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08-08-2017, 10:15 PM
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#17 |
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MVP
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Re: Blue Bloods [OOTP 18]
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08-09-2017, 06:36 PM
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#21 |
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MVP
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Re: Blue Bloods [OOTP 18]
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08-11-2017, 11:14 AM
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#22 |
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MVP
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Re: Blue Bloods [OOTP 18]
2017 IN REVIEW & BEYOND By artoodeetoo, royalsbaseball.com 10/03/2017 Post-season hopes in mid-July after a sweep of eventual AL West champ Texas gradually gave way to a fall in late August and September, as the Royals had the third-worst record in baseball down the last five weeks of the season. Most of this was due to the mass exodus of veteran talent at the trade deadline, but the team still has some pieces going forward; as left fielder Alex Gordon returned from an injury to post a solid 117 OPS+ and 116 wRC+, indicating he was an above-average league average bat despite missing half the season. Outfielder Jorge Soler, acquired from the Cubs for Wade Davis last off-season, also emerged as a middle-of-the-order bat, clubbing 13 homeruns and posting metrics of 119 OPS+ and a wRC+ of 124. He missed the first several months of the season with a back injury. However, Soler also has a player option for the last three years of his contract, and with a strong showing in his limited time, he may choose to opt out and give salary arbitration a try. The final three years of his contract that he originally signed with the Chicago Cubs runs out in 2020, and is worth $12M ($4M each in 2018, 2019, 2020) over the last three years if he chooses to exercise that option. Despite Danny Duffy's struggles after the All-Star break, the starting pitching as a whole was solid -- Ian Kennedy posted another solid season in his second season as a Royal, making more than thirty starts for the eighth time in eight MLB seasons, and led the team in wins with eleven. Jason Hammel was a workhorse, nearly topping the 200-inning mark while posting an 8-9 record and a 3.53 ERA. Arbitration-eligible Nate Karns was 8-11 with a 4.38 ERA, serving as the team's fifth-starter. But questions linger as the offseason begins to unfold -- it's pretty apparent that the payroll is going to go down significantly heading into 2018, so how does the Royals' management team look to improve the team's fortunes next season? The biggest question personnel-wise is Kennedy. If he turns down his player option, it would hurt the team initially, but open up funds to improve the team elsewhere as Kennedy would be leaving $49M over the next three years on the table. There is concern that he will turn it down due to the weak starting pitching market, where after the clear targets in Jake Arrieta and Yu Darvish, the options are murkier. The Cardinals' six-year, $106M extension in late August with Lance Lynn was the first domino to fall. With all of that said, here are five questions that the Royals' brass needs to ask themselves as they head into the offseason: Is a coaching staff shake-up needed? Manager Ned Yost, first base coach Rusty Kuntz, third base coach Mike Jirschele, and pitching coach Dave Eiland all seem pretty safe unless they get promotions elsewhere (or if Yost decides to retire, which he has hinted at). Bench coach Don Wakamatsu's name is going to come up in managing openings as they come available, as he's been one of Yost's most trusted lieutenants throughout the last several seasons. I do not believe that any staff changes will happen, but if one does my guess it will be hitting coach Dale Sveum. The hack-and-slash approach that worked well in the 2014 and 2015 post-season runs seems to have run its course, and there may be a push for more plate discipline coming from the top. Is there anyone on the roster that isn't expendable? If it were up to me, the untouchables list would be short: Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon, Raul Mondesi, Danny Duffy, and Andrew Stevenson. You could throw Jorge Soler in there if he accepts his option. But Dayton's Moore's list might look a little different. With the lack of breathing room in the payroll (more on that later), the best and most efficent way is to improve the team through trades, which have worked out very well for the most part under Moore. There is a logjam at both corner infield spots, with up to five players that can play at least one of the two positions, with a few playing both. And that's not even counting Ryan O'Hearn, who is expected to join the Royals no later than early June, presumably to protect his Super Two status. There are also a plethora of left-handed bullpen arms with Scott Alexander, Enny Romero, and Brian Flynn joining veterans Mike Minor, Matt Strahm, and Travis Wood in September. Minor is due a $10M option for 2018, so he seems like a likely trade candidate if the Royals want to shed more payroll. Wood still has two years remaining on his contract. Who would they move? Strahm is the only affordable option they could move who has a legitimate MLB track record. Due to Minor and Wood's financial obligations, I think they would have a hard time moving them as opposed to Strahm. Is there room in the budget to make one (or two) "splashy" free agent signings? All the signs point to no. It hurt to see the core of the World Series teams gutted in a near-firesale, but I think it was necessary to ensure the franchise doesn't crater in the coming years. I think they'll make a few minor moves; maybe trade a veteran or two to clear some payroll, but I'd bet that the team on the field next April is going to look similar to the one you saw in September. That all changes if Ian Kennedy decides to opt-out of his final three years of his current deal and enter the market. That would free up an additional $49M over those three years, plus the savings from the firesale to make one (or two) moves. Lance Lynn's six-year extension that he signed near the end of August with the Cardinals could bump Kennedy up in the free-agent carousel, and CBS Sports' Jon Heyman has reported that Kennedy's agent has been putting out feelers to teams that might be interested in the 32-year old righty in the wake of the Lynn news. First though, Kennedy will have to opt-out, and teams aren't allowed to contact the player or any of his representation unless specifically allowed or until ties with his current team have been severed. We'll get a firmer answer on this after the World Series, when players with opt-out clauses can officially make their decisions. What is the biggest need to tackle first? With righties Santiago Casilla and Joakim Soria to miss all or parts of the 2018 season, finding a back-end, right-handed power arm for the late innings is a high, if not the highest, priority. Internally, Kevin McCarthy seems like an obvious choice, but he's more of a righty-specialist than a closer due to a lack of velocity. Chris Young has a better chance of starting in 2018 than closing games, and gives up too many flyballs to be a reliable option. If Kyle Zimmer can't stick as a starter due to injury, the next best situation for him could be as a closer. He was brought up to the Royals once his DL stint in Triple-A was over; however, he was shut down for the rest of the season after shoulder soreness in a bullpen session soon after arriving in Kansas City, and never saw the field for the Royals in September. There are other hard-throwing righties in the minor leagues that could fit the bill in Reid Redman and Andrew Edwards, but are they ready for such a huge role right off the bat? Could prospects like Miguel Almonte or Josh Staumont figure prominently here if they don't work out as starters? The only one of those four on the 40-man roster is Almonte, so he would be the most likely out of a group of unlikely pitchers. Is ownership willing to "go the extra mile" to land a quality player? If the difference between landing and not landing a player is a couple million dollars, is David Glass willing to pony up to get them over the finish line in negotiations? Or will he get gun-shy after the ugly early returns on Travis Wood and Brandon Moss? This could be a separate question on its own, but I also get the sense that it comes down to whether they feel like they can be a playoff team next year. Do you build for 2019 and beyond; or since the AL Central seems wide open after Cleveland, do you look to take advantage of the rest of the division while they are down and shoot for a playoff return in 2018? If the answer is the former, then the Royals probably won't be terribly active in the free-agent market, and will probably look to trim more salary as the offseason progresses. The Winter Meetings and the level of the team's activity down there will tell us quite a bit about the direction they want to take, as those meetings are usually the catalyst for such plans.
lek likes this.
Last edited by artoodeetoo; 08-11-2017 at 02:57 PM. |
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08-11-2017, 12:27 PM
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#23 |
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MVP
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Re: Blue Bloods [OOTP 18]
johnstone1987 likes this.
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