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Royals Notes: Payroll, Greinke, Chen, Bannister

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It will likely be "a relatively quiet offseason" for the Royals, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  Here are some of the hot stove-related notes from Dutton's recent look ahead to the Royals' 2011 season.

  • The payroll is expected to be in "the low $60MM range" next season, down from K.C.'s 2010 payroll of just under $75MM.  This whole drop could be attributed to Jose Guillen's $12MM salary coming off the books. 
  • Speaking of Guillen, Dutton reports that "the days of shelling out millions to retread veterans for stopgap purposes appear over."
  • There have been some rumors about Zack Greinke being on the trade block, but Dutton thinks the K.C. ace won't be moved this winter since his trade value will be higher at next year's trade deadline and in the 2011-12 offseason.
  • Bruce Chen wants to re-sign in Kansas City and there appears to be mutual interest from the Royals.  The club may "have too many promising left-handed prospects to offer Chen more than a one-year deal," but it's hard to imagine another club giving Chen multiple years.
  • Dutton predicts the Royals will either deal or non-tender Brian Bannister.  The right-hander made $2.3MM in 2010 and is entering his third arbitration year.
  • With Jason Kendall set to miss part (or maybe all) of 2011 after rotator cuff surgery, Kansas City will be in the market for a cheap, defensive-minded veteran catcher.
  • The team is looking for right-handed hitting and will probably "scour the bargain bins" for the likes of a Matt Diaz or a Cody Ross.  Dutton notes, however, that if the Royals are particularly taken with a higher caliber of right-handed hitting corner outfielder, they would be "willing to shell out a few million for a good fit."  Such a player would be all the more important to the club if David DeJesus is traded in the winter.

Royals Exercise Option On DeJesus

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Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets that the Royals have exercised David DeJesus' $6MM option for the 2011 season. The team confirmed the move via press release.

The move comes as no surprise, as DeJesus will be a tremendous bargain for the Royals thanks to a mix of solid outfield defense and strong offense. Prior to a season-ending injury in late July, DeJesus had been hitting .318/.384/.443 in 394 plate appearances. It was that production and this club option that had led many to consider DeJesus the Royals' best trade chip.

The Royals will now be faced with the decision of moving DeJesus this offseason in a rebuilding effort, or waiting for a few months and letting him build up some value by proving that he's healthy and productive. The Padres, Giants, Red Sox, and Rays all had interest prior to his injury. While he spent the majority of his time in right field this season, DeJesus is capable of playing all three outfield spots well, although UZR suggests that his left field defense is truly elite (career UZR/150 of 18.9 in nearly 2300 innings).

Odds & Ends: Dipoto, Figueroa, Papelbon, Greinke

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Links for Friday, before all eyes turn to Clayton Richard and Matt Cain…

  • The D'Backs will likely bring interim manager Kirk Gibson back in 2011, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The D'Backs are close to an agreement with Jerry Dipoto that would keep the exec in Arizona as director of scouting and player development, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Astros GM Ed Wade told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that he can see Nelson Figueroa being the team's fifth starter in 2011. The 36-year-old goes to arbitration this winter, assuming the Astros offer a contract.
  • Jonathan Papelbon would like to set the market for closer contracts when he hits free agency after next season, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Papelbon has his doubters after a tough season, but he says he's looking forward to a dominant 2011 campaign.
  • Some MLB executives are convinced that the Royals will dangle Zack Greinke as trade bait this winter, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
  • Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reminds us of some of Omar Minaya's best and worst moves, since it looks like the Mets may soon replace their GM.
  • Free agent pitching prospect Barret Loux will start accepting offers today, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Broxton, Zambrano, Pujols

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On this date 15 years ago, the Yankees and Rockies became the first Wild Card teams in baseball history. Both were eliminated in the League Championship Series however, with the Mariners and Braves doing the honors. Nine Wild Card teams have reached the World Series since, with the Marlins (1997 & 2003), Angels (2002), and Red Sox (2004) taking home championships.

A few days before the 2010 postseason begins, let's look around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here

Odds & Ends: K-Rod, Angels, Tamura, Matsui

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Links for Wednesday, before the Giants ask Tim Lincecum to help extend their NL West lead…

  • Lawyers from the MLB Players Association and MLB will meet in New York tomorrow to discuss the union's grievance with the Mets. As the AP reports, the sides will discuss the team's decision to place Francisco Rodriguez on the disqualified list.
  • Top prospect Mike Moustakas told reporters that he and other Royals minor leaguers welcome the attention they're attracting this year. 
  • The Angels let scouting director Eddie Bane go, according to John Manuel of Baseball America. Bane was a candidate for the D'Backs GM job earlier in the month.
  • Japanese outfielder Hitoshi Tamura has interest in playing major league baseball, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The 33-year-old has 27 homers this year and represented the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks at the All-Star game.
  • Jason Varitek told reporters, including MLB.com's Ian Browne, that he's well aware of the fact that he may only have a handful of games remaining in a Red Sox uniform.
  • Through an interpreter, Hideki Matsui told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he'd consider signing with the A's if they expressed interest in him this offseason.
  • Todd Helton made it clear to Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he isn't retiring after the season.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic heard that Brandon Webb was throwing just 81 mph in his instructional league outing (Twitter link). Webb told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he had fun and felt good.
  • The D'Backs, who will see Webb and Rodrigo Lopez hit free agency this winter, will look to add starting pitching, but GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he believes starters may be easier to obtain through trades than major league free agency.

Davidoff On Beltran, Greinke, Takahashi, Kemp

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The Mets are sending "strong signals" that they'd like to trade Carlos Beltran this winter, an AL official tells Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Davidoff acknowledges that the Mets often seem to want to unload big contracts, but rarely follow through. However, Beltran, as opposed to Luis Castillo or Oliver Perez, is a player that other teams would have interest in. Here are Davidoff's other hot stove notes:

  • The Royals have Zack Greinke signed through 2012, but aren't sure whether they'll be competitive by then, so they'd be willing to listen to offers on their ace. Davidoff lists the Yankees, Rangers, Tigers, and Nationals as teams who might be interested.
  • Hisanori Takahashi is eligible for free agency this winter and would like to be a starting pitcher. One AL scout is skeptical: "Who’s going to sign him to start? Maybe a bad team, at the back end of their rotation. He’d be better off staying in the bullpen. He’s really good there."
  • Davidoff wonders if new Dodgers manager Don Mattingly will be more willing to deal with Matt Kemp than Joe Torre was. A scout compares Kemp to Alfonso Soriano, suggesting that both players lack baseball instincts and struggle to improve their games.

Odds & Ends: Brenly, DeJesus, Lackey, Reds

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Some links to peruse before Yovani Gallardo locks up with Tim Lincecum later tonight…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Fusco, Thome, Cubs, Jeter

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On this date in 1998, former New York Highlander and St. Louis Brown Red Hoff passed away. At 107 years, four months, and nine days old, the left-handed pitcher had the longest life span of any player in Major League history, out-living his closest competition by more than five years. He pitched to a 2.49 ERA in 83 innings from 1911-1915, but never played after serving in World War I.

Here are a few interesting links from around the blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Young, Torre, Williams, Bass, Ethier

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Links for Thursday, after lots of chatter about Derek Jeter's acting ability…

  • The Padres will wait until Saturday to activate Chris Young from the disabled list, at which point they'll need to remove someone from the 40-man roster according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link).
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that Joe Torre has informed his wife and Dodgers GM Ned Colletti about what he plans to do next season, but he will not make his decision public just yet.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams chatted with Joe Posnanski about football and the challenges of being in second place. Check it out at SI.com.
  • Brian Bass cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple A, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Bass for assignment earlier in the week. 
  • Andre Ethier told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that it doesn't even make sense to comment on the rumor that he'd like to play in Boston.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs argues that the Royals should offer Wilson Betemit a contract this offseason, since he can be something of a "bridge between the present and the future."
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he and assistant GM Chris Antonetti met with friend and former colleague Josh Byrnes. The former D'Backs GM "would make anybody better," including the Indians, Shapiro said.

Stark On Manny, Rockies, Napoli, Phillies

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An official of a team that once had interest in Manny Ramirez tells Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that he doesn’t think the slugger has much left. Ramirez, who hits free agency this offseason, hasn’t picked up an extra base hit since joining the White Sox and the official says that’s “a major indication he might not have a whole lot left in the tank." Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors.

  • There are indications that the Rockies wouldn’t offer Jeff Francis more than a modest one-year deal with incentives. The Rockies seem likely to decline the $7MM option they have for the lefty.
  • One GM says any team with interest in Jorge de la Rosa needs to do its homework. "He could be [the next] Oliver Perez," the GM said.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes drew that comparison in an April article, but noted De Le Rosa's higher groundball rate. 
  • There are “vibes” that the Angels will make Mike Napoli available this winter.
  • The Phillies could combine Domonic Brown with a right-handed hitting veteran, but GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says that’s just one possible solution. Brown doesn't have a guaranteed everyday job on next year’s team, even if Jayson Werth signs elsewhere, as expected.
  • One scout who covered Royals prospect and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Pat White in high school, says we shouldn’t be surprised if Dayton Moore’s gamble pays off and White’s athleticism translates well to pro baseball.
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