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]
I saw game 2 of the 2014 ALDS in Anaheim and remember Gore stealing 2nd. We were above first base, upper deck.
I've never seen a human being run that fast in my life. And he hit 2nd base so hard I thought that either his leg, the base, or both, would literally explode. [Reply]
Shohei Otani cuts are starting to come out. Boston, New York, ChiSox, Tampa, Arizona, Minnesota all notably eliminated (Twins and Yanks had the biggest bonus pools). Several other teams also reportedly eliminated.
Royals are one of 15 or so to make the cut. He's said to be looking for a small market team, preferably on the West Coast. Think that pretty much has to mean Seattle.
But hey. It's cool. This is like when a non-blue blood college football makes the initial cut to 20 teams for the top player in the country.
Eric Hosmer hit .318 with 25 homers and won his fourth Gold Glove. His agent, Scott Boras, has been casting Hosmer as a human ticket into the postseason because of Hosmer’s leadership and history of success with the Royals.
But as with Cozart, there appear to be very few potential bidders because so many big-market teams look set at first base:
Yankees: Greg Bird
Phillies: Rhys Hoskins
Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman
Dodgers: Cody Bellinger
Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt
Orioles: Chris Davis
Cubs: Anthony Rizzo
Astros: Yuli Gurriel
Braves: Freddie Freeman
Jays: Justin Smoak
The Giants might prefer an upgrade on Brandon Belt, but he’s early in a long-term contract, and San Francisco is focused on Giancarlo Stanton for the moment. The Mets are looking for a short-term investment at first.
The Red Sox need a first baseman and are talking with the White Sox about Jose Abreu, plus they might simply be scared off by Hosmer’s high price tag. “If the Red Sox aren’t in on Hosmer,” a longtime agent said, “he could be in a tough spot. He needs the Red Sox almost as much as the Red Sox could use him.” Hosmer has been linked to the Padres as well, and San Diego has payroll flexibility, but the Padres also have a first baseman, Wil Myers, under a long-term contract.
What's more, the list of free-agent first basemen who will be less expensive than Hosmer is long: Carlos Santana, Yonder Alonso, Lucas Duda, Adam Lind, Mitch Moreland, Logan Morrison, Mark Reynolds and Mike Napoli.
@Ken_Rosenthal: Free-agent left-hander Mike Minor in agreement with #Rangers, sources tell The Athletic. Terms not known. Performance as reliever last season, background as starter gives Texas options. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sure-Oz:
@Ken_Rosenthal: Free-agent left-hander Mike Minor in agreement with #Rangers, sources tell The Athletic. Terms not known. Performance as reliever last season, background as starter gives Texas options.
@JeffPassan: Mike Minor has a multiyear deal with the Rangers and is expected to start, as sources confirm @Ken_Rosenthal report. And this may be the signing that breaks the free agent dam. There’s a lot of movement in the pitching market happening now, and it may start to move quickly here. [Reply]
I just can't see Minor's shoulder holding up to a starting workload any longer. He could never get built up consistently to 100 pitches in multiple outings in a row at Omaha in 16. But good on him.
Little bit of action on the Royals front this morning. Nice to see Dayton trying to snag some of that Braves talent they had to forfeit. Guess this takes us out of the Ohtani sweepstakes though :-) [Reply]
18-year-old Dominican RHP Yefri Del Rosario signs with #Royals. First of 12 former #Braves prospects to sign with another team. Originally signed with @Braves for $1 million during 2016-17 period. Posted 3.62 ERA, 1.39 WHIP between DSL & GCL in @MiLB debut this year. https://t.co/OX90iN9ePY
@JesseSanchezMLB: Rosario had multiple offers and turned down more money to sign with KC. The reason? His baseball idol was Yordano Ventura and he wants to pitch in the same organization where his hero once pitched. [Reply]
Originally Posted by siberian khatru:
@JesseSanchezMLB: Rosario had multiple offers and turned down more money to sign with KC. The reason? His baseball idol was Yordano Ventura and he wants to pitch in the same organization where his hero once pitched.
Chills. Imagine how many kids in LA watched YV just absolutely dominate the 2014 WS AND 2015 ALCS. Pretty amazing to see his legacy live on in this way. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefspants:
Chills. Imagine how many kids in LA watched YV just absolutely dominate the 2014 WS AND 2015 ALCS. Pretty amazing to see his legacy live on in this way.
If we had Ventura last year, we would have been a wild card team IMO. [Reply]