It's the end of the world as we know it... and we feel... fine?
2018 is a season of transition for the Royals, or at least it is at this point. Dayton Moore is back. Will he swing full into THE PROCESS 2.0? Or will he try to load up again and make some reload magic happen?
Pending Free Agents:
1B | Eric Hosmer | San Diego Padres, 8 years, $144 million ($5 million signing bonus; $20 million/year in Yrs 1-5; $13 million/year in Yrs 6-8 wth player opt out)
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Texas Rangers, 6, $118 million)
3B | Mike Moustaskas | Kansas City Royas, 1, $6.5 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 5, $98 million)
CF | Lorenzo Cain | Milwaukee Brewers, 5 years, $80 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: San Francisco Giants, 4, $68 million)
RP | Mike Minor | Texas Rangers, 3, $28 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 3, $35 million+ $12 million team option
SP | Jason Vargas | New York Mets, 2, $16 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Baltimore Orioles, 2, $29 million)
SS | Alcides Escobar | Kansas City Royals, 1, $2.5 million
In case I, picks would be #32, 33, and 34, if Alex Cobb of Rays signs for $50 million guaranteed.
Kansas City will likely have 5 of the top 40-45 picks in the draft, and the bonus pool money should rival that of the teams drafting 1-3 in the 2017 draft. This should give KC tremendous flexibility in acquiring talent that otherwise might slip or not be "signable."
2018 Draft Names to Watch
RHP Kumar Rocker, N Oconnee HS, Georgia.
Spoiler!
Possibly goes top 10 but is a big, physical SP with ace potential. Moore and co. will be all over him if he slips a bit and could offer top 10 money at No. 16
OF Jarred Kelenic, Waukasha West HS, WI
Spoiler!
Kelenic is the top prep bat, toolsy OF. Royals would be ecstatic to have shot at him.
1B Triston Casas, American Heritage HS (FL).
Spoiler!
Tremendous raw power, best in HS bats. Royals typically like HS arms or HS bats with "special" tools. He qualifies.
RHP Carter Stewart, Eau de Gallie HS (Ga).
Spoiler!
Another big, physical specimen with huge upside. More likely to be available mid-first than Rocker.
ANY Any, Any (Any). Any current top projected pick who slides for injury concerns. Includes current top prospect prospect SP Brady Singer, U of Florida. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RaidersOftheCellar:
He's a complete jackass if he sells out to go rebuild with the freaking Padres.
I could understand leaving for the Red Sox or Yankees, but that just ain't acceptable. A real human being would see that there is/was something special here that you don't often find, not to mention all his close friends, and that isn't worth leaving behind for a few extra million in your pocket.
Originally Posted by RealSNR: He'll have close friends if he stays in KC, but the question is how many?
Salvy is the only near-guarantee for hanging around longterm. Well, and I guess Gordon as well only because of his awful contract. Esky, Cain, and Moose are all free agents. The only remainders from the pitching staff that took them to the WS are Duffy and Herrera, both of whom are getting talked about as trade. And even a solid dependable young and cheap player that any team could win a WS with as a starter in Whit Merrifield is getting put through the rumor mill.
Hosmer-Moose combo deal.
Dayton and Boras...make it happen. [Reply]
Speculation and nothing more, at this point: One evaluator suggests that if Mike Moustakas's slow-moving market doesn't develop, he'd be a great one-year fit with the NYY. Play for a year in Yankee Stadium, feast on RF porch in a deep lineup, go back into market next fall.
If I'm not mistaken, California taxes really stick it to pro athletes who make millions of dollars. Maybe one of the accounts on this board can figure out the difference in taxes if the Royals and Padres offered Hosmer the same deal. He might actually be better off by taking less money to play in Missouri. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DeepSouth:
If I'm not mistaken, California taxes really stick it to pro athletes who make millions of dollars. Maybe one of the accounts on this board can figure out the difference in taxes if the Royals and Padres offered Hosmer the same deal. He might actually be better off by taking less money to play in Missouri.
I am pretty sure you get taxed based on where you played your game, so it would be very hard to figure that number out [Reply]
Originally Posted by TambaBerry:
I am pretty sure you get taxed based on where you played your game, so it would be very hard to figure that number out
Yep, it'd be different per team\schedule. Good on the person that wants to tackle that shitache. But to keep it simple, could just compare the 81 home games difference. [Reply]
Originally Posted by TambaBerry:
I am pretty sure you get taxed based on where you played your game, so it would be very hard to figure that number out
It'd be pretty easy to do the home portion of the split, though. Plus, any bonus money would be considered home state (his team). So you could just say, hypothetically, that roughly 66% of his contract earnings are home state earnings
Cali - 12.3%
Missouri - 5.9% (2018, dropping to 5.5% by 2022) [Reply]
Let's just say his taxable income is $20,000,000/yr.
CA tax: $1,640,000/yr (20mil x 2/3 x 12.3%)
MO tax: $786,667/yr
I mean it's some significant tax savings, but only roughly $850K per year over the life of that contract. It's not like we're comparing playing in CA vs FL/TX (no tax) [Reply]
Edinson Volq released by Miami the other day. Hilarious, after giving us 23 wins& 400IP of 4 fWAR ball over two seasons (on a 2/22 deal), he gets another 2/22 from Miami and farts out 92 IP before blowing out his elbow
Lesson: let Cain go, so he can do that to SF or Wash [Reply]