Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
But....they're gonna pay him anyway.
To close games. That don't matter.
I...am puzzled.
They're dumb, they literally think if they are going to pay money then the guy damn well better be on the team. They refuse to eat money anytime anything like this comes up. [Reply]
Doesn't sound like there will be any more big moves.
I don't think it's that surprising, but they're having a big conversation about where baseball is on MLB Network. It goes back to what we've all talked about. Teams are so risk-averse now. You have first place championship contenders like the Yankees and Dodgers who can take on massive payrolls, and they didn't do anything major because they don't want to lose prospects.
Ten years ago, there's probably no doubt that you'd have a couple guys like Bumgarner, Wheeler or Whit traded for a package with multiple elite prospects. [Reply]
Small market teams obviously can't rely too much on veteran free agency. We haven't really found anything in international free agency in a while. The draft has been better the last 2 years but you can't build a team through the draft alone. I suppose you could add another smaller category of player acquisition for rule 5 or other under the radar type additions, but Brad Keller success stories are relatively rare.
I don't know how a small market team can add enough talent to be competitive if they are either unwilling or incapable of making smart trades. I've already moved on from trading Merrifield as that's simply never going to happen. But Moore/Glass can't even make up for shitty contracts given out by throwing in some money to help facilitate a trade for guys like Duffy or Kennedy?
I don't see how anyone can have faith that they'll be able to add enough talent to return to the postseason. Last time around they could throw large bonuses to coax high schoolers to join them. They don't have that benefit anymore and the draft alone simply won't be enough. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
Y'all really aren't gonna get Ian Kennedy traded?
Well that's surprising. There are teams that would definitely like to get their hands on that guy. He's been awfully good in relief and you see trades like the Josh Fields for Yordan Alvarez debacle every couple of seasons. Paddack was a wild card, Luis Castillo, Fernando Tatis Jr...
All of these guys were just 'meh' prospects when moved that turned into real assets. Surely the Royals know that they're pissing into the wind if they keep Kennedy around.
Not surprised by this at all. They can eat his contract and have him on the team closing games as well. Why eat a large part and let someone else have him closing their games when you can just wait until next year's trade deadline where he'll likely be more marketable w/ a lower contract number.
Plus...think about 2012 when the Royals started making the turn for the next run. Jonathan Broxton pretty much kept Holland from having to take on the closer role and let him settle into the 8th inning role Holland was ready to go when we traded Broxton. We don't really have a guy ready. Next year, I expect one of the new relievers to seize the 8th inning role and get ready to be the next guy. Whether we had Kennedy or not, Moore would have signed a vet closer...because it's what he does. This is how he's always behaved, like it or not. Might as well be Kennedy for another year. [Reply]