Royals' 40-man roster, a press release notes.
Treanor, 35, hit .211/.287/.308 in 272 plate appearances for the Rangers last year, leading the team with 614 2/3 innings caught. He re-signed for $850K in December to back up Yorvit Torrealba, but the Rangers acquired Mike Napoli in late January. The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for the Rangers and also a 25-man spot, which makes it easier to retain Rule 5 pick Mason Tobin or Chris Davis.
The Royals' Treanor acquisition comes two days after veteran Jason Kendall told MLB.com's Dick Kaegel his tentative return date from September shoulder surgery is now late April. Brayan Pena and Lucas May, both out of options, have been battling for Opening Day catching spots. Treanor, by the way, was originally drafted by the Royals in 1994.
Royals Release Pedro Feliz
9:32pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel hears from a source that Feliz to the Marlins "probably won't happen" despite his sudden availability (Twitter link).
8:59pm: The Royals have granted Pedro Feliz his release according to Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The veteran third baseman could have opted out of his contract tomorrow if he didn't make the club.
Feliz, 36 next month, hit .167/.286/.375 in 24 at-bats this spring after hitting just .218/.240/.293 in 429 plate appearances for the Astros and Cardinals last season. It's been speculated that he could be a fit for the Marlins now that top prospect Matt Dominguez will begin the season in the minors, but we've heard that they're not sure Feliz represents an upgrade over their internal options.