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 Chiefspants:
Oh, there definitely were some people again resigning him (I remember you specifically) - but some are arguing that the consensus at the time was that the Royals severely overpaid out of the gate.
Yep. I was def in the minority.
At the time, the ONLY problem I saw with AG's contract was that we were going to hate it in years 3 & 4. I missed it by 2 years...:-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by mr. tegu:
Letting them hit free agency after three years would basically end competitiveness for smaller market teams. They wouldn’t be able to keep any talent for long.
You think?
I'd love to go raid all the young players from NYY, Dodgers, Astros, Injuns esp rather than worrying about our young guys getting raided. It all goes in cycles. And if Cashman plucks some Royals early then we get a better shot on some older vets who might be cheaper and decent, a la Volq/Kendrys [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
Just too many examples of FA dropping massive turds and not producing. Just looking at the Colorado roster this AM, Ian Desmond's name came up. Signed a 5/70 deal last year, immediately farted out a -0.8 fWAR. Owners are tired of this.
Jordan Zimmerman of Det. 5/110. Is a 1 war guy no diff than Jake Junis who is free. Gotta make FA a benefit after 3 years not 6. The owners have to give in on that to avoid paying backend disaster-deals. Pick your poison
Not sure how that necessarily fixes anything. A lot of guys who are early bloomers will sign big contracts and then fizzle out, and there will be backend-disaster deals. Later bloomers will sign their big deals in their later twenties just like they do now. Teams also get screwed a bit having to deal with a free agent after 3 years when they may have spent 5 years developing them. Small market teams especially get screwed on that. [Reply]
The stat nerds are now in general manager positions who just use numbers to determine worth instead of the eye ball old school scouting method. That's why the salaries aren't going anywhere. Dumb fucks think Hosmer sucks defensively because his computer numbers say so would be an exhibit of that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by cosmo20002:
Not sure how that necessarily fixes anything. A lot of guys who are early bloomers will sign big contracts and then fizzle out, and there will be backend-disaster deals. Later bloomers will sign their big deals in their later twenties just like they do now. Teams also get screwed a bit having to deal with a free agent after 3 years when they may have spent 5 years developing them. Small market teams especially get screwed on that.
We can assume the answer would be: who would accept that proposal if offered: union or owners? I think that would say t all. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry:
The stat nerds are now in general manager positions who just use numbers to determine worth instead of the eye ball old school scouting method. That's why the salaries aren't going anywhere. Dumb ****s think Hosmer sucks defensively because his computer numbers say so would be an exhibit of that.
Or maybe is his last 3 even years OPS+ of 80, 98, 102. Not even League avg, and that as an AL 1B. Or wanting 8 year deal. Or a whole host of other reasons like few teams needing 1B [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
You're the one who is wrong.
Gordon had a few offers that would have paid him more. While there were some who doubted Gordon would play up to the deal in Year 4 and maybe even Year 3, NO ONE was seeing the immediate drop-off/cratering. The deal's consensus view was as a very fair/good deal for KC that included a significant discount and kept the Window for contention open in 16 and 17.
But it wouldn't be a week on here without someone applying hindsight to claim the Royals got ripped off and everyone knew it when the Gordon deal was signed.
As for Perez, it's true the Royals didn't have to tear up his deal and give him more money or extend him two more years. It's also true that he was incredibly underpaid, that the original deal was starting to cause some bad feelings, and that the Royals bought themselves a lot of useable capital with players by taking care of Perez and ensured their clubhouse leader would be the affable, personable, positive influence they needed him to be.
The deal also is still incredibly friendly - $10 million/year. Yeah, that's much more than the original contract, but there are intangible benefits purchased by that deal also.
Wrong on all accounts. You obviously don't know much about how a professional baseball team should be managed. Nor the prevailing wisdom in MLB circles. [Reply]
Originally Posted by T-post Tom:
Wrong on all accounts. You obviously don't know much about how a professional baseball team should be managed. Nor the prevailing wisdom in MLB circles.
Originally Posted by T-post Tom:
Wrong on all accounts. You obviously don't know much about how a professional baseball team should be managed. Nor the prevailing wisdom in MLB circles.
Originally Posted by T-post Tom:
Wrong on all accounts. You obviously don't know much about how a professional baseball team should be managed. Nor the prevailing wisdom in MLB circles.
Originally Posted by T-post Tom:
Wrong on all accounts. You obviously don't know much about how a professional baseball team should be managed. Nor the prevailing wisdom in MLB circles.
I'm not sure you'll find many here who agree with you.
I didn't want Gordon for 4 or more years. Thought his production would likely drop in years 4-5 and that a contract over 3 years was very risky for a small market Royals team who had other free agents coming in next few years.
But NO ONE predicted this sudden drop-off in production from Gordon. Not one person. So please don't act like you were a soothsayer. [Reply]
Originally Posted by T-post Tom:
Wrong on all accounts. You obviously don't know much about how a professional baseball team should be managed. Nor the prevailing wisdom in MLB circles.
