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.
Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat:
Mike Matheny is a candidate for advisory role with the royals. @dgoold 1st mentioned— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 5, 2018
If Mike Matheny is hired I and many other Royals fans will turn on Dayton. I give him a big leash with the back to back WS appearances and one championship, but this would shorten it drastically. [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
The owners put off any decision Thursday on changes that might speed games. Manfred said they prefer to reach a consensus with the players' union.
Originally Posted by :
Manfred took over as commissioner from Bud Selig in 2015. His new deal runs through the 2024 regular season.
I'm finding it hard to be very excited for this year. I hope Lopez shows enough to force Moore's hand and make Merrifield expendable. Beyond that I'm looking for Mondesi to walk more and the low minors players to show another year of progress, and hopefully better plate discipline. The 2019 draft and #2 pick should be interesting. Should we be expecting another competitive balance pick? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Great Expectations:
If Mike Matheny is hired I and many other Royals fans will turn on Dayton. I give him a big leash with the back to back WS appearances and one championship, but this would shorten it drastically.
Why the Matheny hate? Just curious, other than the obvious Cards hate... I’m a little at a loss. Can you fill me in? It reminds me of when we brought Ned in with Hillman as manager. [Reply]
Originally Posted by nychief:
Why the Matheny hate? Just curious, other than the obvious Cards hate... I’m a little at a loss. Can you fill me in? It reminds me of when we brought Ned in with Hillman as manager.
If you're looking for someone who makes Ned look like a genius for bullpen management, Matheny is your guy.
If you want someone to play favorites in the clubhouse based off of their devotion to the club bible study, Matheny is also your man.
Yes, people were skeptical when Ned came aboard. But the word was that Ned's players genuinely loved him.
Matheny was not on speaking terms with multiple players in his clubhouse last year, and the team was immediately boosted by his firing (and Pham soared the moment he was traded away). Unlike Ned being too stubborn with his bullpen, Matheny is also known to run his pitchers into the ground (aka, pitch bullpen guys 3-4 days in a row, which Ned always tries to avoid).
I want nothing to do with Matheny - he makes Jason Kendall seem like a slam dunk addition. [Reply]
Originally Posted by nychief:
Why the Matheny hate? Just curious, other than the obvious Cards hate... I’m a little at a loss. Can you fill me in? It reminds me of when we brought Ned in with Hillman as manager.
Because he’s a terrible tactician. Measurably one of the worst.
Because he’s horrible with young players.
Because he plays favorites with veteran players who happen to attend his bible study group.
He’s pretty much the worst kind of guy to bring in to manage a young team. [Reply]