Bobby Witt Jr.

Royals Sign Bobby Witt Jr. To 11-Year Extension

By Darragh McDonald | February 5, 2024 at 11:59pm CDT

The Royals are retaining their franchise shortstop well into the next decade. Kansas City announced the signing of Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year extension on Monday afternoon. The Octagon client is reportedly guaranteed nearly $288.78MM on the largest contract in team history. Witt has multiple chances to opt out of the deal, as he’ll be able to test free agency after the 2030, ’31, ’32 and ’33 seasons. If he doesn’t exercise any of those opt-out clauses, the Royals would receive a three-year team option after the ’34 campaign. That’s an $89MM provision covering the 2035-37 seasons, bringing the deal’s maximum value to $377MM over 14 years. Witt has a full no-trade clause.

Witt receives a $7.777777MM signing bonus. The salaries break down as follows:

2024: $2MM
2025: $7MM
2026: $13MM
2027: $19MM
2028: $30MM
2029-34: $35MM annually
2035: $33MM
2036-37: $28MM annually

It’s a stunning deal that more than triples the previous franchise-record, which was the $82MM extension signed by Salvador Pérez in March of 2021. It was reported back in November that Witt and the club had engaged in some preliminary talks but it would have been fair for fans to be skeptical of anything getting done. The club’s payroll has never been higher than 15th in the league in recent years, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, making it hard to predict them for any kind of mega deal.

Witt is still fairly early in his career, having just two years of service time and not yet qualifying for arbitration. But even pre-arb deals for superstar players have grown to a massive scale in recent years. MLBTR’s Contract Tracker shows that the Brewers gave Jackson Chourio $82MM before he even reached the majors. Players like Julio Rodríguez and Corbin Carroll got to $210MM and $111MM, respectively, before even getting to one year of service time. Witt has exactly two years of service, having cracked the club’s Opening Day roster in 2022. The apex for players between two and three years of MLB service is the 14-year, $340MM extension between the Padres and Fernando Tatis Jr.

Given those escalating prices and the typical low-spending ways of the Royals, it was difficult to see the two sides coming together and getting a deal done. But the Royals have extended well beyond their comfort zone, shattering their previous franchise record. For Witt, he didn’t quite get the same guarantee as Tatis but he could end up earning more than him via that option. The opt-outs also give him extra earning power, either by allowing him to test the open market or by leveraging those opt-outs into future contract talks with the Royals.

The fact that the Royals were willing to go to such extreme lengths is a reflection of Witt’s incredible talents as a player. The second overall pick in the 2019 draft, behind only Adley Rutschman of the Orioles, Witt showed his potential with a solid rookie showing in 2022. As mentioned, he cracked the club’s Opening Day roster, and eventually appeared in 150 games that year. His 4.7% walk rate was on the low side, but he limited his strikeouts to a 21.4% clip while launching 20 home runs. His .254/.294/.428 line was just a bit below average, wRC+ of 98. He also stole 30 bases, though his glovework wasn’t highly rated, split between shortstop and third base.

Last year, he took steps forward in just about every respect of his game. He decreased his strikeout rate to 17.4% while bumping his walk rate slightly to 5.8%. His home run tally jumped from 20 to 30 and he increased his steal tally to 49. His .276/.319/.495 batting line led to a wRC+ of 115, indicating he was 15% better than league average at the plate.

On the defensive side of things, he stayed at shortstop all year and seemed to cement himself as a viable franchise cornerstone there. Defensive Runs Saved wasn’t too enthused, giving him a grade of -6, but that was still an upgrade over the -18 he was tagged with at shortstop the year before. But Ultimate Zone Rating gave him a positive grade of 3.2 in 2023 while his tally of 14 Outs Above Average was one of the best in the league. Only Dansby Swanson, Willy Adames and Ezequiel Tovar racked up more OAA among shortstops last year.

That combination of offense, speed and defense makes him one of the most exciting and valuable players in the league. His 5.7 wins above replacement via FanGraphs was 11th among all position players last year and he finished seventh in American League Most Valuable Player voting.

It’s been a rough few years for the Royals, as they just lost 106 games last year and haven’t been above .500 since 2015. But it seems there has been a concerted effort this winter to give the fans more reasons to be excited. The club has given significant deals to free agents like Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Hunter Renfroe, Adam Frazier, Will Smith and Chris Stratton in an effort to improve the club’s chances in 2024. Witt was already on the roster and this deal won’t alter the club’s fortunes in 2024, but it does send a strong message that they are willing to commit to a player they feel can be the face of the franchise for years to come.

Owner John Sherman only purchased the team towards the end of 2019 and things have been fairly dreary for the franchise since then, as they have struggled to emerge from a lengthy rebuild. But the club has been trying to secure government funding for a new stadium and perhaps this offseason’s spending is an attempt to build some good will between ownership and a fanbase that hasn’t had much to cheer about lately.

Regardless of the motives, it’s a massive deal and surely an exciting one for the supporters. Witt is one of the most talented players in the league and he’ll now be locked into the Kansas City lineup for the foreseeable future. His first opt-out chance will come after 2030, which will be his age-30 campaign. At that point, he’ll be deciding whether to stick around or leave four years and $140MM on the table to become a free agent. Assuming he continues to perform at a superstar level, that would be a fairly easy decision. He could likely double that even with today’s dollars and seven years of inflation would only help him. But it seems that he and the club have a good relationship, so perhaps another deal could be worked out to keep him with the Royals at that point.

“I am incredibly grateful to the Sherman family and the Royals front office for believing in me,” Witt said on X today, “and I promise to do everything in my power to help bring championship baseball back to Kansas City! Let’s go!!”

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Royals and Witt were in agreement on an 11-year, $288.8MM deal. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported the deal included a three-year team option. Passan reported the inclusion of opt-out clauses after years seven, eight, nine and ten; Passan was also first to report the $89MM value of the three-year option as well as the $7.78MM signing bonus. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the specific salary breakdown. FanSided’s Robert Murray had reported on Sunday that the Royals and Witt had reopened extension talks. Jon Heyman of The New York Post relayed the full no-trade clause.

Royals Exploring Relief Market

By Anthony Franco | December 4, 2023 at 6:41pm CDT

The Royals are exploring the market for relief help, manager Matt Quatraro said at this week’s Winter Meetings (relayed by Anne Rogers of MLB.com). General manager J.J. Picollo took a broader approach in an appearance on the MLB Network with Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds, saying they’re evaluating both the rotation and bullpen markets.

Picollo expressed a similar desire to upgrade the starting five a couple weeks ago. Kansas City subsequently brought in Kyle Wright in a trade with the Braves, but he’ll miss all of next season recovering from shoulder surgery. It’s natural they’re still searching for pitching help in any area, although Picollo noted today they’ll need to “rebuild (the) bullpen.”

That could point to multiple additions to the relief unit. The Royals acquired Nick Anderson in a cash transaction with Atlanta in the middle of November. He’s one fairly experienced addition to a bullpen still consisting of mostly young pitchers. Among returning hurlers with 20+ innings pitched, only James McArthur and swingman Alec Marsh turned in a sub-4.00 ERA when working out of the bullpen. Carlos Hernández and Taylor Clarke joined that group in narrowly posting a strikeout rate better than league average.

Only the Rockies — who play in a much more difficult home park for pitchers — had a worse bullpen ERA overall. K.C. relievers finished 23rd in strikeout rate and 28th in walk percentage. Given that lack of depth, it’s unsurprising that the Royals are looking to add beyond Anderson. Quatraro noted the roster as currently constructed doesn’t have a closer, so they project to have a committee approach to the late innings for now.

If the front office wants to add some stability, they could pursue someone with experience handling the ninth inning. Kansas City’s $3.75MM free agent deal with Aroldis Chapman last offseason was one of the winter’s best rebound fliers, as the Royals flipped him for breakout lefty Cole Ragans after Chapman turned in a stellar first half. While Chapman is presumably out of Kansas City’s price range this time around, the likes of David Robertson and Dylan Floro are speculative bounceback candidates who have worked as closers in the past.

Picollo also confirmed reports that the Royals have had some extension talks with franchise shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. The GM predictably didn’t tip his hand about the status of negotiations or handicap the odds of getting a deal done but noted the team “(loves) having him” and called Witt the “face of our future.” The righty-hitting shortstop connected on 30 home runs with a .276/.319/.495 batting line while playing 158 games this year. He’s under club control for four more seasons and will reach arbitration for the first time next winter if the sides don’t agree to a long-term deal in the interim.

Shohei Ohtani Wins AL MVP

By Darragh McDonald | November 16, 2023 at 5:28pm CDT

Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has been voted the Most Valuable Player in the American League for 2023, per an announcement from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Corey Seager and Marcus Semien of the Rangers were second and third in the voting, respectively.

The news hardly comes as a surprise, with Ohtani having delivered another two-way season for the Angels in which the only precedent was himself. He made 23 starts as a pitcher, tossing 132 innings with an earned run average of 3.14. His 10.4% walk rate was a bit on the high side but he struck out 31.5% of batters faced. Among pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched on the year, only Spencer Strider punched out opponents at a greater rate.

As a hitter, he launched 44 home runs and drew walks at a 15.2% clip. His .304/.412/.654 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 180, indicating he was 80% better overall than the average hitter. He accomplished all of these things despite having his season cut short by injury. Due to some finger issues and then a torn UCL, he only tossed 1 1/3 innings after August 9 and not at all after August 23. He continued hitting but he later suffered an oblique strain and his last game as either a hitter or pitcher was September 3.

That didn’t matter as Ohtani had already racked up enough accomplishments to take home the award for a second time, the first coming in 2021. If it weren’t for Aaron Judge’s record-breaking 62 home runs last year, Ohtani would have gotten a hat trick. The BBWAA notes that this is the first time a player has won a unanimous MVP twice. The most unique baseball player of all time is now the most unique free agent of all time and is surely in line to break another record, or records, when he finally puts pen to paper.

Seager and Semien each had fine seasons in their own right, but had little chance to catch Ohtani here, though they have World Series rings to soften the blow. Seager hit 33 home runs and had a wRC+ of 169 while those numbers were 29 and 124 for Semien.

Other players receiving votes were Julio Rodríguez, Kyle Tucker, Yandy Díaz, Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, José Ramírez, Gerrit Cole, Luis Robert Jr., Yordan Alvarez, Adolis García, Judge, Bo Bichette, J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, Rafael Devers, Isaac Paredes, Sonny Gray, Alex Bregman and Josh Naylor.

Royals, Bobby Witt Jr. Have Had “Some Talks Here And There” About Extension

By Mark Polishuk | November 11, 2023 at 3:34pm CDT

While the Royals’ rebuild hasn’t gone to plan overall, Kansas City does have at least one cornerstone in Bobby Witt Jr. The second overall pick of the 2019 draft has lived up to the hype in his young career, fully breaking out with a 5.7 fWAR season in 2023 that saw Witt hit .276/.319/.495 over 694 plate appearances with 30 homers, 49 stolen bases (in 64 chances), and a league-high 11 triples. The public defensive metrics are rather unusually split on Witt’s glovework, but at least in the view of the Outs Above Average metric, Witt’s +14 number makes him one of sport’s best defensive shortstops, to boot.

The future is very bright for the 23-year-old, and some level of discussion seems to have taken place between Witt and the Royals in regards to how much of that future will be in K.C. Witt told Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star that “I think there is some talks here and there” in regards to a possible contract extension, “so we’re just kind of waiting to see. I love this organization and love this team. It’s just kind of one of those things. If the time is right, the time’s right.”

Players and teams usually tend to keep contract negotiations quiet, especially since things between Witt and the Royals might still be somewhat in the embryonic stages. As Thompson noted, Royals GM J.J. Picollo said last month that the club was “working on” extending Witt, and that “it would be exciting to do so, as he is a special player. We want to keep special players in our uniform.”

To this end, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal hears from a source that the Royals are “at least entertaining the idea of approaching Witt” about an extension at some point this offseason, which implies that no formal offers have been issued or perhaps even floated towards Witt’s representatives at Octagon. It is worth noting that there isn’t a big ticking clock on either side to fully delve into talks, as Witt is under team control through 2027 and won’t even be eligible for salary arbitration until next winter.

That said, Witt’s price tag will only increase as time goes by. Witt is already looking at a sizeable set of increasing salaries through his arb seasons, so the Royals would surely like to gain some cost certainty for those years at the minimum. If a larger-scale extension can’t be worked out, Witt and the Royals might explore a shorter-term deal covering just the arbitration seasons, akin to the three-year extension Bo Bichette signed with the Blue Jays last spring.

Even that type of extension would be a relatively pricey endeavor for a Kansas City franchise that has never been big spenders. Salvador Perez’s four-year, $82MM extension prior to the 2021 season remains the largest contract in franchise history, and a long-term deal for Witt might be at least twice that amount, depending on the number of years covered.

For instance, the Rays inked Wander Franco to an 11-year, $182MM extension after Franco’s 2021 rookie season, which consisted of 70 MLB games. Like Franco, Witt was also a heavily hyped shortstop prospect, but Witt now has two full productive Major League seasons under his belt, so it would seem like Octagon could surely argue that a Witt extension deserves to top Franco’s deal, and approach or top the $200MM mark. The Braves’ Austin Riley inked a ten-year, $212MM extension when he was between two and three years of MLB service time.

Though the Rays have shown a (comparatively) greater inclination to spend lately, we haven’t yet really seen how far the Royals are willing or able to stretch their payroll under owner John Sherman. On the one hand, Perez’s extension did take place under Sherman’s watch, as part of a relative spending spree during the 2020-21 offseason that also saw a four-year extension for Hunter Dozier, as well as two-year free agent deals for Mike Minor and Carlos Santana. All of these moves were made with the intent of boosting what the Royals thought was a group of youngsters on the verge of a breakout, yet the team has continued to struggle. This cost former president of baseball operations Dayton Moore his job in 2022, elevating Picollo from second-in-command to the head of the decision-making pyramid.

Some other big-picture issues cloud the financial picture. While the bankruptcy of the Diamond Sports Group has yet to impact the Royals’ broadcasts on Bally Sports, Sherman said last spring that naturally the organization was monitoring the situation should the Royals’ TV rights payments suddenly come into question. As well, Sherman has been trying to get a new ballpark built in Kansas City, and in some instances, owners claiming that a new stadium is critical to a team’s ability to compete don’t want to perhaps undercut that argument by then spending $200MM on a player’s contract. That said, Rosenthal argues in the other direction, writing that a Witt extension “might help sway public sentiment” to get the ballpark project off the ground.

Even if K.C. probably aren’t going to be huge players in the offseason transaction market, the possibility of a Witt extension stands out as a notable subplot to watch — both for its importance on the Royals’ future, and as a benchmark for future extensions. Even if the two sides are in the proverbial “talking about having some talks” phase of negotiations, expect things to get at least a little more serious as we get deeper into Spring Training, as teams tend to focus more on extensions once their offseason business is complete.

Bobby Witt Jr. Is Reaching His Potential

By Nick Deeds | August 26, 2023 at 10:49pm CDT

There hasn’t been much positive to say about the Royals this season. They’ve posted a brutal 41-90 record to this point in the season that places them a whopping 26.5 games back even in the extraordinarily weak AL Central, saved from sporting the worst record in baseball only by an abysmal A’s team. To make matters worse, they’re one of just two organizations without a top-100 prospect on MLB.com’s most recent rankings, joined only by the Astros, an organization that not only was stripped of its first- and second-round picks during the 2020 and 2021 drafts but also had a prospect in the top 100 until they dealt him to the Mets to reacquire Justin Verlander.

With a terrible record and a barren farm system, it’s been a difficult year for fans in Kansas City. While they entered the 2023 campaign with an interesting core of young position players, most of them have battled either injury or ineffectiveness this year- first basemen Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Pratto are currently on the injured list, while MJ Melendez hasn’t turned out to be the successor to Salvador Perez behind the plate many thought he could become. On the pitching side of things, last year’s impressive season from right-hander Brady Singer now appears to have been a mirage and an exciting start to the season from lefty Kris Bubic was cut short by Tommy John surgery after just three starts.

Despite all the disappointments of the 2023 campaign for the Royals, there’s been one undeniable bright spot for this organization in 2023. Bobby Witt Jr. was the club’s pick with the second overall selection in the 2019 draft and tore through the minor leagues, eventually becoming the top-rated prospect in all of baseball according to both MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus ahead of the 2022 campaign. He ultimately had a respectable first season in the major leagues, playing in 150 games while slashing .254/.294/.498, an offensive performance that clocked in just below league average with a 98 wRC+.

While he managed to swipe 30 bags in 37 attempts, brutal defense at both third base and shortstop combined with an uninspiring performance on offense saw the AL Rookie of the Year favorite coming into the season slide to fourth place when all was said and done, finishing behind not only fellow exciting youngsters Julio Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman, but a relative unknown in Steven Kwan of the club’s division rival Guardians. Unfair as it may be to expect top prospects to immediately reach their projected excellence upon reaching the major leagues, Witt’s debut season was disappointing relative to the sky-high expectations in place for the 22-year-old rookie.

Early in the 2023 campaign, it appeared Witt was on base for moderate improvements, but nothing particularly eye-catching. Through the first half of the season, Witt’s defense had improved substantially as he settled in as the Royals’ everyday shortstop and he was already on his way to beating 2022’s stolen base total with 23 bags swiped in 29 attempts, but his bat was lagging behind the rest of the package. In his first 351 trips to the plate this season, Witt slashed just .244/.288/.415 with a strikeout rate just over 20%, an eerily similar slash line to the one he had posted the previous season.

Things changed dramatically for Witt once the calendar flipped to July, however. In nine games prior to the All Star break, he slashed .382/.410/.782 in 40 trips to the plate. While his strikeout rate remained elevated during this stretch, at 22.5%, his six extra base hits in so few games were virtually unheard of for him to that point in his major league career. Witt stayed hot following the break, and ended the month with an impressive July slash line of .327/.346/.633.

As impressive as Witt’s July was, he’s been even better in August. In 100 plate appearances this month, Witt has slashed a sensational .359/.410/.707 with a strikeout rate of just 11%. He has more extra base hits (15) than strikeouts (11) this month, has gone 8-for-9 on the basepaths to bring his stolen base total this year to 37. Even his walk rate, which sits at just 5% for his career, has ticked up to 8% this month. In all, Witt has slashed .347/.378/.668 with 14 homers, 14 stolen bases, and a 15.1% strikeout rate since the beginning of July.

Of course, the past two months account for just 205 plate appearances, just over a third of his total trips to the plate this year. Even so, his season-long numbers are looking mighty impressive at this point. At the plate, he’s slashed .280/.321/.508 overall this season, with a 119 wRC+ that’s a substantial improvement over last year’s below-average mark. By season’s end, he appears to be a veritable lock for at least 30 home runs and 40 stolen bases. Those offensive numbers leave out his incredible glovework this season, as well. Witt’s +13 Outs Above Average in 2023 trail only Dansby Swanson among all major leaguers. While DRS isn’t quite as enamored with Witt’s glovework this season, giving him a figure of just -2, that’s still an incredible improvement from last season, when his -22 DRS was second-worst in the majors.

Between his recent offensive explosion and season-long excellence with the glove, Witt has accumulated 5.1 fWAR through 127 games this season. That phenomenal figure places him behind only Shohei Ohtani among AL players, ahead of players in the midst of phenomenal seasons such as Rodriguez, Marcus Semien, and Luis Robert Jr. By the numbers, Witt has been virtually the same player as Mets star Francisco Lindor in terms of value, with Lindor boasting slightly better offense (124 wRC+) in exchange for slightly weaker fielding and baserunning numbers.

Perhaps most exciting of all for Royals fans is that Witt, still just 23 years old, is under team control through the end of the 2027 season. With four more seasons of their budding superstar in a Royals uniform to look forward to, the Royals still have several years to build a contender around their budding superstar and make a run at their first playoff appearance since winning the World Series in 2015 before his team control runs out and he has the option to depart in free agency.

Kansas City’s odds are particularly good considering the weak division they play in; after all, the Twins have a commanding lead for the AL Central crown this year despite a mediocre 67-63 record, and the division’s biggest spenders in the White Sox are clearly trending in the wrong direction at the moment. Despite the 2023 team’s brutal record and a farm system without clear impact talent on the way, all is not lost for the Royals going forward, and their franchise shortstop is perhaps the primary reason why.

Julio Rodriguez Wins American League Rookie Of The Year Award

By Darragh McDonald and Anthony Franco | November 14, 2022 at 5:56pm CDT

Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez has won the Rookie of the Year award in the American League for 2022, according to an announcement from the Baseball Writers Association of America. Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman finished second in the voting, while Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan checked in third.

This year’s rookie class in the Junior Circuit was remarkable, headlined by Rodríguez and Rutschman. The pair of top prospects both hit the ground running against MLB pitching. Seattle carried Rodríguez on the roster as their Opening Day center fielder, looking to build off their surprising 90-win campaign in 2021. The young outfielder got off to a tough start, thanks in part to a number of questionable strike calls in the early going, but he eventually emerged as the best position player on a good Seattle club.

Over 560 plate appearances, Rodríguez posted a .284/.345/.509 line. He connected on 28 home runs and swiped 25 bases in 32 attempts, one of just four players (Kyle Tucker, Adolis García and Marcus Semien being the others) to reach 25 longballs and steals apiece. Rodríguez was particularly electric in the second half, putting up a .303/.361/.576 line coming out of the All-Star Break to help Seattle cruise to its first postseason appearance in more than two decades.

Rodríguez also impressed on the other side of the ball, starting 130 games and playing 1126 2/3 innings in center field. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast credited him with above-average defense, no small feat for a player whom some prospect evaluators suggested might be a better fit for right field. The 21-year-old looks to have put any questions about his defensive home to bed for the time being.

While Rodríguez is surely thrilled to secure Rookie of the Year honors on its own merits, the selection has a tangible effect on the team as well. The new collective bargaining agreement contained measures designed to counteract service time manipulation through the so-called “prospect promotion incentive.” Top-two Rookie of the Year finishers who were Top 100 prospects on at least two preseason lists at Baseball America, ESPN and MLB Pipeline are automatically credited with a full service year. That’s a moot point for Rodríguez, who’d have qualified for a full service year after tallying 172-plus days on the MLB roster regardless. He also signed a massive contract extension midseason that overwrites his path to arbitration and free agency.

The second portion of the PPI does come into effect, though. A team that promotes a player for a full service year who meets the aforementioned prospect criteria and entered the year with less than 60 days of MLB service who subsequently finishes top two in ROY balloting (or top three in Cy Young or MVP voting during their pre-arbitration seasons) earns a bonus draft pick after the first round. Seattle carried Rodríguez on the roster all year, so they’ll collect an extra pick in the 2023 draft in recognition of his achievements.

Rutschman and Kwan check in as runners-up after very strong years in their own right. Baltimore’s catcher hit .254/.362/.445 with 13 home runs in 470 plate appearances. His second-place finish earns him a full year of service time as well. Kwan doesn’t that get that honor for third place, but he earned a full service year after breaking camp in Cleveland regardless. Rutschman’s former teammate at Oregon State, Kwan hit .298/.373/.400 across 638 plate appearances to help the Guards to a division title.

Rodríguez received 29 of 30 first-place votes, while Rutschman collected the other. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the lone voter to place Rutschman ahead of Rodríguez, explained his thought process in a well-reasoned Twitter thread. Rodríguez was the only player to be named on all 30 ballots. Rutschman was selected on 28 ballots, while Kwan earned 24 combined second or third-place votes. Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña and Mariners righty George Kirby also picked up some support.

Full vote breakdown found here.

AL Notes: Picollo, Harris, Tigers, Perez, Rangers, Diaz

By Mark Polishuk | September 24, 2022 at 10:08pm CDT

After Dayton Moore was fired earlier this week, Royals GM J.J. Picollo was promoted to lead the Royals’ baseball operations department, and he met today with the media (including The Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and 610 Sports Radio’s Josh Vernier). Much has yet to be determined heading into what could be a busy offseason for the club, and Picollo said he has yet to make a decision on manager Mike Matheny or any members of the coaching staff.

In terms of players, Picollo said that the front office is “in the very infantile stages” of considering an extension for Bobby Witt Jr., though the team is indeed interested in such a deal. The 22-year-old is completing a strong rookie season, and an extension would both solidify Witt as a cornerstone piece of the Royals’ future, and also give K.C. some cost certainty going forward. Witt is already controlled through the 2027 season, however, so there isn’t necessarily any rush for Picollo and company to immediately work out an extension.

Injury Notes: Alvarez, Reynolds, Garcia, Witt

By Mark Polishuk | July 24, 2022 at 5:23pm CDT

Yordan Alvarez wasn’t in today’s Astros lineup, as the slugger is still dealing with soreness in his right hand. The same injury already sent Alvarez to the 10-day injured list for a minimum stay prior to the All-Star break, and medical tests during that IL stint didn’t reveal any structural damage. Still, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle) that the Astros will be giving Alvarez some occasional time off due to this seemingly lingering injury. “We knew we were going to have to give him a blow every now and then, but he was sore and we don’t want it to get more sore,” Baker said.

With two homers in 13 plate appearances in his four games since returning from the IL, Alvarez didn’t seem too hampered by this recurring hand problem, though some additional rest could certainly prevent a more severe injury. The last thing Alvarez and the Astros would want is a lengthier IL trip interrupting both Alvarez’s spectacular season and his potential availability for the playoffs. Alvarez is hitting a whopping .307/.407/.668 over 329 PA in 2022, leading the majors in both slugging percentage and OPS.

More injury updates from around baseball….

Bryan Reynolds told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is aiming to return from the 10-day injured list during the Pirates’ upcoming two-games series with the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday. A left oblique strain sent Reynolds to the 10-day injured list on July 11, though it seems as though he has avoided the lengthy absence that can often come from oblique problems. In fact, the IL stint may have prevented a longer-term issue, as Reynolds said the injury “had been bothering me for a few series before. It got to the point where I needed to say something. I didn’t want to make it worse.” While his return prior to the trade deadline will inevitable spur on more rumors, there isn’t much expectation that the Pirates will actually deal Reynolds, unless another club meets Pittsburgh’s huge demands.
It looks as though Rony Garcia is heading back to the injured list, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that Garcia felt bicep discomfort during today’s start. Garcia was only just activated from a three-week IL stint (due to shoulder soreness) to pitch today, but the biceps issue forced Garcia from the game after only 2 2/3 innings. Hinch said Garcia will be shut down for the time being, creating yet another vacancy in Detroit’s injury-riddled rotation. Five other starters are already on the IL with temporary or season-ending injuries, plus Eduardo Rodriguez is still on the restricted list. Today’s abbreviated outing pushed Garcia’s ERA to 4.59 over 51 innings for the Tigers this season.
Bobby Witt Jr. is day-to-day with right hamstring tightness, as the Royals made what the club described as a “precautionary” removal of the star rookie after the first inning of today’s game. Tests didn’t reveal any significant damage, Witt told the Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and other reporters, but it would seem likely that the Royals will give Witt a game or two off to heal up. Heralded as one of baseball’s top prospects, Witt has hit .258/.301/.459 over his first 379 PA in the big leagues.

Royals Select Bobby Witt Jr., Designate Daniel Tillo For Assignment

By Steve Adams | April 7, 2022 at 10:54am CDT

The Royals have made it official. Top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. has been selected to the 40-man roster, while lefty Daniel Tillo has been designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move. Kansas City also placed righty Joel Payamps on the family medical emergency list.

Witt, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft, is regarded as one of the top three overall prospects in the Majors, even topping the lists at MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus. He forced his way onto the big league roster not only with last year’s combined .290/.361/.576 batting line between Double-A and Triple-A, but also with a massive spring showing. In a dozen Cactus League games and 34 plate appearances, Witt batted .406/.441/.781 with three home runs, three doubles and a pair of steals (in two attempts).

Even before the new collective bargaining agreement’s “prospect promotion incentives” went into place, the Royals have been unafraid to call up their best prospects as soon as they’re deemed ready. The Royals organization hasn’t made a habit of gaming service time in the past, evidenced both by president of baseball operations Dayton Moore’s public stance on the matter and the Opening Day appointments of several prospects (most recently, right-hander Brady Singer in 2020).

Witt, 21, has been primarily a shortstop in his brief minor league tenure but is expected to shift to the hot corner in the big leagues. The Royals are deep in infield talent, and Nicky Lopez in particular played shortstop at a Gold Glove-caliber level this past season. Witt could still see his share of reps at shortstop, but Adalberto Mondesi is also in the picture there.

Tillo, 25, split the 2021 season between Double-A and Triple-A, where he pitched to a combined 4.03 ERA with a 27-to-20 K/BB ratio in 29 innings of work. A third-round pick by the Royals back in 2017, Tillo has a career 4.25 ERA in 330 2/3 innings at the minor league level, most of which have come as a starter. The Royals will have a week to trade Tillo, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Bobby Witt Jr. Makes Royals’ Opening Day Roster

By Mark Polishuk | April 2, 2022 at 6:37pm CDT

The Royals will be placing Bobby Witt Jr. on their Opening Day roster, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The superstar prospect and second overall pick of the 2019 draft is set to officially begin his big league career when the Royals host the Guardians on Thursday.

There was no doubt that Witt would be making his big league debut at some point this season, as his .285/.352/.581 slash line over 285 Triple-A plate appearances in 2021 indicated that he was very ready for the next step. Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore said last month that Witt would get the “opportunity” to earn his way onto the Opening Day roster, and Witt has only cemented his case after crushing Spring Training pitching.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement may have also removed an obstacle to Witt’s chances of breaking camp with the Royals. Under the old CBA, the team would have been tempted to leave Witt in the minors long enough to ensure that he wouldn’t gain a full year of service time in 2022, thus giving the Royals an extra year of control over Witt’s services through the 2028 season.

However, the “Prospect Promotion Incentive” in the new labor deal creates the possibility that Kansas City could earn a bonus pick in the 2023 amateur draft if Witt is on the roster for a full year of service time, and if he finishes in the top tier of awards consideration (a top-two finish in AL Rookie Of The Year balloting, a top-five MVP finish, or placement on the first or second-team All-MLB lineup).

Naturally, Witt’s status as one of the game’s top prospects qualifies him as one of the minor leaguers eligible for this PPI plan. Baseball Prospectus and MLB Pipeline each listed Witt atop their most recent rankings of the game’s best minor leaguers, while Fangraphs and Keith Law both ranked Witt second, and Baseball America third. This kind of praise has followed Witt for years, as he is regarded as a five-tool talent by most evaluators.

Originally drafted as a shortstop, Witt is set to begin his career as a third baseman, owing to the presence of Adalberto Mondesi and Nicky Lopez in the middle infield. There is some fluidity in that alignment, as Mondesi is an injury risk, and Whit Merrifield would likely move back to second base in the event that Lopez has to step in at shortstop. Keeping Witt at third base might be the smoothest choice for his development, however, as Witt could stay at the hot corner in more or less uninterrupted fashion, rather than juggling between different positions on a regular basis. If Witt was moved to shortstop or even second base, K.C. could use Hunter Dozier back at third base.

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