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Royals Non-Tender Maikel Franco, Bubba Starling

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6:52pm: The Royals have non-tendered Franco, infielder Jeison Guzman, infielder/outfielder Erick Mejia and outfielder Bubba Starling, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star tweets. This could end Starling’s tenure in KC. He was the fifth overall pick in 2011 but hasn’t come close to living up to his draft status.

3:22pm: The Royals are expected to non-tender third baseman Maikel Franco, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Franco to earn between $4.5MM and $8MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility, but those figures were too rich for the Royals’ blood.

Although he was a star prospect with the Phillies, Franco didn’t pan out in their uniform after an excellent rookie showing in 2015. The Phillies non-tendered him after last season as a result, and Franco then caught on with the Royals on a $2.95MM guarantee. It ended up as a decent investment for Kansas City, with which Franco slashed .278/.321/.457 (106 wRC+) and totaled eight home runs in 243 plate appearances. He also chipped in playable work at third base with zero Defensive Runs Saved and a plus-1.3 Ultimate Zone Rating in 51 games.

While Franco took a step forward this past season, the Royals obviously don’t think that production merited a sizable raise in arbitration. That means the 28-year-old Franco will head back to the open market, where he’ll join the likes of Marwin Gonzalez and Todd Frazier after top option Justin Turner.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/1/20

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With the non-tender deadline on the horizon tomorrow, expect quite a few players to agree to contracts for the 2021 season, avoiding arbitration in advance. In many (but not all) cases, these deals — referred to as “pre-tender” deals because they fall prior to the deadline — will fall shy of expectations and projections. Teams will sometimes present borderline non-tender candidates with a “take it or leave it” style offer which will be accepted for fear of being non-tendered and sent out into an uncertain market. Speculatively, such deals could increase in 2020 due to the economic uncertainty sweeping through the game, although there are also widespread expectations of record non-tender numbers.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through today’s smaller-scale pre-tender deals in this post.  You can also check out Matt Swartz’s arbitration salary projections here.

Latest Agreements

  • Athletics second baseman Tony Kemp will get $1.05MM over one year, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle relays.
  • The Rockies announced that they have re-signed righty Jairo Diaz to a one-year pact. It’s worth $1.1MM, Feinsand tweets.
  • The Phillies and righty reliever Seranthony Dominguez have a one-year, $727,500 deal, according to Feinsand. Dominguez underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of June, so he might not pitch at all in 2021.
  • The Athletics and utility player Chad Pinder reached a one-year, $2.275MM deal, per Nightengale. Pinder has two seasons of team control left.
  • The Orioles and catcher Pedro Severino agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.825MM, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link).  There was some speculation that Severino could be a non-tender candidate, though he has posted pretty decent numbers over two seasons as Baltimore’s primary catcher.  Severino is controllable through the 2023 season.
  • The Nationals and right-hander Joe Ross agreed to a one-year, $1.5MM contract, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  This is a match of the salary Ross and the Nats had agreed on for the 2020 season, but Ross decided to opt out back in June.  This was Ross’ third year of arbitration eligibility, and is now expected to return and compete for a job in Washington’s rotation in 2021.
  • The Royals agreed to one-year deals with righties Jesse Hahn and Jakob Junis and outfielder Franchy Cordero, according to Feinsand and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links).  Hahn signed for $1.75MM in guaranteed money with another $350K available in incentives.  Junis will rake in $1.7MM. Cordero will earn $800K in his first arbitration-eligible year.

Earlier Agreements

  • The Athletics and righty Burch Smith agreed to a one-year deal worth $705K, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  The 30-year-old Smith allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk with 13 strikeouts in 12 2/3 frames with the A’s in 2020. That was a solid showing for Smith to carry into his first trip through the arb process, though he carried a career 6.57 ERA in 135 1/3 frames into the 2020 season. The A’s can control Smith through 2023.
  • The Rockies agreed to a one-year, $1.2MM deal with catcher Elias Diaz, per Nightengale (Twitter link). The contract contains another $300K in available incentives.  The 30-year-old looked like a clear non-tender candidate after posting an ugly .235/.288/.353 slash with lackluster framing marks and just a 1-for-8 effort in throwing out base thieves, but the Rockies must remain hopeful he can return to his 2018 level of performance. Diaz is controllable through the 2022 season via arbitration.
  • Right-hander Jacob Barnes and the Mets agreed to a one-year deal worth $750K, Nightengale tweets. Barnes, claimed off waivers back in October, was a quality reliever in Milwaukee from 2016-18 but has seen his results crater over the past two seasons. From 2019-20, he’s posted a 6.75 ERA over 50 2/3 innings. Barnes has averaged 10 strikeouts per nine frames in that time but also averaged 4.6 walks and 1.42 homers as well. Barnes is controllable through 2022.

Royals Designate Carlos Sanabria

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The Royals have designated right-hander Carlos Sanabria for assignment, per Alec Lewis of The Athletic. His roster spot will go to newly signed left-hander Mike Minor.

It wasn’t a long run on the Royals’ 40-man roster for Sanabria, whom they claimed via waivers from the Astros at the end of October. The hard-throwing Sanabria was once a prospect of some note with the Astros, and he threw 66 2/3 innings of 2.84 ERA ball with 11.6 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 between the High-A and Double-A levels in 2019.

Sanabria’s performance was enough to earn him a chance in the majors in 2020, but the 23-year-old didn’t get a significant opportunity to establish himself. He threw two innings of two-run ball before the Astros cut him loose, and now the Royals could see him head elsewhere after just a few weeks in the organization.

Royals Sign Mike Minor

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DEC. 1: It’s a two-year, $18MM guarantee with a $13MM club option or a $1MM buyout for 2023, Passan tweets. It will become a mutual option if the Royals trade Minor, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (via Twitter). The deal includes salaries of $7MM for 2021 and $10MM for 2022, and Minor could make an extra $50K for 180 and 200 innings pitched in both seasons, according to Rosenthal (on Twitter).

NOV. 29: The Royals have agreed to a deal with southpaw Mike Minor, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  The contract will become official when Minor passes a physical.  Minor is represented by Jet Sports Management.

ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports that it is a multi-year pact between the two sides, with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand adding that the contract is for two years.  This tops MLBTR’s prediction of a one-year, $6MM contract for Minor, and he is now the first free agent of the 2020-21 offseason to sign a multi-year contract.  We’ve already seen a fair bit of action within the pitching market, though Robbie Ray (Blue Jays), Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly (both Braves) all signed one-year deals, and Marcus Stroman (Mets) and Kevin Gausman (Giants) accepted one-year qualifying offers to remain with their former teams.

Mike MinorThis will be Minor’s second time in a Kansas City uniform, as the left-hander previously pitched for the team in 2017.  Minor actually signed with K.C. on a two-year deal prior to the 2016 season, though he missed all of 2016 recovering from the shoulder problems that also caused him to miss all of 2015.  After those two lost years, Minor excelled in a relief role in 2017, posting a 2.55 ERA, 4.00 K/BB rate, and 10.2 K/9 over 77 2/3 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen.

From there, Minor went on to sign a three-year, $28MM free agent deal with the Rangers and resumed his career as a starter, displaying much of the same solid form that made him a valued member of the Braves’ rotation from 2010-14.  Minor posted a 3.84 ERA over 365 1/3 innings in 2018-19, even finishing ninth in AL Cy Young Award voting during the 2019 campaign.

2020 was a much tougher experience for Minor, however, as he posted a 5.56 ERA, 3.10 K/BB rate, and 9.8 K/9 over 56 2/3 innings with the Rangers and Athletics, joining Oakland on a deal at the trade deadline.  A career-high 15.7% home run rate was part of Minor’s problem, and his hard-hit percentage jumped from 30.4% in 2019 to 40.4% in 2020.

While Minor’s overall Statcast picture wasn’t pretty, he still boasted an elite fastball spin rate that put him in the 97th percentile of pitchers.  ERA predictors were also a bit more sympathetic to Minor’s performance in 2020, with a 4.64 FIP, 4.50 xFIP, and 4.20 SIERA.

With those silver linings, Minor’s generally solid track record, and their prior relationship with Minor in mind, the Royals clearly felt comfortable in making a two-year commitment to a pitcher who turns 33 in December.  The Royals haven’t had a winning record since their World Series-winning 2015 season, though GM Dayton Moore has stated that he expects his team to be competitive in 2021, perhaps indicating that the Royals are planning to turn the corner from their latest rebuild.

Minor will now join Danny Duffy as the veteran staples of the K.C. rotation, with Brad Keller entering his fourth MLB campaign and youngsters Brady Singer and Kris Bubic looking to build off respectable rookie seasons.  Jakob Junis and Carlos Hernandez are also on hand as depth options, and noted prospects Daniel Lynch and Jackson Kowar are also likely nearing their big league debuts, so the Royals have quite a few interesting rotation options on hand.  MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan also raises the intriguing possibility that Minor could be a fallback plan for the Royals at closer, since Minor performed well as a ninth-inning option for Kansas City in 2017.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Royals Sign Michael A. Taylor

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The Royals announced Monday that they’ve signed outfielder Michael A. Taylor to a one-year, Major League contract. A client of the newly formed ALIGND Sports, Taylor will receive a $1.75MM base salary and another $1MM worth of available incentives, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). In a corresponding move, the Royals have designated left-hander Foster Griffin for assignment.

Michael A. Taylor | Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor, 29, was outrighted off the Nationals’ 40-man roster at season’s end and elected free agency. He would’ve been arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter, and the Nats opted to cut him loose early rather than pay him a raise on last year’s $3.325MM salary following a rough 2020 season.

Once ranked as one of the game’s premier outfield prospects, Taylor has struggled to find his footing as a consistent contributor in the big leagues. He looked to have broken out with a very solid age-26 campaign back in 2017, when he slashed .271/.320/.486 with 19 homers, 23 doubles, three triples, 17 steals and brilliant center-field defense. Taylor played in 118 games that season and was still worth about three wins above replacement per both Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs.

Unfortunately, Taylor wasn’t able to replicate his success in 2018 or at any point thereafter. He’s logged 581 plate appearances in the three years since that time — often being shuttled between Triple-A and the Majors — while posting a tepid .225/.284/.370 output at the plate. His blend of power and speed is plain to see, but Taylor’s overall offense is limited by a sky-high 31.7 percent strikeout rate to this point in his career.

Taylor has continued to post strong defensive marks, with a superlative 26 Defensive Runs Saved and a 12.1 UZR/150 in 1984 innings as a center fielder from 2017-20. Even if his bat doesn’t recover, he should give the Royals a high-quality defender capable of playing all three outfield positions. Per Statcast, Taylor ranked in the 91st percentile of all big leaguers in terms of outfield jumps, and his 82nd percentile sprint speed speaks to the value he can add on the bases.

Taylor joins a Royals roster that was already deep in outfield-capable players, though several of them are surely to be used in the infield at times (or even regularly) in 2021. Whit Merrifield and Hunter Dozier, for instance, can each be used on the right side of the diamond or in the outfield. Dozier could be the club’s long-term first baseman, though that’s probably somewhat dependent on any decisions the club makes with Ryan O’Hearn and/or Ryan McBroom this winter. Merrifield, meanwhile, can play all across the outfield and is a strong defender at second base as well.

Beyond that versatile pairing, the Royals have Franchy Cordero, Edward Olivares, Bubba Starling, Nick Heath and top prospect Khalil Lee all on the 40-man roster. Taylor could function as a simple platoon partner for the left-handed-hitting Cordero, or if he’s able to again approach his 2017 level of play, he could earn a bigger role in an outfield mix that is still largely undefined.

Griffin, 25, was the No. 28 overall pick by the Royals back in 2014. He made his MLB debut this past season and tossed 1 2/3 shutout innings, but Griffin underwent Tommy John surgery in August and will miss the 2021 season as a result.

Beyond that, Griffin has never developed into the pitching prospect the club had hoped at the time of that lofty selection. He posted solid ERAs through the lower minors even while walking more than 3.5 hitters per nine frames, but Griffin’s results bottomed out as he further climbed the organizational ladder. He pitched to an ERA north of 5.00 in 152 2/3 frames of Double-A ball in 2018 and saw that mark increase during his 2019 stint in Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals will have a week to trade Griffin, release him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. Because he’s a former first-round lefty with multiple minor league options remaining, another club could place a speculative claim, but it’d be tough to carry him on the roster for the remainder of the offseason knowing he won’t be able to contribute at all next season while he rehabs.

Outrighted: Tinoco, Speier

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The latest outrights from around the majors…

  • The Rockies have outrighted right-hander Jesus Tinoco, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. The club designated Tinoco for assignment last week, but he cleared waivers after that. Now 25 years old, Tinoco first joined the Rockies as part of the return they received from the Blue Jays in the teams’ 2015 Troy Tulowitzki trade. Tinoco made his major league debut in 2019, but the Rockies traded him to the Marlins this past summer, only to re-acquire him via waivers three weeks later. He owns a 4.03 ERA (with a much less appealing 7.19 FIP) with 6.85 K/9 and 5.84 BB/9 across 44 2/3 big league innings.
  • The Royals announced that they have outrighted southpaw Gabe Speier, whom they designated last week. Speier, 25, appeared in the majors in each of the previous two seasons and combined for a 7.62 ERA/6.05 FIP and 11.08 K/9 against 6.92 BB/9 over 13 frames.

Royals Release Glenn Sparkman

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NOV. 23: The Royals announced that they have placed Sparkman on unconditional release waivers.

NOV. 20: The Royals have announced a series of roster moves (via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com). Right-hander Glenn Sparkman and left-hander Gabe Speier have each been designated for assignment, while right-hander Chance Adams cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Omaha. Those moves clear 40-man roster space for four players Kansas City added to protect them from the Rule 5 draft: outfielder Khalil Lee, catcher Sebastian Rivero, and left-handers Daniel Tillo and Angel Zerpa.

The 28-year-old Sparkman pitched in 31 games (23 starts) for Kansas City in 2019. He only managed a 6.02 ERA with a minuscule 13.4% strikeout rate in that time. The swingman started this season in the Royals’ bullpen but went down with a forearm strain after just five appearances.

Unlike Sparkman, Speier is exclusively a reliever. While he’s had some productive minor-league seasons, the 25-year-old hasn’t found much success at the game’s highest level. In seventeen MLB appearances for Kansas City over the past two seasons, Speier pitched to 7.62 ERA while walking an untenable 15.9% of opposing hitters.

Adams underwent Tommy John surgery last month and won’t pitch next season. The former well-regarded Yankee farmhand will try to work his way back into the mix in 2022.

AL Notes: Rays, Royals, Rangers

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The Rays have one clear priority for the offseason, writes MLB Insider Jim Bowden (via Twitter). They’ve let the other 29 teams know: they need catchers. That’s been the case for the Rays most offseasons. Tampa has long been unable to find a long-term solution at the catching position. Rays catchers (Mike Zunino, Michael Perez, and Kevan Smith) finished 25th in the Majors by bWAR in 2020 with -0.3 bWAR. None of the three are currently employed by the Rays, as Perez was selected off waivers by the Pirates, and Zunino and Smith are free agents. Ronaldo Hernandez currently sits atop their depth chart, and while the Rays have high hopes for the slugging 23-year-old, he has yet to appear above High-A. The free agent market isn’t likely to offer a ton of options for the Rays’ price range. Speculatively speaking, if they do go the free agency route, a reunion with Zunino might make the most sense. Other options they could consider include Matt Wieters, Tyler Flowers, Sandy Leon, Robinson Chirinos, and Alex Avila.

  • Bowden (via Twitter) also enumerates the Royals plan for the winter: acquire a starting pitcher, middle-of-the-order bat, and centerfielder. They also want to improve their overall on-base percentage, notes Bowden. The Royals tied with the Mariners for 25th in the Majors with a .309 OBP. A team 7.8 BB% also tied for 25th in the Majors. To this point, Hunter Dozier (.344 OBP) and Salvador Perez (.353 OBP) were the only Kansas City regulars with an on-base percentage over .330. Outfield prospect Khalil Lee might provide an internal solution. The 22-year-old walked at a rate of 11.9% in Double-A in 2019, and the oganization holds him in high regard.
  • The Rangers will give Sherten Apostel a look at first base in the lead-up to the season, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Apostel has come up as a third baseman, though at 6’4″, 235 lbs, there’s at least a question of whether he’d fare better defensively at first. Still, the Rangers believe he can stick at third, per Wilson. The issue is more that Isiah Kiner-Falefa is fresh off a Gold-Glove-winning season, and in the long-term, top prospect Josh Jung profiles for the hot corner. In the short term, Ronald Guzman could be unseated at first after slashing just .230/.308/.417 over 809 plate appearances the past three seasons. His 0.9 bWAR per 650 plate appearances doesn’t scream stability at first. Apostel, 22 in March, got a cup-of-coffee in 2020, though he’s likely to start the year in Triple-A. If he starts hot, however, the Rangers could make room for him at first.

Royals’ Chance Adams Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Royals right-hander Chance Adams underwent Tommy John surgery last month, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (via Twitter). The organization never announced the surgery, but the procedure will wipe out Adams’ entire 2021 season. As Flanagan points out, that could be a key factor today as the Royals look to set their 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. Adams could be outrighted off the 40-man roster to open an additional spot for the Royals, whose 40-man roster currently contains 39 players.

Adams, 26, is among the many cautionary tales for top pitching prospects. The 2015 fifth-rounder entered the 2018 season as a consensus Top 100 prospect in the game but struggled through a lackluster Triple-A showing and was hit hard in a brief MLB debut that year. It was a similar story in 2019, and last winter he was designated for assignment then traded to the Royals when the Yankees inked Gerrit Cole to his record-setting contract.

Adams made it to the big leagues with Kansas City in 2020 but was again hit hard in a limited showing. In all, he’s pitched 41 2/3 frames at the MLB level and logged a grisly 8.42 ERA with a 33-to-15 K/BB ratio and a woeful 11 home runs allowed. Even Adams’ last few turns through the Triple-A level haven’t been particularly impressive; in 2018-19 he worked to a combined 4.72 ERA in nearly 200 innings with the Yankees’ affiliate in Scranton.

Dayton Moore Expects Royals To Be Competitive In 2021

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The Kansas City Royals last made the playoffs in 2015. That was a good year. Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Salvador Perez, and a transcendent bullpen won the AL pennant for the second consecutive season, and they finished it off with World Series victory.

That team is the most recent Royals squad to post a winning record. They went 81-81 in 2016, 80-82 in 2017, and then the bottom fell out. They lost 100+ games in each of the next two seasons before posting a 26-34 record in this year’s shortened season. That’s a 70-win pace for a full season, definitely an improvement over back-to-back season in which they failed to crack 60 wins.

Manager Mike Matheny will need to coax a more substantial improvement from his squad if they want to compete in 2021. That’s indeed the plan, however. General Manager Dayton Moore spoke with reporters during a Zoom call today, and he made no bones about his expectations for the Royals in 2021. Moore said, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star:

“We expect to win next year. What does that look like? Is it going to be enough wins to make the playoffs? We’ll find out. Our mindset is going to be to win every single pitch, every inning, win every game. That’s the only way that we’re ever going to win another championship, you’ve got to expect to win at all aspects.”

Don’t expect the Royals to be major players in free agency, however. The small market club figures to be judicious in adding from the open market. The primary pieces of the next Royals contender are going to be developed in-house, as has been the Royals preference. They’ve long believed in their current crop of players, even as the team as a whole has struggled. Interestingly, Moore did say that he doesn’t see finances getting in the way of improving the team, should the right opportunity come along.

The Royals plan to pursue their own free agents before expanding to the open market, which would be very “Royals” of them, though returning any of Greg Holland, Ian Kennedy, Mike Montgomery, or even Trevor Rosenthal could help boost a bullpen that needs some work. The Royals have incrementally added young arms like Brad Keller, Kris Bubic, and Brady Singer to veteran Danny Duffy in the rotation. The bullpen remains a work in progress. They did, however, put forth a 3.84 ERA in 2020, a mark that ranked 8th in the majors. Losing Holland would create an opening, with first looks presumably going to Josh Staumont, Kyle Zimmer, Jesse Hahn, and Scott Barlow. That quartet present some intriguing options with which to move forward into 2021.

Otherwise, the Royals will continue to try to develop and build from within. Bobby Witt Jr., Khalil Lee, and Kyle Isbel received high praise from Moore as prospects that could turn into significant pieces. Witt was the #2 overall pick of the 2019 draft, and he has yet to play a full season in the minors.

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