The Hunt For Blue October: Kansas City Royals (OOTP 25)

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Platform: Steam
Rosters: Modified Opening Day
Trading Difficulty: Very Hard (Will potentially adjust if TOO hard)
Play Style: 95% sim, will interrupt to make subs/pitching changes as needed
Team Control: Active roster plus minors
Managerial Control: Manager will handle all in-game decisions aside from the above
GM Control: Trades & free agency

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Team Roster (10/1)

Royals 40-Man Roster (Updated: October 1st, 2024)
#	PITCHERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SCHOOL
27	Edward Cabrera*	RHP	R/R	04/13/98	6'5"	175
30	Kyle Wright (IL-60)	RHP	R/R	10/02/95	6'4"	200	Vanderbilt
31	Will Smith	LHP	R/L	09/06/96	6'5"	245	Gulf Coast CC (FL)
35	Chris Stratton	RHP	R/R	08/22/95	6'2"	210	Mississippi State
36	Will Klein*	RHP	R/R	11/28/99	6'5"	225	Eastern Illinois
38	Josh Taylor	LHP	L/L	03/02/93	6'5"	230	Georgia College & State
41	Daniel Lynch IV	LHP	L/L	11/17/96	6'6"	190	Virginia
43	Carlos Hernandez (IL-60)	RHP	R/R	03/11/97	6'4"	245
46	John Schreiber	RHP	R/R	03/05/94	6'3"	220	University of NW Ohio
48	Alec Marsh	RHP	R/R	05/14/98	6'2"	220	Arizona State
50	Kris Bubic	LHP	L/L	08/19/97	6'3"	220	Stanford
51	Brady Singer	RHP	R/R	08/04/96	6'5"	210	Florida
52	Michael Wacha (IL-60)	RHP	R/R	07/01/91	6'6"	215	Texas A&M
54	Dan Altavilla*	RHP	R/R	09/08/92	5'11"	210	Mercyhurst University (PA)
55	Cole Ragans	LHP	L/L	12/12/97	6'4"	190	North Florida Christian HS
56	Hunter Harvey	RHP	R/R	12/09/94	6'3"	175	Bandys HS (NC)
59	JoJo Romero	LHP	L/L	09/09/96	5'11"	190	Yavapai College (AZ)
61	Angel Zerpa*	LHP	L/L	09/27/99	6'	175
64	Mitch White	RHP	R/R	12/28/94	6'3"	210	Santa Clara
65	Walter Pennington*	LHP	L/L	04/14/98	6'2"	210	Colorado School of Mines
66	James McArthur*	RHP	R/R	12/11/96	6'7"	230	Ole Miss
67	Seth Lugo (IL-60)	RHP	R/R	11/17/89	6'4"	225	Centenary College (LA)
69	Anthony Veneziano*	LHP	L/L	09/01/97	6'5"	205	Coastal Carolina
73	Sam Long*	LHP	L/L	07/08/95	6'1"	185	Sacramento State
#	CATCHERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SCHOOL
13	Salvador Perez	C/1B	R/R	05/10/90	6'4"	240
14	Austin Nola*	C/IF	R/R	12/28/89	6'	195	LSU
21	Carter Jensen*	C	L/R	07/03/03	6'1"	215	Park Hill (MO) HS
34	Freddy Fermin	C/1B	R/R	05/16/95	5'10"	195
#	INFIELDERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SCHOOL
2	Mike Brosseau*	IF	R/R	03/15/94	5'10"	210	Oakland University (MI)
7	Bobby Witt, Jr.	SS	R/R	06/14/00	6'1	190	Colleyville Heritage HS (TX)
9	Vinnie Pasquantino (IL-60)	1B	L/L	10/10/97	6'4"	245	Old Dominion
11	Maikel Garcia	INF	R/R	03/03/00	6'	180
12	Nick Loftin (IL-10)	INF	R/R	09/25/98	6'1"	180	Baylor
19	Michael Massey	2B/3B	L/R	03/22/98	6'	190	Illinois
32	Nick Pratto	1B/OF	L/R	10/06/98	6'1"	200	Huntington Beach HS (CA)
40	C.J. Alexander	1B/3B	L/R	07/17/96	6'5"	200	State College of Manatee (FL)
45	Devin Mann	INF	R/R	02/11/97	6'3"	185	Louisville
#	OUTFIELDERS	POS	B/T	AGE	HT	WT	SCHOOL
1	MJ Melendez	OF/C	L/R	11/29/98	6'1"	185	Westminster (FL) School
6	Drew Waters	OF	S/R	12/30/98	6'	190	Etowah (GA) HS
16	Hunter Renfroe	OF	R/R	01/28/92	6'1"	220	Mississippi State
17	Nelson Velasquez	OF	R/R	12/26/98	6'	190	PJ Education (PR) HS
22	Tommy Pham (IL-10)	OF	R/R	03/08/88	6'1"	215	Alabama
26	Tyler Gentry*	OF	R/R	02/01/99	6'2"	210	Alabama
28	Kyle Isbel	OF	L/R	03/03/97	5'11"	185	UNLV
44	Dairon Blanco	OF	R/R	04/26/93	6'	170

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MLB Standings (10/1)

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Player Stats (10/1)

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Reserved

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2024 Season Preview

2024 MLB Season Preview: Kansas City Royals
K.C. isn't expected to compete this year, but there must be signs that a solid foundation has been built by year's end.

By MLB.com Staff
03/26/2024

2023 Record: 56-106 (5th, AL Central)
Manager: Matt Quatraro (2nd season)
2024 Payroll: $115 million
Key additions: RHP Michael Wacha, RHP Seth Lugo, OF Hunter Renfroe, RHP John Schreiber, RHP Chris Stratton, IF Adam Frazier, IF Garrett Hampson, RHP Nick Anderson
Key losses: RHP Jackson Kowar, OF Edward Olivares, RHP Zack Greinke

Expectations for 2024
After tying a franchise record for losses with 106 last season, Kansas City really can't go anywhere but up — on paper, they seem to be a lot better than last year, acquiring such players like Renfroe, Wacha, Lugo, and Frazier without losing a lot from last year's squad. In fact, there was a survey of all of the MLB teams, and the vote totals overwhelmingly favored Kansas City as the team most likely to surprise in 2024.

Matt Quatraro is back for his second season as the team's skipper; and after tinkering with the lineups nearly day-to-day and using the most openers in baseball last season, he noted early on in the spring that he would likely cut down on the use of openers going forward. The additions of Lugo and Wacha lengthen the rotation, giving the Royals four competent-to-above-average starters; and then Alec Marsh, who can fill in as a fifth starter and long-relief option. They also added Kyle Wright from the Braves via trade, although he will miss the entirety of the season due to injury.

"Last season was a lot of evaluation and just trying to figure out what pieces fit the best, and how we could make the team better going forward," he said late in the spring season after much of the roster had been pared down. "This season, we have a better idea of who goes where, and there should be less experimentation with the roster, for lack of a better term."

That commitment to the big league roster is reflected in the Opening Day payroll, which is the highest it's been since 2018 when they clocked in at $122 million on Opening Day. They also extended star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr to an eleven-year, $288 million contract, shattering the club record by over $200 million. However, there are plenty of ways that BWJ can opt-out, starting after the 2030 season.

With the relative weakness of the AL Central, it's not difficult to imagine that the Royals could be better, perhaps double-digit games better than last season. But even a ten-game improvement over 2023 is still just a 66-win team, which would be disappointing coming off such a promising offseason.

What would constitute a successful season? This team still is a longshot to make the postseason, but if the young talent led by Witt continue to impress, and one or two of the veteran arms they added perform up to expectations, I like this iteration of the Royals' chances to at least be a thorn in the side of the top contenders in the league.

Stories to watch
With an extension now in hand for Witt, who would be next to get extended by the club? There's some talk that Vinnie Pasquantino is next up, but there's been little chatter over the last few months in that regard. Missing the last three to four months of the 2023 season due to a knee injury really put a damper on extension talks, but a healthy 2024 would go a long ways towards re-starting those conversations.

There's also the stadium issue hanging over the franchise right now. With the site picked out and renderings released to the public, on April 2nd, a sales tax extension, not an increase, is expected to pass to fund the new downtown facility. In the event it doesn't, they would likely turn to the Kansas side of the state line. Perhaps it would be built near Children's Mercy Park, where the MLS' Sporting KC plays. It's still unlikely that happens, as the Royals have always been in Missouri and want to keep it that way, but the longer the delay in getting a stadium built, the further you have to push back the timeline. A 'no' vote would push the initiative back at least six months to a year.

It was thought that the new stadium, if started by Opening Day this year, could be finished in time for the 2031 season, it will be 2032 or 2033. Again, this is not a tax increase, but rather a 40-year extension of the current sales tax in Jackson County. Oh, and the Chiefs will also use some of the money for renovations of Arrowhead Stadium, as well.

Final outlook
Much of the success of the Royals in 2024 will hinge on two things -- one, the health of the starting pitching; and secondly, can they find some additional thump in the middle of the lineup? The rotation of Ragans, Lugo, Wacha, and Brady Singer is pretty solid, but a major injury or two could really put them up the creek. There's not a lot of depth in the upper minors, as much of it after Daniel Lynch IV is unproven or doesn't really have the upper-minors track record as of yet. Kris Bubic, who had two strong starts before getting shelved in 2023, isn't expected back until July. As mentioned earlier, Wright won't pitch this year. Marsh is the other besides Lynch that has starting experience, but was much better in relief than as a starter.

Offensively, we liked the Renfroe signing, and Frazier is a competent bat that can fill in at multiple spots. However, we're really hoping they can get some additional production out of Velazquez. Again, he had a rough spring, but has tremendous power with less than ten AB per homerun. It would also be nice to see Renfroe return to the form that has made him one of the better RH power bats in baseball, as he has five seasons of 25+ homeruns already on his ledger, including two over 30.

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Minnesota @ Kansas City (March 28th -- March 31st)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Minnesota Twins

By Conner Smith | Kansas City Star | April 1st, 2024

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals
Mar 28, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota Twins (0-1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	1
Kansas City Royals (1-0)	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	X	3	7	0
W: Cole Ragans (1-0) L: Pablo Lopez (0-1) S: Chris Stratton (1)

Thursday, March 28th, 2024
Fresh off a 2023 campaign that put him on the national radar around the league, Cole Ragans made his first career Opening Day start, and eighty-two pitches later, tossed six no-hit innings, striking out a Royals record thirteen hitters on Opening Day as the Royals won 3-1.

Not only were they no-hit innings, they were six perfect innings. Out of the eighteen outs he recorded, only five were of the non-strikeout variety. He also topped out at 99.7 MPH with his four-seamer, throwing all four of his pitches effectively.

Bobby Witt Jr homered in the fourth inning, Maikel Garcia collected three hits and a stolen base, and M.J. Melendez also collected a pair of hits.

"Can't really get much better than that, can we?" Manager Matt Quatraro grinned as he took to the podium prior to taking questions from the throng of reporters in place. "I know it's just one of 162, but getting that first win on your first time out really gets you out on the right foot and sets a tone."

Quatraro was also pressed about taking Ragans out with a perfect game through six, but re-iterated that he wasn't going to push his top starter too much.

"Unfortunately, there's some history with regards to injuries with Cole, and this early in the season we don't want to go too far," he explained. "Now, if this was several months or so in? I might have rolled the dice and let him go because eighty-two pitches isn't close to how far he can go when he's stretched out."

Right-handers Nick Anderson and Chris Stratton, both newcomers to the bullpen, pitched scoreless innings. Stratton's was in the ninth inning, picking up his first save.

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals
Mar 30, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota Twins (1-1)	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	4	9	2
Kansas City Royals (1-1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	7	0
W: Griffin Jax (1-0) L: Will Smith (0-1) S: Brock Stewart (1)

Saturday, March 30th, 2024
Single tallies in the eighth and ninth from the Twins helped turn a 3-2 Royals lead into a 4-3 defeat for the home team, with Manuel Margot and Willi Castro providing the thunder. Minnesota socked four homers in all during Saturday's game; two of them off starter Seth Lugo, who otherwise was solid with just two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts.

Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa went back-to-back against Lugo in the sixth, as Lugo was cruising at the time having allowed just three hits and no runs with one out in the sixth. Acquired in a trade with the Red Sox over the offseason, John Schreiber gave the Royals a nice lift out of the bullpen with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, surrending just a single hit with three strikeouts.

Kansas City countered with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, as Salvador Perez reached on an error by the third baseman, Castro. Perez would later advance to third on another error, this time by Gold Glove-winning centerfielder Byron Buxton, although he's played a single-digit number of games in center the last few years due to injuries.

With Hunter Renfroe at the plate, Perez would then score on a passed ball from Christian Vazquez, yet another solid defensive player, before Renfroe launched a two-run homerun to center to put the Royals in front.

"Not sure what happened to us in that inning," said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, "But we looked really lost out there for a brief period of time. Thankfully, we were able to pick up our defense with some timely hitting late."

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals
Mar 31, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota Twins (1-2)	0	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	4	6	0
Kansas City Royals (2-1)	2	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	X	6	8	1
W: Nick Anderson (1-0) L: Bailey Ober (0-1) S: Will Smith (1)

Sunday, March 31st, 2024
Gray clouds hung over Kauffman Stadium throughout the entire game, but that didn't seem to dampen the Royals' bats as they hammered out a half-dozen runs on eight hits in the Royals' 6-4 win over the Twins, earning a series victory in the opening set of the season against a divisional foe.

Rain did eventually fall for roughly thirty minutes, pausing play right before the third inning. Both starting pitchers managed to return after the break, with both of them going five innings each.

With a first-inning two-run homerun against Twins starter Bailey Ober, Salvador Perez staked the Royals out to a 2-0 lead after one inning. Minnesota battled their way back by scoring four times over the next four innings to double up their lead, 4-2, but a four-run sixth from the Royals pushed them back in front for good.

Again, Perez played a big role in the four-run stanza, smacking a two-run single to give him four RBI during his 2-for-4 day.

Freddy Fermin also collected a pair of hits in his first starting assignment of the season, hitting eighth and getting the start behind the plate while Perez drew his first start at first base with Vinnie Pasquantino DH'ing.

Brady Singer was hot-and-cold, allowing four earned runs over five innings, striking out six with just two walks. He gave up only one big hit, a two-run homerun from rookie Austin Martin, who was making his MLB debut after replacing the injured Royce Lewis on the active roster.

UP NEXT: at Baltimore (04/01 -- 04/03)

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Kansas City @ Baltimore (04/01 -- 04/03)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Baltimore Orioles

By Conner Smith | Kansas City Star | April 4th, 2024

Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles
Apr 1, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (3-1)	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	5	9	1
Baltimore Orioles (1-3)	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	4	7	2
W: Chris Stratton (1-0) L: Yennier Cano (0-2) S: None

Monday, April 1st, 2024
Facing his previous team for the first time this season, Adam Frazier collected three hits (including a double) and a stolen base as the Royals won 5-4. A ninth-inning RBI single in the top of the ninth was the deciding factor, as Nick Loftin drove in Bobby Witt Jr with the go-ahead run. Chris Stratton, who started the eighth inning in relief of Alec Marsh, picked up the victory with a spotless ninth.

In his Royals debut, Michael Wacha went five innings while allowing four earned runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out just one, and allowed a couple of homeruns. Still, he was good enough, along with a great bullpen effort from the aforementioned Stratton and Alec Marsh, they kept the game within striking distance for the late rally.

Kansas City got on the board first with a sac fly from Vinnie Pasquantino, before Baltimore tied it up with a run of their own in the third with the first of the two solo homeruns on the day from the Orioles' offense, this one by Anthony Santander. Former Royal Ryan O'Hearn led off the fourth with a solo homerun, later scoring twice on a double and a sac fly to re-take the lead, 4-3. They wouldn't lead again, as Kansas City tied it up in the fifth, holding the line until Loftin's game-winning hit.

The 3-1 start is the team's best since 2021, when they won nine of their first dozen games, but ended up with seventy-four wins, the last time they were over that watermark. Manager Matt Quatraro still harped on the team's struggles with men on base.

"You know, we still had ten guys that we left on base, so we left a lot of runs out there on the field," he said in the post-game interviews after the win. "We had an outstanding effort from Mike (Wacha) and the bullpen, who kept us in it, but we missed on some chances to score."

Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles
Apr 2, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (3-2)	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	7	0
Baltimore Orioles (2-3)	3	0	0	0	0	3	4	0	X	10	12	0
W: Michael Baumann (1-0) L: Cole Ragans (1-1) S: None

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024
It wasn't as good as his Opening Day effort in which he went berzerk and retired all eighteen hitters he faced with a baker's dozen strikeouts, but Cole Ragans still pitched a decent game in his second outing of the year, going 5 2/3 innings while allowing seven hits and no walks with four strikeouts as the Royals fell 10-3 to the O's in a bit of a laugher.

Ragans was eventually tagged with five earned runs, although one of them was his responsibility, leaving in the sixth inning with a man on and two outs for righty James McArthur in his first appearance of the season.

McArthur's first hitter, Cedric Mullins, bashed a two-run opposite field blast just two pitches into the at-bat, and it didn't get much better for him from there -- he ended up lasting just two-thirds of an inning with four earned runs on three hits and a walk, although both of his outs were strikeouts.

Ragans ran into trouble right from the outset, allowing a leadoff double to Gunnar Henderson. After two outs, they scored three runs on three hits, including another two-bagger. He was excellent from the second through the fifth innings before running into trouble again in the sixth, throwing ninety-eight pitches in all.

"Cole left it up to Brian (pitching coach Sweeney) to leave him in or not, and he made the call that he should get another batter to try and get out of the inning," manager Matt Quatraro noted. It didn't work out very well, but it was a reasonable decision given he was pitching well and he only needed another out."

There wasn't much to speak of for the Royals offensively, with Maikel Garcia's two hits and two RBI leading the way. The other run was driven in by Hunter Renfroe on a first-inning RBI single against Cole Irvin.

Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles
Apr 3, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (3-3)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	0
Baltimore Orioles (3-3)	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	X	3	8	0
W: Corbin Burnes (1-1) L: Seth Lugo (0-1) S: Yennier Cano (1)

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024
Even though the Royals fell 3-1 to the Orioles in the rubber match of their three-game series, the Royals were able to see a rarity -- In the ninth inning, Salvador Perez banged out a triple, his first since June 8th, 2022, against the Blue Jays. Before that, it was July 19th, 2017 against Detroit at home, so just two in the past eight-plus seasons.

Besides that, the offense was listless for much of the game against Corbin Burnes, as the right-hander limited the Royals to just two hits, no runs, and no walks through six innings of work, facing only three hitters over the minimum on eighty-seven pitches.

Seth Lugo got the start, but went just 2 2/3 innings before being taken out after a finger blister issue popped up. He said it started in the second inning, but had a harder and harder time throwing breaking pitches going into the third inning.

"I told them when they came out, that I don't want to jeopardize my next start, and we have guys in the pen that can hold it down," he said. "I felt good otherwise, but it's hard to get the right grip on the ball when you have this blister right on the spot you need to be."

Perez's triple was one of just three total hits, with the other two coming from M.J. Melendez (including a double). Interestingly, Melendez was lifted for pinch-hitter Garrett Hampson in the seventh to face lefty Keegan Akin. Quatraro was asked about the move, and noted that it's a 'feel type' of move, with Hampson sporting a career OPS+ of 120 against southpaws.

"Garrett's a guy that's historically punished lefties in his career," said Quatraro. "It's early enough in the season where we're still trying to feel out the roster, and Garrett can play in the outfield as well as on the dirt, so we can use him in more spots."

Kansas City heads back home beginning today to begin a four-game series with the Southsiders of Chicago, their first four-game foray of the season. Brady Singer is expected to get the ball tonight against former Atlanta Brave Michael Soroka.

UP NEXT: vs Chi. Sox (04/04 -- 04/07)

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Stadium News (4/4)

What's next for the stadium?
Move outside of the metro still highly unlikely; next steps to be determined in coming months

By artoodeetoo
04/04/2024

Voters defeat Question 1
If you haven't heard by now, the voters in Jackson County, Mo., have soundly defeated Question 1, which is the extension of the 3/8 cent sales tax that would help fund the Royals' new downtown stadium, as well as partially funding the Kansas City Chiefs' $800 million reno of Arrowhead Stadium.

The team's lease with the current stadium, Kauffman Stadium, runs out after the 2030 season, and the team has stated repeatedly that there are no further plans to renovate or stay in the current stadium past that date. Some of the 'No' votes thought that the defeat meant that the stadium was safe for decades to come, but that's not the case.

Royals owner John Sherman and the rest of the ownership group, which includes Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, have promised $1B plus any cost overruns on the stadium, while the county and state would pitch in the other $500 million, which is one of the more generous proposals for a new sports stadium in recent memory by private entities.

Kauffman Stadium, on one hand, has always been highly rated for originality and ease of parking. That said, there's very little to do in the immediate vicinity, hamstringing the team's ability to draw fans that otherwise would not attend games, as it's currently in a suburban area that is mainly residential with few attractions in the area.

Other recent baseball stadiums that have been built within the last 10-15 years, such as Globe Life Field (Rangers), Truist Park (Braves), and Target Field (Twins) have had more public financing than private; and all were eventually built after public hand-wringing over the cost initially.

What does this mean?
Very little has changed in regards to the situation, other than that it's very unlikely that the stadium gets built in 1) the Crossroads District, where the site was moved to within the last few weeks in the run-up to the vote, and 2) that the team is moved to a different city.

Folks, Nashville, Salt Lake City, and Charlotte are likely destinations for teams in the near future, but it's near-zero that the Royals end up anywhere other than in the Kansas City metro. That talk needs to end. In fact, there are multiple locales downtown where the facility could and will likely end up (East Village, West Bottoms), and then on the Kansas side (more on that soon) before it's even considered that the team goes elsewhere.

The other scenario that could gain steam is a move to Kansas City, Kansas -- not farfetched like relocating to a different city, but plausible, nonetheless. There are also non-Jackson County locations that could be possible, such as North Kansas City across the Missouri River in neighboring Clay County, Mo.

The fact that the measure was so soundly defeated might be a blessing in disguise, as it will force the Royals to really overhaul their plans, and present something that's thorough and explains their positions as to the benefits more clearly instead of something that's slapped together in a few months with the Chiefs as a rider to try and get people on board.

Lastly, I'm not a huge fan of public subsidization of stadiums, but again this is one of the most generous stadium plans in terms of non-public funding I've seen recently; and the Chiefs' renovation plans look surprisingly ordinary for the amount they're requesting.

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Chi. Sox at Kansas City (04/04 -- 04/07)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Chicago White Sox

By Conner Smith | Kansas City Star | April 8th, 2024

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Apr 4, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox (3-4)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	1
Kansas City Royals (4-3)	1	0	0	1	2	0	1	1	X	6	12	0
W: Jordan Lyles (1-0) L: Michael Soroka (0-1) S: Chris Stratton (2)

Thursday, April 4th, 2024
Bobby Witt Jr doubled and homered, and Brady Singer allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings as the Royals opened their four-game series with the White Sox with a 6-1 triumph.

Despite the one run allowed, Singer struggled with his command throughout, throwing just thirty-five strikes over sixty-five pitches, prompting manager Matt Quatraro to take him out with two outs in the fifth.

"It was a battle for him, and from what we could tell and what he was telling us, the slider was the only pitch he was landing early on," Quatraro mused in the post-game interview. "Later on, Chicago was catching on to that and laying off those pitches outside the zone. Luckily, our bullpen came in and kept them off the board the rest of the game and our offense did enough to win."

Vinnie Pasquantino, Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Isbel, and Nelson Velazquez also collected two hits each, with Renfroe also going deep for the second time this season.

"We all had some pretty good swings out there," Witt said, "And we took advantage of the opportunities we had."

The victory stopped a brief two-game skid from their road series with the Orioles, and put the Royals back over .500 for already the second time this season.

"I think the key for us is avoiding the real long losing skids that we had last year," said Quatraro when asked about the significance of the win. "You don't want those two, three game streaks to turn into five, six, seven games. Understandably, those happen occasionally, but you can't go into those kinds of droughts and expect to compete."

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Apr 5, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox (4-4)	3	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	6	9	0
Kansas City Royals (4-4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	7	0
W: Erick Fedde (1-1) L: Michael Wacha (0-1) S: John Brebbia (2)

Friday, April 5th, 2024
Runners in scoring position were again a problem for the lineup, as the Royals squandered opportunities in the fourth and sixth innings in which they had the first two men in each of those innings reach base safely, only to see a combination of strikeouts and double plays render them punchless with no runs to speak of. They left nine men on base in all, including five in scoring position.

They did eventually take advantage in the seventh, scoring both of their runs in the game thanks to a Kyle Isbel double and single by Maikel Garcia. However, the White Sox had already tripled their output by that point, having shot out to a 6-0 lead after five innings as the Royals fell 6-2 to even the series at one win each.

Michael Wacha, pitching on four days' rest, went 3 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs with five strikeouts. Luis Robert's homerun in the first was the big blow, but it would be all that the White Sox needed. Nick Anderson, Angel Zerpa, Will Smith, James McArthur, and John Schreiber all combined in relief of Wacha, with the latter three all tossing scoreless outings.

McArthur in particular was dominant, retiring all eight hitters he faced with five strikeouts. Schreiber pitched the final out of the ninth, striking Eloy Jimenez out with a nasty sinker. Smith worked around a couple of hits, but didn't walk anyone and picked up a punchout along the way.

"We dug ourselves too big of a hole and couldn't come up with the timely hits when we needed them," shortstop Bobby Witt Jr said in the locker room after the game, going 2-for-4 with a couple of stolen bases in the game.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Apr 6, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox (4-5)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Kansas City Royals (5-4)	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	X	3	10	0
W: Alec Marsh (1-0) L: Chris Flexen (0-1) S: Will Smith (2)

Saturday, April 6th, 2024
Homeruns from MJ Melendez and Salvador Perez, coupled with a strong initial start for Alec Marsh led to a Royals victory on Saturday afternoon as the pitching staff held Chicago to just one run in a 3-1 win. Marsh went 5 1/3 innings, scattering five hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts.

His only run allowed came on an RBI hit by catcher Korey Lee out of the nine-hole. Lee collected two of the White Sox's seven hits, no one else had more than one.

Meanwhile, the top-half of the Royals' batting order went 8-for-18 (.444), with a couple of homeruns, two walks, and all three runs scored by the team in the win. They did have a couple of rallies snuffed out by double plays off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino, but otherwise did pretty well with the opportunities they had.

"The bullpen was outstanding," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Alec (Marsh) gave us some really quality innings, and normally in a game that was progressing as it was he'd have gone a little farther, but his pitch count was already in the mid 70's, and he said he was starting to lose a little steam after the fifth, so we had Angel (Zerpa) get ready."

In 3 2/3 innings from four different relievers, they allowed just two hits, a hit batsman, and a walk while striking out four. Will Smith earned his second save of the season, working around a couple of hits yet again like on Thursday night, but getting key outs when he had to.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Apr 7, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox (4-6)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	3	7	2
Kansas City Royals (6-4)	2	0	3	1	4	1	3	0	X	14	16	0
W: Cole Ragans (2-1) L: Garrett Crochet (1-1) S: None

Sunday, April 7th, 2024
No White Sox pitcher was safe from the wrath of the Royals' offense; as the good guys put up a couple of touchdowns in a 14-3 shellacking of Chicago to secure the series victory, three games to one.

Eight of nine Royals hitters collected at least one hit, while eight of nine also scored at least once. The only starter not to get in the hit or run scored column was second baseman Garrett Hampson, who was 0-for-5.

Both Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe hit their third homeruns of the season. Outfielder Dairon Blanco, making his second start of the season, was 3-for-4 with two triples, a double, and three runs scored. He also drove in two runs with his fifth-inning triple against Deivi Garcia. Bobby Witt Jr doubled twice and scored twice. I could go on and on, but the offense was much more than sufficient in the eleven-run victory.

On the other side, Cole Ragans was brilliant once again. He issued his first two walks of the season, but fanned six over 6 2/3 innings while scattering three hits and one run to pick up his second win of the season. Matt Sauer and Jordan Lyles worked in mop-up duty, combining for the final 2 1/3 innings of work.

"Kinda running out of superlatives to say about the guy," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Comes to the ballpark ready to get down to it, and it's reflected in how he pitches, a business-like approach. He still manages to have fun with it, don't get me wrong, but he's a bulldog on the hill when he's out there."

UP NEXT: vs Houston (04/09 -- 04/11)

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MLB NEWS (4/8)

MLB NEWS AND NOTES
First batch of power rankings out; Story to miss significant time after shoulder injury

By MLB.com staff
04/08/2024

TOP STORIES
First Power Rankings Revealed: The first MLB.com Power Rankings for the 2024 season have been released, and to no one's surprise, the Dodgers open the season in the top spot with a sparkling 10-2 mark. The rest of the top five comprise of the Blue Jays, Guardians, Reds, and Mets.

Kansas City, off to a 6-4 start, which is their best start since 2021, ranked sixth. Miami was another surprise entrant, coming in eighth. The top ten in full is below:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (10-2)
2. Toronto Blue Jays (7-3)
3. Cleveland Guardians (7-3)
4. Cincinnati Reds (6-3)
5. New York Mets (6-3)
6. Kansas City Royals (6-4)
7. San Diego Padres (7-5)
8. Miami Marlins (6-4)
9. Arizona Diamondbacks (6-4)
10. Atlanta Braves (5-4)

Just missed: Detroit (5-4), Baltimore (5-4), Los Angeles Angels (5-4), Texas Rangers (5-4)

Guardians, Mariners suspensions reduced: Seattle infielder Ty France and Guardians pitcher Jaime Barria saw their suspensions reduced from five to two games each stemming from a bench-clearing fight that happened on Wednesday night by the league office late last night. Both have been able to play pending the appeal process with France playing in five games total this season to date, and Barria pitching on Friday in his second appearance of the season.

The incident that happened in the fifth inning Wednesday night appeared to originate from an issue in the previous game, as Mariners leadoff hitter Logan Allen hit Seattle leadoff hitter Dylan Moore with the first pitch of the inning. France, who was the Mariners player ejected in the fifth, said something at Allen as he walked to the plate, prompting a pre-emptive warning from the home plate umpire.

When France was hit by Barria in the fifth inning after a pair of brushback pitches to begin the at-bat, France began to walk towards the mound, which caused both benches to clear. After more words were exchanged, and the two engaged in some shoving, Barria went to throw a punch but was immediately stopped by teammate Jose Ramirez, who was in the middle trying to keep both players separate.

France then attempted to throw a punch, but by this time, other Mariners teammates had intervened and the fracas eventually stopped and play resumed, in which the Mariners went on to win 6-5.

"Hopefully this is all behind us and we can move on and play ball," said first-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. "No one wants to see what happened that night, but I think the reduction in suspension is fair for both players. It was about five or six minutes long, and really didn't escalate too much further. Mostly, it was just players shouting at each other."

OTHER HEADLINES
Royals acquire RHP Selby from Pittsburgh for minor league pitcher
Red Sox shortstop situation looking grim; Story out for 'potentially months'
Giants lose fifth straight as team stumbles in face of early high hopes

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Royals News (4/8)

ROYALS NEWS AND NOTES
Royals acquire Selby from Pittsburgh; Massey, Brentz begin rehab stints

By artoodeetoo
04/08/2024

TOP STORIES
Royals deal Oliver for Selby: Selected in the 17th round by the Royals less than a year ago, Connor Oliver is now in the Pittsburgh organization, having been traded there for righty reliever Colin Selby. Selby was optioned to Triple-A Omaha despite having been with the Pirates for the short duration of the season to date, pitching to a 3.68 ERA in four appearances, so the Royals likely feel pretty good about their bullpen options to this point.

Oliver made just one appearance for the Arizona rookie league squad a year ago, and put up one of the most bizarre stat lines you'll see in a box score -- two hits allowed in one inning, throwing just five pitches, no walks or strikeouts. Four of the five hitters he faced put the ball in play on the first pitch, including a double play.

Two to begin rehab assignments on Monday: Infielder Michael Massey and lefty pitcher Jake Brentz reported to Double-A Northwest Arkansas to begin their rehab assignments, starting with tonight's game at San Antonio.

However, both find themselves in starkly different situations. While Massey is largely just getting a few games under his belt to get some rhythm back before heading to Kansas City, Brentz could be fighting for a roster spot.

With Will Smith and Angel Zerpa already on the big league roster, and others such as Josh Taylor, Walter Pennington, and perhaps Evan Sisk in front of him in the pecking order, this is a big next handful of weeks for Brentz, who signed a $2 million, two-year contract extension after the 2022 season.

OTHER ROYALS HEADLINES
Mozzicato, Kudrna impress in 2024 debuts with Quad Cities
Top prospect Cross hopes to rebound after tough 2023 season derailed by illness
Royals among early-season MLB surprises -- or are they really a surprise?

[artoodeetoo]

Houston at Kansas City (4/9 -- 4/11)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Houston Astros

By Conner Smith | Kansas City Star | April 12th, 2024

Houston Astros at Kansas City Royals
Apr 9, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston Astros (5-7)	0	2	2	0	3	2	2	0	2	13	17	0
Kansas City Royals (6-5)	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	0
W: Framber Valdez (1-1) L: Seth Lugo (0-2) S: None

Tuesday, April 9th, 2024
Coming in fresh off winning three of four against the White Sox to go to 6-4 on the season, that momentum was halted with a resounding thud as the struggling Astros got right offensively with a 13-2 pounding of the Royals, thanks to five homeruns from the visitors.

Houston came in struggling with the bats, having scored three or fewer runs in six of their seven losses so far this season, while going 4-1 in games with five or more.

Serving as the Astros' DH, Trey Cabbage knocked a pair of homeruns, with Mauricio Dubon, Victor Caratini, and Alex Bregman also going deep. Royals starter Seth Lugo struck out seven with no walks, but was tagged for nine hits and six earned runs, leaving with just two outs in the fifth inning.

"The conditions were conducive to this kind of game," said manager Matt Quatraro. "They have four or five guys that you just can't make mistakes to, and that's what happened with pretty much every pitcher we put out there."

Kansas City wasn't completely devoid of offense, as they collected ten hits, four of them going for extra bases. Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 with his second triple of the season, the first time he's had multiple triples in a season since all the way back in 2016. Tuesday also marked the fifth straight game for Bobby Witt Jr in which he collected multiple hits, including two more doubles.

Hunter Renfroe and Freddy Fermin also had two hits each. As it has been so far, the main issue was not taking advantage of scoring opportunities early in the game.

"Even in the inning we had our two runs, it took two sacrifice flies to get them in," Quatraro mused. "In the first, Bobby had a double with one out, and didn't even get to third base. In the fourth, our two sac flies. It seems like we're having to scratch things out for offense, but I still feel pretty good we're on the verge of turning it around as we're still barreling the ball up pretty well."

Houston Astros at Kansas City Royals
Apr 10, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston Astros (6-7)	0	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	5	9	0
Kansas City Royals (6-6)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	11	0
W: Cristian Javier (1-1) L: Brady Singer (0-1) S: Josh Hader (3)

Wednesday, April 10th, 2024
It was another 'get-right' kind of game for the Astros, as this time it was starting pitcher Cristian Javier who put a couple of poor starts behind him, allowing just one run over eight innings in a Royals' 5-1 loss.

However, there were baserunners aplenty for Kansas City, as they were able to touch Javier for ten hits (eleven total), and collected a couple of walks. They left a host of runners on base, including going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

"You know, it may not have made a difference between a win and a loss, but our conversion rate on these situations just isn't there right now," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Again, as with last night's game, I still think we're pretty close to breaking through and getting some of these to break our way."

In taking the loss, Brady Singer allowed five earned runs in five innings; was knocked around a bit with nine hits and a walk, but struck out seven in a tidy eighty-three pitches. The bullpen was solid, giving them a lift with four scoreless innings between three different pitchers.

Maikel Garcia's RBI single in the fifth, and Bobby Witt Jr's RBI single in the ninth accounted for the only Royals' runs on the day. Both of them collected two hits each, while Salvador Perez, Nelson Velazquez, and Kyle Isbel all reached base safely twice (one hit, one walk each).

Houston Astros at Kansas City Royals
Apr 11, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston Astros (6-8)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Kansas City Royals (7-6)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	X	2	7	1
W: Michael Wacha (1-0) L: Ronel Blanco (0-1) S: Chris Stratton (3)

Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Kansas City starting pitcher Michael Wacha got off to a rough start, allowing a couple of hits and a walk in the very first frame, but managed to wriggle out of that jam to go on to toss six shutout innings in the Royals' 2-0 win over the Astros, staving off the sweep and putting the Royals back over .500 heading into a road series tonight at Citi Field against the Mets.

He struck out six while scattering four hits and three walks, picking up his first victory in a Royals uniform. A key play that helped him out in the first inning was a Kyle Isbel dart to home plate on Jose Altuve's single, throwing Trey Cabbage out. Cabbage suffered a shoulder injury on the play, and was removed for Kyle Tucker the following inning.

Kansas City didn't get on the board until the sixth when MJ Melendez put a charge into a Ronel Blanco curveball, parking it into the fountains in right-center field to put them up 1-0. They would later add an insurance run with an RBI single from Adam Frazier, all the while helped by a strong bullpen effort that saw Will Smith, James McArthur, and Chris Stratton finish out the game. Stratton pitched around a two-out single from Mauricio Dubon to notch his third save of the season.

"You always want more, because you never know what the other team is going to do," manager Matt Quatraro quipped in the post-game press conference regarding another game where the Royals missed golden scoring opportunities. "We had some timely hitting late that lifted us up, but we had the bases loaded in back-to-back innings early on, and came away with nothing both times without putting the ball in play."

UP NEXT: @ New York Mets (04/12 -- 04/14)

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MLB News (4/12)

MLB NEWS AND NOTES
Tatis Jr, Encarnacion-Strand injuries deal a blow

By MLB.com staff
04/12/2024

TOP STORIES
Tatis Jr to miss a month: Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis could miss up to a month of game action with a torn quad that was suffered last Sunday against the Giants. After getting a second opinion, the team decided to put him on the 10-day injured list instead of the 60-day, as the injury was not as severe as originally thought.

He pulled up halfway to second legging out a double in their 8-2 win over San Francisco that night, and was replaced by Jose Azocar.

OTHER HEADLINES
O's Henderson suspended three games for 'ump bump'
Reds IF Encarnacion-Strand to miss rest of season with knee injury

[artoodeetoo]

Kansas City at NY Mets (4/12 - 4/14)

Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: New York Mets

By Conner Smith | Kansas City Star | April 15th, 2024

Kansas City Royals at New York Mets
Apr 12, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (8-6)	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	3	0	7	7	1
New York Mets (6-8)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	7	1
W: Alec Marsh (2-0) L: Sean Manaea (0-2) S: None

Friday, April 12th, 2024
With a pair of homeruns and an RBI single, Salvador Perez led the charge offensively in the Royals' series-opening win over the Mets by a 7-3 score. Nelson Velazquez also went deep for the first time this season, going 1-for-3 with a walk in addition to his homerun.

Alec Marsh turned in another solid start, going five innings while allowing just one earned run, striking out seven with just three hits and two walks to move to 2-0 on the year. There was a rain delay of a little over thirty minutes in the top of the sixth with Marsh cruising at that point, having retired nine of the last twelve he faced.

However, manager Matt Quatraro still pulled him at the beginning of the bottom of the sixth in favor of Jordan Lyles; who spun 2 2/3 shutout innings in relief, striking out four. The game had been paused with the Mets' Sean Manaea on the mound, having just walked Bobby Witt Jr.

"That was going to be the end of the line for Alec regardless," Quatraro said when asked about removing his young starter early. "I've been real impressed with what I've seen out of him so far, and with it still being early and getting up to speed from working out of the bullpen through the spring and early on, we're not going to push him, especially after a rain delay."

Freddy Fermin also collected a trio of hits for Kansas City; and Bobby Witt Jr scored twice and drew three walks, only the third time in his career he's walked that many times in a game. The three free passes were more than he had to that point all season (2).

Kansas City Royals at New York Mets
Apr 13, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (8-7)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
New York Mets (7-8)	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	X	4	10	0
W: Adrian Houser (2-1) L: Cole Ragans (2-2) S: None

Saturday, April 13th, 2024
Mets starter Adrian Houser was a Nick Loftin single away from the first perfect game since June 28th of last season, holding the Royals to one hit in a tidy eighty-seven pitches as the Mets evened the series by handing the Royals a 4-0 defeat. Kansas City actually had more errors (two) than hits (one).

"He came out on the attack from the first pitch and didn't let up from there," manager Carlos Mendoza said, "He's always been a guy that's worked ahead in the count, and when he does that, he's really hard to get on top of."

Meanwhile, New York nickel and dimed the Kansas City pitching staff by getting tons of baserunners on, but only two of the ten hits were for extra bases, and they drew four walks. Three of them were issued by Cole Ragans, who threw fifty-seven pitches in his first two innings, and could only get through four innings in total.

"He was losing a few ticks off the fastball, which is a pretty good sign that the tank was beginning to empty a bit," said manager Matt Quatraro. "With the lineup turning over after the fourth, we made the decision to turn to the bullpen at that point. I'd say they did a pretty nice job, but (Adrian) Houser was magnificent out there. We had no answer whatsoever."

Kansas City Royals at New York Mets
Apr 14, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (8-8)	1	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	5	14	0
New York Mets (8-8)	0	2	1	0	0	4	0	0	X	7	8	0
W: Adam Ottavino (1-0) L: Nick Anderson (1-1) S: Edwin Diaz (4)

Sunday, April 14th, 2024
Brett Baty came into the series with a dismal .181 OPS, but went 3-for-8 against Royals pitching, including a pair of homeruns. His homerun on Sunday keyed a run of back-to-back-to-back dingers, as Baty, D.J. Stewart, and Mark Vientos all homered in the four-run sixth as Kansas City fell 7-5, dropping the rubber match of the series.

Baty's homerun came against Seth Lugo, who was swiftly replaced by Nick Anderson, who surrendered the last two of the three straight homeruns. Anderson shrugged off the two homeruns to retire the next four hitters, but the offense couldn't find an answer in the late innings against the Mets' bullpen.

Kansas City took a 4-3 lead when Nelson Velazquez lined up a fastball from Jose Quintana and parked it well over the center field wall, and then added an insurance tally in the next inning when Bobby Witt Jr drove Garrett Hampson in with a double. That was quickly erased with the three consecutive homeruns in the next half-inning, however.

The Royals' offense knocked Quintana around quite a bit, collecting a dozen hits and a couple of free passes for good measure in 5 2/3 innings of work.

After a 6-4 start, the Royals have now lost four of their last six while being outscored 32-18 in that stretch.

UP NEXT: @ Chi. Sox (04/15 -- 04/17)