Royals’ Owner Discussing Sale Of Team
Aug. 28: MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that “barring something unforeseen,” the sale from Glass to Sherman “will happen.” That certainly moves the ball forward from yesterday’s uncertainty regarding the seriousness of the talks, although it also suggests that no firm agreement is in place. Sherman, notably, would need to be approved by the other 29 ownership groups in the league and by MLB itself, though Heyman adds that Sherman is viewed as a “sure thing” for approval from the league (as one would expect from an executive who is already an established minority owner of another franchise).
Aug. 27, 6:20pm: The Royals have issued the following statement on the matter:
“The Kansas City Royals are not in a position to make any comments on the published speculation regarding any potential sale of the ball club. The Royals will make no further statements at this time.”
5:35pm: Royals owner David Glass is discussing a potential sale of the club with Kansas City businessman John Sherman, Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark of The Athletic report (subscription required). ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets that the two are discussing a price worth north of $1 billion. Glass purchased the Royals in 2000 for a reported sum of $96MM.
Sherman, 64, is currently the vice chairman of the division-rival Indians, having purchased a minority stake in the team back in 2016. As Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer explored last year, Sherman was a Royals season-ticket holder at the time who’d made a fortune in starting natural gas and energy companies (LPG Services Group, Inergy L.P.) and selling them to larger entities. Sherman would, unsurprisingly, divest himself from the Indians organization if a sale is indeed agreed upon (per Passan).
There’s no indication that the two parties are close to an agreement, nor is there any indication that Glass is exploring other sale possibilities in the event that a deal with Sherman cannot be brokered. Asked about the report, general manager Dayton Moore told MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link) that commenting on any potential sale of the club would be “inappropriate.” Glass has not publicly acknowledged the reported negotiations.
Under Glass and Moore, the Royals emerged from irrelevance to appear in consecutive World Series, culminating in a 2015 championship achieved by the core of Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Danny Duffy. But the Royals have faded from contention in the American League Central in recent seasons and acted to cut payroll in each of the past two offseasons. Though the team was reportedly willing to sign Hosmer to a nine-figure deal to lead the club through the current rebuild, he took a more lucrative offer in San Diego while other stalwarts of that 2015 club have signed elsewhere in free agency or been traded.
The Royals’ Opening Day payroll in 2017 reached the unprecedented (for them) peak of $143MM, but since that time the figure has plummeted rapidly. Kansas City opened the 2019 season with a payroll a bit greater than $96MM, and with Alex Gordon set to come off the books, they have just $59MM in guaranteed salary on next year’s payroll. Offseason trades involving veterans such as Duffy, starter-turned-closer Ian Kennedy, quiet superstar Whit Merrifield or breakout slugger Jorge Soler could further reduce that commitment, though it’s not yet clear how motivated the Royals will be to make any such moves.
Moore has been targeting near-MLB-ready assets in trades and college pitchers in the draft in hopes of architecting a quick turnaround, though certainly a sale of the club could impact not only the offseason direction of the team but the very composition of the front office and the field staff. Flanagan reported within the past week that the Royals are nearing a new television contract with Fox Sports Kansas City, which would more than double their annual rights fees (albeit from an average of $20MM per year to $48-52MM per year), and such an agreement would obviously impact the financial evaluation of the franchise and its baseball operations directives as well.
Athletics To Promote Sheldon Neuse
With Khris Davis headed to the paternity list for the next three days, the Athletics are set to select the contract of infield prospect Sheldon Neuse, reports Martin Gallegos of MLB.com (via Twitter). It’ll be the first call to the big leagues for the 2016 second-rounder, who is widely considered to be among the organization’s top 10 prospects. Oakland will need to make a 40-man roster move to create room for Neuse’s promotion.
Neuse, 24, was originally drafted by the Nationals, who traded him to Oakland alongside Blake Treinen and Jesus Luzardo in the 2017 deadline deal that netted them Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. He’s had a strong season in Triple-A Las Vegas, hitting .317/.389/.550 with 27 home runs, 31 doubles, two triples and three steals in 550 plate appearances. While he struggled to make contact in his first run at Triple-A in 2018, Neuse has slashed his strikeout rate and upped his walk rate in 2019. He currently ranks eighth among Oakland farmhands according to both MLB.com and Baseball America, while Fangraphs tabs him ninth in the organization.
Third base is Neuse’s natural position, and that’s currently a rather occupied position in Oakland thanks to Matt Chapman. As such, he’s spent some time playing second base, shortstop and left field this season in an effort to build his versatility and carve out a path to a role on the big league roster. A two-way star in college at Oklahoma, there’s been some previous speculation about utilizing Neuse as a two-way player, but he’s yet to throw a pitch in a game setting since being drafted. As things currently stand, a utility role looks like the best path to playing time for him in the Oakland organization.
As a 2016 draftee who was selected out of college, Neuse would’ve required protection from the Rule 5 Draft this winter anyhow. That would’ve made him a candidate for a September call-up when rosters expand on Sunday, but he’ll get his first crack at the big leagues a few days earlier.
Better Building Block: Pete Alonso Or Yordan Alvarez?
With just over a month remaining in the regular season, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and Astros designated hitter/outfielder Yordan Alvarez look like the clear-cut front-runners for Rookie of the Year honors in their respective leagues. Alonso has been brilliant all season, and his excellence this summer has helped lead the Mets out of despair and into National League wild-card contention. Alvarez, meanwhile, has given the already loaded Astros yet another tremendous hitter in a lineup chock-full of them since the club promoted him to the majors June 9. But which of the two would you rather have for the long haul?
At least in terms of home runs, the 24-year-old Alonso has enjoyed one of the greatest first seasons in recent history. The Mets have been around since 1962, but Alonso already holds the franchise’s single-season record for most homers in a year. Alonso swatted his 42nd of the year Tuesday, thus helping him to an overall line of .265/.367/.596 across 556 plate appearances. The right-handed swinger has shown no vulnerability while facing either same-sided or lefty hurlers, evidenced by a 147 wRC+ against the former and a 149 mark versus the latter. Alonso’s 148 wRC+ ranks eighth among qualified hitters, while his 4.2 fWAR ties him for 23rd with Cubs third baseman and former NL MVP Kris Bryant. Plus, Alonso’s .382 expected weighted on-base average falls in the league’s 92nd percentile, per Statcast, and doesn’t sit too far behind his real wOBA of .398.
Statcast has looked even more favorably on the 22-year-old Alvarez’s production, giving him an eyebrow-raising .421 xwOBA that ranks fifth in the majors among those with 100 or more trips to the plate. Only offensive luminaries Mike Trout, Cody Bellinger, Nelson Cruz and Christian Yelich have outdone Alvarez in that category. Trout and Yellich have already won MVPs, while Bellinger could join them in the next couple months. Meantime, Alvarez’s actual wOBA (.456) outdoes every other batter’s by at least 10 points. His line of .329/.420/.703 with 21 homers in just 257 PA amounts to a 190 wRC+, which ranks first out of those with 200-plus trips to the plate, while he has already racked up 2.9 fWAR.
The lefty-hitting Alvarez, like Alonso, has brutalized pitchers of either handedness (199 wRC+ against righties, 170 wRC+ versus southpaws). Although Alvarez’s .367 batting average on balls in play seems unlikely to hold as he moves forward, it’s clear the stacked Astros have yet another world-class offensive building block on their hands.
MLB.com placed Alvarez 23rd among the game’s prospects at the time of his promotion, while Alonso was 51st shortly before the Mets elected to place him on their season-opening roster. It’s evident now they deserved better than even those high rankings. Alvarez seems likely to go down as one of the top heist pickups in recent memory, as the Astros acquired him from the Dodgers for reliever Josh Fields back in August 2016, while Alonso has been a steal of a draft pick for New York – which landed him in the second round in 2016. These two can already count themselves among baseball’s fiercest sluggers just a few months into their respective careers, and they’re likely on their way to ROY honors as a result. Who’s the better building block, though?
(Poll link for app users)
Who's the better building block?
-
Yordan Alvarez 59% (4,333)
-
Pete Alonso 41% (3,027)
Total votes: 7,360
Indians Likely To Activate Carlos Carrasco This Weekend
In an eminently welcome development, Indians manager Terry Francona announced today in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that his club plans to activate right-hander Carlos Carrasco from the injured list when rosters expand on Sunday (Twitter link, with audio). Carrasco has been sidelined since late May after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.
Carrasco, 32, still has to come through one more bullpen session before the club makes the move, per Francona, but the organization’s plan is to reinstate him Sunday. He’ll be utilized out of the bullpen over the season’s final month and into the postseason, should Cleveland qualify.
A return to a general state of well-being for Carrasco obviously supersedes the potential on-field benefit he brings to the club, but the impact of a healthy Carrasco also can’t be understated for the Cleveland organization. Carrasco wasn’t anywhere near his typical form earlier in 2019 but still posted excellent K/BB numbers through 12 starts before stepping away from the game due to his medical situation. He’ll now join the back end of Francona’s bullpen as a potential bullpen weapon with an opportunity to make a significant impact on the Indians’ postseason race; Cleveland currently sits 3.5 games behind Minnesota in the AL Central and holds a half-game lead over Oakland and Tampa Bay in the Wild Card race.
Looking beyond 2019, Carrasco will surely be a focal part of the pitching staff so long as he remains in good health. The right-hander inked an extension last offseason and is signed through the 2022 season at a total of $37.25MM. The Indians also hold a $14MM club option on him for the 2023 season.
Brad Peacock Undergoes MRI, Returns To Injured List
Just 10 days after being activated from the injured list, Astros righty Brad Peacock is headed back to the IL with right shoulder discomfort, the team announced. No timetable for his return has been provided, though Peacock told reporters that he’s undergone an MRI and is awaiting results (Twitter link, with video, via FOX 26’s Mark Berman). Right-hander Cy Sneed has been recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Peacock described a persistent “sharp pain” in his shoulder and acknowledged that the discomfort “got a lot worse” in last night’s outing. The right-hander hopes to pitch again in 2019 but won’t know his next steps until he meets with the club’s doctors later this afternoon. Previous MRIs have not revealed any structural damage.
The 31-year-old Peacock originally went on the IL in late June due to the same issue, and his rehab was slowed by a setback prior to last week’s return. It’s a worrisome injury for an Astros club that is already without one of its top relievers, Ryan Pressly, due to knee surgery. As The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan points out (via Twitter), Peacock’s velocity has been diminished since his return. The right-hander averaged 92.2 mph on his fastball prior to his original IL placement but, despite a move to shorter relief stints upon being activated, averaged just 91.3 mph on the pitch in his past three outings.
So far in 2019, Peacock has totaled 88 2/3 innings of 4.06 ERA ball, averaging 9.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 1.42 HR/9 to go along with a 38.3 percent ground-ball rate. He’s earning $3.11MM in 2019 after avoiding arbitration last winter and will be arb-eligible for the finale time this coming offseason. Peacock can become a free agent following the 2020 season.
Royals Shut Brad Keller Down For Rest Of Season
Brad Keller‘s season for the Royals is over. Manager Ned Yost announced to reporters today that the right-hander has been showing signs of arm fatigue and will not pitch again in 2019 (Twitter link via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com).
Keller’s shutdown removes Kansas City’s best starting pitcher from the rotation, though the organization and fans alike are likely relieved that there’s no serious injury at play. Right-hander Jorge Lopez and lefty Eric Skoglund are both in the rotation this weekend and could see increased opportunities down the stretch with Keller no longer in the mix for starts.
The 24-year-old Keller saw his innings total make a somewhat modest increase from 140 1/3 in 2018 to 165 1/3 in 2019. He didn’t quite replicate last year’s excellence, when he posted a 3.08 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9 and a 54.4 percent ground-ball rate. Keller did, however, enjoy a second consecutive quality season, compiling a 4.19 earned run average with 6.6 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9 and a 50 percent grounder rate. While the uptick in walks is of mild concern, Keller’s ability to keep the ball in the yard (and on the ground, in particular) was maintained even at a time when home-run rates throughout the league exploded.
By the time the season has wrapped up, Keller will have racked up two full years of big league service, putting him on pace to become eligible for arbitration following the 2020 season. He’s gone from a flier in the 2017 Rule 5 Draft to a hands-down member of the Kansas City rotation and is easily among the most successful Rule 5 selections in recent memory. The loss of Keller no doubt stings for the Diamondbacks, who received no compensation for him in the aforementioned Rule 5 process and have seen several pitching injuries crop up this season. Such statements are easy to make with the benefit of hindsight, and trades have alleviated some of the depth issues for the D-backs, but they’d surely take a mulligan on protecting Keller, given the opportunity.
Looking down the road, Keller, Danny Duffy and Jakob Junis are the sure things in next year’s rotation for the Royals. Other options currently on the 40-man roster include Lopez, Skoglund, Mike Montgomery, Glenn Sparkman, Trevor Oaks, Heath Fillmyer and Scott Blewett. Beyond that largely underwhelming group is a collection of more promising arms, headlined by recent draftees such as Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar and Kris Bubic. Any of that bunch could conceivably reach the big leagues next season, giving the Kansas City organization some hope for better days in the not-too-distant future. That said, it still wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Royals add some veteran options to the starting mix this offseason as a means of bridging the gap.
Sean Doolittle, Roenis Elias Nearing Returns
3:38pm: Both Doolittle and fellow lefty Roenis Elias came away from simulated games feeling strong today and could be activated as early as Friday, tweets Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com.
9:47am: The Nationals have been on a lengthy and remarkable run in spite of an ongoing bullpen malaise that has shown no signs of abating. While the team is now in strong position, it seems inevitable that its roller-coaster bullpen will be a key factor in any postseason run. The availability — and form — of injured closer Sean Doolittle is therefore of paramount importance to the D.C. org.
Doolittle tells reporters including Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com that he’s working out hard while sidelined with right knee tendinitis. The idea, he says, is to “kick start the engine a little bit” and “develop that trust” in his joint. He has been throwing bullpen sessions and is now readying for a sim game today, which could lead to a quick return. Doolittle says he’s hoping to be activated during the club’s next series.
Of course, when he hit the injured list ten days ago, it seemed Doolittle was in need of a break for multiple reasons — including the knee issue that technically led to the placement. He was being called upon to rescue the Nats with unaccustomed frequency, with his performance clearly suffering.
Doolittle has mostly maintained his arm speed, but has back-slid in swinging-strike rate (from 16.8% in 2018 to 12.1%), home runs (from 0.60 to 1.73 per nine), and exit velocity (from 83.8 mph to 89.8 mph). He has already exceeded his workload from the prior two campaigns, managing only a 4.33 ERA in 52 frames.
The veteran southpaw acknowledged the wider issues in his comments. Doolittle says he has worked on cleaning up his mechanics, allowing him to “stay on top of, and behind the baseball” and to regain “extension” and “deception.” Some time away has left his arm feeling “a lot better,” as well.
That all sounds promising for the Nats, who have opened a nice Wild Card lead but will need a big final month to track down the Braves in the NL East. It’d be a huge boon down the stretch and into a hopeful postseason run if Doolittle is able to jump back into the closer’s seat and regain his 2018 form.
Giants Release Carlos Torres
The Giants have released veteran righty Carlos Torres, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. He had joined the organization earlier this month on a minors deal.
Details of the departure aren’t clear, but the San Francisco organization has continued to churn through a large number of relief arms. Torres had been working at the team’s top affiliate, marking his fourth Triple-A team on the season.
The 36-year-old Torres, a ten-year MLB veteran, has thrown 62 1/3 total innings of 4.33 ERA ball this year, with 7.8 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9. He’s not likely to be seen as a major possible addition by a contender, but could certainly help pad the depth of an organization that wants to be sure it’s covered down the stretch.
Padres Claim Nick Martini
1:04pm: San Diego announced the move. Martini will join the active roster on Thursday, per an announcement.
12:49pm: In an intriguing development, the Padres have claimed outfielder Nick Martini off waivers from the Athletics, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The corresponding roster maneuvering isn’t yet known.
It’s a bit of a surprise to see the San Diego org summoning the bartender for the 29-year-old, left-handed-hitting outfielder. It remains to be seen whether Martini will have a shot at holding his roster spot over the course of the offseason.
To be sure, Martini seemed likely to be claimed by some team — so much so that it might’ve been expected he wouldn’t have made it to the San Diego organization’s spot on the waiver priority list. But the Friars already have an outfield mix that includes Wil Myers, Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot, and Josh Naylor. Only Naylor hits from the left side, but the club also still controls the southpaw-swinging Travis Jankowski.
Making any use of Martini this year will surely mean reducing the opportunities available to those other players. If nothing else, Jankowski’s roster footing now seems more tenuous than ever.
Perhaps the Friars think Martini could be a fourth outfielder candidate in 2020. He’s optionable, which certainly helps. There are some shades of Alex Dickerson, who was jettisoned earlier this year by the Pads. But holding open a role for Martini would create a tight squeeze once Franchy Cordero is added back to the mix, even assuming Naylor is sent back to Triple-A. It’s also certainly possible the Padres simply see this as a value proposition and intend to explore offseason trade possibilities involving any number of current assets.
Regardless, it’s clear that Martini stirred real interest in the San Diego front office. He certainly impressed in a 55-game big-league debut showing last year, though the A’s never saw fit for a second round this season. While he received only 13 MLB plate appearances in 2019, Martini did boast a .328/.432/.482 slash line and impeccable 51:49 K/BB ratio over 329 plate appearances at Triple-A.
Shelby Miller Released After Opting Out Of Brewers Contract
The Brewers announced yesterday that righty Shelby Miller has been released. He “exercised the release clause in his contract,” per the announcement.
Miller, who is still just 28 years of age despite debuting way back in 2012, had inked a $2MM deal with the Rangers over the winter. The hoped-for bounceback simply did not occur, however, and he was cut loose after 44 innings of 8.59 ERA pitching.
When he landed with the Brewers, Miller was hoping that a fresh start at Triple-A would finally turn his fortunes after several injury-riddled, disappointing campaigns. He ended up throwing 32 2/3 frames over eight starts, producing a 4.13 ERA on 9.9 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9.
The Milwaukee organization evidently didn’t see enough to warrant a promotion. Instead, Miller will see if he can catch on elsewhere. The best-case scenario would probably be to sign with a club that has some 40-man roster flexibility and a need for innings down the stretch. (The Rangers will foot the bill for all but the league-minimum rate of pay.) Miller will be hoping that a late-season showcase can help boost his appeal in the coming offseason.