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 Titty Meat:
Right. In November Moore even made it sound like if there wasn't alot of competition for Hosmer he could be re-signed. I believe he even specifically mentioned Boston during the conversation.
In November?
So, when you said "the talk of Hosmer coming back will die down after the end of December when the push for season ticket sales dwindles" you meant an alleged one-time comment made back sometime in November will die down...ok, you're an idiot. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by cosmo20002:
In November?
So, when you said "the talk of Hosmer coming back will die down after the end of December when the push for season ticket sales dwindles" you meant an alleged one-time comment made back sometime in November will die down...ok, you're an idiot. :-)
Yeah they weren't trying to sell ticket packages in November were they? :-) dude stick to the DC section you are way out of your element here. [Reply]
Moose is severely undervalued, if these reports are true. Steamer has him at 2.7war and at 8M/war he's worth 20M+. He plays a premium position, just turned 29, has insane power, can really field (his metrics were bad this year but that's an aberration IMO). He can't run but so what?
He loves to play, has some great postseason experience, proved he's fully healed. I don't get that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
Moose is severely undervalued, if these reports are true. Steamer has him at 2.7war and at 8M/war he's worth 20M+. He plays a premium position, just turned 29, has insane power, can really field (his metrics were bad this year but that's an aberration IMO). He can't run but so what?
He loves to play, has some great postseason experience, proved he's fully healed. I don't get that.
Not a lot of teams looking for 3B help, plus Machado and Donaldson trade markets still hot.
Angels went another route after signing Upton (going for more D at 3B with Cozart). Giants may still be in the mix and decide he's a cheaper alternative to JD Martinez signing.
Philadelphia, Baltimore also may be landing spots based on trade market. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
Not a lot of teams looking for 3B help, plus Machado and Donaldson trade markets still hot.
Angels went another route after signing Upton (going for more D at 3B with Cozart). Giants may still be in the mix and decide he's a cheaper alternative to JD Martinez signing.
Philadelphia, Baltimore also may be landing spots based on trade market.
I think people aren't quite overpaying for power like they used to. Big time HR numbers don't guarantee a huge deal. Look at Mark Trumbo last year. Granted Moose plays a more premium position.
That said, Moose's overall WAR wasn't amazing, and I think you could argue he lost a step on defense. He's not quite as lean as he used to be, and it could just be the leg injury, but the eye test would tell you he let a few balls through that he used to get to. I could see a lot of teams being reluctant to hand him a 6 or 7 year deal. I thought all along he might have some issues, but I'd be shocked if he had to sign a short "prove it" deal too. [Reply]
Originally Posted by SPchief:
The Rays just raped the Giants.
I disagree.
The Giants dumped Denard Span's salary in that deal. That's 11 million plus a 4 million buyout.
They take on 17 million in AAV for Longoria, but all he needs to provide to break even there is 2 WAR.
Even if 2017 was a new normal for Longoria, that's a pretty easy mark for him to reach.
In total, the Giants added 71 million in commitments over a five year span. I imagine they'll get at least 12-13 wins out of Longoria, so they come out way ahead, IMO. [Reply]
