As the season comes to a close after an awful season, there is a possibility of some hope since the team played better in late August to the end of the season.
Here are all the important dates you need to know for the 2018-19 MLB offseason. Some of them do involve the Royals, such as:
Oct. 29: As of 9 a.m. ET on Monday, all eligible players are free agents (Escobar - good riddance).
Oct. 31: Most contract option decisions are due on this date (Hammel should be declined, resulting $2 million buyout and Peralta should be accepted, resulting $3 million increase to the payroll, and could be future flip for additional minor leaguers if he performs well).
Nov. 6-8: General manager meetings in Carlsbad, California.
Nov. 12: Deadline for free agents to accept or reject the qualifying offer.
Nov. 14-15: Owners meetings in Atlanta (possible future CBA discussions).
Nov. 20: Deadline for teams to add eligible minor leaguers to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.
Spoiler!
The Royals announced they've added RHPs Arnaldo Hernandez, Josh Staumont and Scott Blewett to the 40-man roster, protecting them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Blewett appeared to take a big step in the Arizona Fall League. The 40-man roster is full right now.
Nov. 26-29: MLB Players Association executive board meeting in Dallas (possible future CBA discussions).
Nov. 30: Non-tender deadline.
Dec. 9-13: Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. This is typically when all offseason hell breaks loose.
Dec. 13: Rule 5 Draft (could see the Royals taking a stab here).
Jan. 11: Deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to submit 2019 salary figures (I believe KC has some arb-eligible players).
Feb. 1-20: Arbitration hearings. You win some, you lose some.
Mid-Feb. : SPRING TRAINING!
As usual, let's have a good off-season discussion on ways that the Royals can/should/would do to improve. I will try to update the OP as the off-season goes along. And Duncan, you're more than welcome to provide us some information that I can add onto the OP. Just let me know.
I think 2019 could be a really interesting season for the Royals if Ryan O'Hearn can put up numbers close to last year. A .900 OPS guy in the middle of line-up? We could be a real decent team. Probably a fluke last year, but exit velocity numbers were legit, so you never know.... [Reply]
That’s a little less than I was expecting but is pretty close. He was likely due for about $1 million this year, then $4 in arb 1, 8-10 in arb 2, and 10-12 in arb 3 assuming this production held and he stayed healthy.
So he might have left money o. The table, but he’s not set for life, too.
Makes him even more attractive as a trade candidate, too. [Reply]
Whit's deal gives the Royals options.
They can still trade Whit.
Or, move him to CF and give Lopez 2nd.
Or, they could put Lopez on the market. I imagine they'd get something decent in return. [Reply]
Yes. We were trying to cost control so we knew what we'd be paying going forward and could avoid arbitration. Whit gets a little bit more money upfront, but saves the Royals several million in his last 2 years of arbitration. Smart business move by the Royals.
Supposedly, there's a club option for his first FA year, but not sure what the amount on that is and hasn't been reported anywhere yet. [Reply]
This is a good deal for the Royals, especially if Whit has a great start to this season and we decide to trade him to a Playoff contender who is looking for more than just a rental. I like it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin:
Supposedly, there's a club option for his first FA year, but not sure what the amount on that is and hasn't been reported anywhere yet.
The option is believed to be worth $10.5 million. [Reply]
Originally Posted by FringeNC:
I think 2019 could be a really interesting season for the Royals if Ryan O'Hearn can put up numbers close to last year. A .900 OPS guy in the middle of line-up? We could be a real decent team. Probably a fluke last year, but exit velocity numbers were legit, so you never know....
If they sit O'Hearn against a decent amount of the lefties we face, I think you can expect him to repeat. While I don't trust Ned to do so, he really needs to maximize his roster to get them to start turning the corner towards competing again. The Royals don't need to be a .500 team, but they need to start their improvement and that will necessitate a semi-platoon of a guy like O'Hearn. If you play O'Hearn everyday, he regresses as an overall player. I'm not sure he'll ever be the kind of player that can play against lefties all the time.
We have a "not bad" rotation and I think the bullpen could actually become the biggest improvement if one of our rule 5's surprise and Zimmer shocks. Otherwise, the bullpen will be a work in progress for 2019 and we'll be well short of .500. If the bullpen surprises, getting close to .500 is not completely nuts in our mediocre division. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ChiTown:
This is a good deal for the Royals, especially if Whit has a great start to this season and we decide to trade him to a Playoff contender who is looking for more than just a rental. I like it.
Always assume all financial transactions are zero NPV [Reply]
Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan:
If they sit O'Hearn against a decent amount of the lefties we face, I think you can expect him to repeat. While I don't trust Ned to do so, he really needs to maximize his roster to get them to start turning the corner towards competing again. The Royals don't need to be a .500 team, but they need to start their improvement and that will necessitate a semi-platoon of a guy like O'Hearn. If you play O'Hearn everyday, he regresses as an overall player. I'm not sure he'll ever be the kind of player that can play against lefties all the time.
We have a "not bad" rotation and I think the bullpen could actually become the biggest improvement if one of our rule 5's surprise and Zimmer shocks. Otherwise, the bullpen will be a work in progress for 2019 and we'll be well short of .500. If the bullpen surprises, getting close to .500 is not completely nuts in our mediocre division.
I was just looking at O'Hearn's splits. Which prompted me to figure out who'd take his place in the line up if you wanted to sit him against Lefties. Owings bats about .152 against RHP and .269 against LHP. Move Dozier to 1st, Whit or Owens to 3rd. O'Hearn and Owings both have better numbers at the end of the year. [Reply]