Royals Rumors

Odds And Ends: Thomas, Jays, Myers, Nomo

By Joe Pawlikowski | April 26, 2008 at 9:45am CDT

Expect another one of these today. There’s lots of little stuff, but not much in the way of substantive rumors.

The Mariners were one of four teams contacted by Frank Thomas’s agent. The A’s were obviously another. So who were the other two?
With 24-year-old backstop Robinzon Diaz mashing in AAA, the Jays might look to spin off either Gregg Zaun or Rod Barajas come July.
39-year-old southpaw Mike Myers requested and was granted his unconditional release from the Dodgers.
After DFAing him on Sunday, the Royals have placed Hideo Nomo on release waivers. If unclaimed by noon on Tuesday, he’ll become a free agent.
Curtis Granderson says his allergies are killing him. I can empathize. Fret not, Curtis. If you’re like me, you’ll be in the clear next week.

No Thomas, Bonds For Royals

By Tim Dierkes | April 24, 2008 at 9:49am CDT

On Monday, Bradford Doolittle suggested that Frank Thomas or Barry Bonds might make sense for the Royals if they move Billy Butler to first base. The Royals’ .311 OBP is 13th in the AL; their .346 SLG is the league’s worst. Based on Dayton Moore’s offseason moves, he seems to be playing to win in ’08.

Moore rained on the Thomas/Bonds parade yesterday, implying that he is not considering either player currently. Mike Piazza might work, if it’s clubhouse concerns the Royals aim to avoid.

Royals Seeking Offensive Upgrade?

By Joe Pawlikowski | April 22, 2008 at 8:50am CDT

Did you know that the Royals have yet to score more than six runs in a game this season? I didn’t, either, before I came across Bradford Doolittle’s piece in the Kansas City Star. While the team has seen some quality performances from the pitching staff, their offense is in a rut. Lucky for them, there are two guys waiting by the phone right now who could provide instant upgrades: Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds.

Thomas could definitely fit into the picture. Ross Gload is okay, but certainly not a lock as a regular. The only problem here is that if you replace Gload with Thomas, you have to move Billy Butler out to first base. Yeah, there are more disastrous spots for him out there — I recall Baseball Prospectus’s Kevin Goldstein telling a less than flattering story of Butler’s outfield skills. He can’t be much worse than Jason Giambi out there, so it’s worth a shot.

The crazy thing is that Bonds could fit in, too. The only obstacle is Jose Guillen’s contract. The newly-signed right fielder is hitting .173/.205/.307, while having the most at bats on the team. I know the season is young, but this can become a problem. It’s not like Guillen was a superstar coming in. It’s just that there’s no way the Royals can rid themselves of him — that is, even if they wanted to.

But if Dayton Moore slid Mark Teahen back to right and signed Bonds, he might be creating a decent situation. Bonds can’t play left all the time, but when he can’t, you can get Joey Gathright to play out there (with David DeJesus manning CF full-time). Bonds can DH to give Thomas days off. And Gload can fill in for Butler when needed.

No, it’s not an ideal solution. You’d be bringing in one defensive liability in Bonds, and creating another one by signing Thomas. However, if the Royals think they can compete this year, they’re going to need an offensive upgrade. Nabbing Frank Thomas seems like a logical move, then.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog. You can email me rumors here.

Royals Considerations For No. 3 Pick

By Tim Dierkes | April 21, 2008 at 10:41pm CDT

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star has an article discussing the Royals’ third overall pick in the June draft. The Royals are giving the usual line about taking the best available player.

It seems logical that the Rays could take shortstop Tim Beckham first, and then the Pirates would take corner infielder Pedro Alvarez. That’d leave pitchers Aaron Crow and Brian Matusz and first baseman Eric Hosmer as possibilities for KC. Saberscouting did a mock draft today, suggesting Crow and Hosmer as the likely candidates. Additionally, ESPN scouting guru Keith Law dropped me a line suggesting catcher Buster Posey is a definite top three draft candidate.

Odds and Ends: Klesko, Street, Davis

By Tim Dierkes | April 21, 2008 at 11:23am CDT

I’ve got a slew of links for you.

Saberscouting has a mock June draft up.
Ryan Klesko officially retired. Chipper Jones let the cat out of the bag in February.
Voros McCracken sees the Evan Longoria contract as a low-risk proposition for the Rays.
The A’s are still discussing an extension with Huston Street, though nothing appears imminent.
The Giants DFA’d Rajai Davis. Anyone need an outfield burner?
Sam Mellinger explains how the Hideo Nomo signing was the type of move the Royals need to make.
Our Brian Bannister Q&A continues to get mileage, this time snagging a mention in the Seattle Times. I’m trying to line up some more player Q&As, by the way.

Odds and Ends: Pavano, Lima, Sabathia

By Tim Dierkes | April 16, 2008 at 2:30pm CDT

Today’s link collection contains a trio of awesome pitchers. Enjoy.

Carl Pavano is talking about five or six more seasons; his new agent calls him a "1-2 starter." You can chuckle, but some team will probably toss him a million bucks this winter.
The Kia Tigers have already had enough of Jose Lima. Coincidentally here’s a funny quote from Lima regarding his Atlantic League paycheck from ’03.
Ken Rosenthal discusses C.C. Sabathia’s situation, noting that the Indians could probably sign him if they’d give five years.
Rany Jazayerli writes in praise of Dayton Moore.
Rule V pick Fernando Hernandez is headed back to the White Sox.

Odds and Ends: Harden, Bonds, Ramon Hernandez

By Tim Dierkes | April 8, 2008 at 11:40am CDT

Time to round up today’s linkage.

Susan Slusser believes Rich Harden and Joe Blanton will both be traded this season. She sees the Yankees and Mets as suitors for Harden, though he’s already having a start pushed back.
Jim Caple recently made his case for the Mariners to sign Barry Bonds; his logic is sound.
Our Brian Bannister Q&A got a mention in the KC Star. Nice!
RotoAuthority has the fantasy take on K-Rod’s ailing ankles.
Pure speculation, but Ken Rosenthal thinks Ramon Hernandez would be a good fit for the Reds. Not sure if the Reds were looking at Michael Barrett, but that option’s off the table now.
Who said you can’t go home again? Craig Wilson is back with the Bucs.
We’ll be doing our third MLBTR chat here at 2pm CST; don’t miss it!

Rockies Likely To Get de la Rosa

By Tim Dierkes | April 2, 2008 at 1:12pm CDT

According to Tracy Ringolsby, the Rockies are likely to receive pitcher Jorge de la Rosa from the Royals as the player to be named later in the Ramon Ramirez deal. The Rox will have him start at Triple A now that he’s cleared waivers and accepted his minor league assignment. He went unclaimed partially because of his $1.025MM salary.

De la Rosa, a southpaw, turns 27 in a few days. He hit the DL in August with an elbow strain. He was also affected by a bruised thumb. His fastball averaged 92.3 mph in ’07, not bad for a lefty.

Rockies Want De La Rosa As PTBNL

By Nat Boyle | March 30, 2008 at 12:28pm CDT

Last Wednesday, the Royals acquired Ramon Ramirez from the Rockies for a player to be named later. Well, later appears to be now as the Rockies have expressed interest in Jorge De La Rosa assuming he clears waivers and accepts the assignment. For more clarity, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star breaks down why it wasn’t just a straight trade of Ramirez for De La Rosa:

"Any club claiming De La Rosa on waivers would be on the hook for his $1.025 million salary. He can choose to become a free agent if he clears waivers but would forfeit his salary if he does so. If De La Rosa clears waivers and accepts the assignment, he can be traded as a minor-league player. A player to be determined later can’t be a player on a club’s 40-man roster."

De La Rosa started strong this spring but ended with an 8.03 ERA. After posting optimistic k/9 rates of 8.9 and 9.2 in ’05 and ’06 respectively, De La Rosa has struggled in his move from Milwaukee to the Royals. He throws hard and may find more success in the NL with some more work in minors.

By Nat Boyle

Padres Acquire Justin Huber

By Tim Dierkes | March 26, 2008 at 4:05pm CDT

According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, the Padres have acquired Justin Huber from the Royals for a player to be named later. He’s a good candidate to see time in left field for San Diego since he’s out of options. Backing up Adrian Gonzalez at first probably isn’t an option given Tony Clark’s presence.

The 25 year-old gets a .255/.322/.420 projection from PECOTA and .279/.334/.437 from ZiPS. Baseball America spoke of a team official who compared Huber to Matt Diaz. It’s a decent low-risk acquisition for Kevin Towers once again.

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