Re: Royal Rebuild [OOTP 19]
MOORE: "KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN"
Royals GM talks trades, draft
06/25/2020
By artoodeetoo
The Royals sit at 40-33, in third place in the AL Central behind the surging Indians, and surprisingly, the Tigers, who lead the division by a narrow margin over the Indians and Royals at this point. While it's just mid-June at this point, he's already been pretty busy when it comes to the July 31 trade deadline as the franchise looks to upgrade either the farm, or the lineup, depending on where they sit closer to the deadline.
"Right now, we're just in that no-man's land, where you have to keep your ear to the ground on both sides of the fence," he said, referring to the potential positions his team might be in closer to the deadline. "While we'd love to improve our farm system, I think we're at a point where we have the capital to move some guys to fill some needs."
Reportedly, Moore is looking to bolster the offense, which ranks ninth in the AL in runs scored, and they're in a tie for seventh in homeruns with seventy-four. The emergence of Brett Phillips as a run-producer has quelled the need for a corner outfield bat to this point, but Royals' first and third basemen are amongst the worst in all of baseball when it comes to OPS (.691). Four different players have started a game at first base, with Ryan O'Hearn, Ryan McBroom, Salvador Perez, and Hunter Dozier all getting starts there.
"We've made some calls, but obviously, they're in the very preliminary stages," Moore went on to say. "We're in a pretty unique position to where we can afford to sit back and keep our options open."
The Royals could also use some help in the starting rotation. Jake Junis looks like the team's ace to this point, and his peripherals are solid and back that up. After that, it's much murkier -- Danny Duffy is a Jekyll-and-Hyde case, Brad Keller doesn't miss a ton of bats, and Jose De Leon is promising, but has allowed north of 2.0 HR/9 so far this season. Luiz Gohara was moved to the bullpen after mixed results in the rotation since the beginning of May.
The bullpen also has slipped a bit in recent weeks, but are still very good -- their 3.54 ERA is good for second-best in the AL, and that's without the services of Josh Staumont, who entered the season as the closer. Richard Lovelady hit the baker's dozen mark in saves just a few days ago, and has a sub-2.50 ERA with a 28/6 K/BB ratio over 23 innings of work. However, Connor Sadzeck has struggled in May and June, with 11 ER in 14 1/3 innings over the past two months (covering fourteen appearances); and Josh Staumont is still months away from returning, so the bullpen could use some shoring up, especially from the right side.
Our attention then turned to the draft, where the Royals picked Aaron Nixon ninth overall roughly three weeks and change ago. Most experts thought the Royals would go the prep route, but for a pitcher. Moore said they had Nixon as one of their top "three or so" players, and when he fell to number-nine, they couldn't pass him up.
"Aaron's a different player than Bobby is," said Moore, who tried to differentiate between Nixon and Bobby Witt, Jr., last year's second-overall pick for Kansas City. "We think Aaron could really grow into an All-Star caliber shortstop, or even a third baseman. He's got that kind of arm strength that pops off the tape, and we think his power potential is much greater than you otherwise would see suggested. He has such a great swing, and when he fills out a bit more, we think he could really start popping the ball over the fence more."
Prep outfielder Enrique Bradfield was the team's supplemental pick, while New Mexico outfielder Chris Dunn went in the second. Third-round pick Ian Bedell, a local product from the University of Missouri, went to the Royals in Round 3, and signed a bonus deal just a few days ago. Fourth-rounder Kellum Clark (1B) and fifth-rounder Albert Hernandez (RHP) rounded out the top five picks, both high schoolers. Clark recently signed a bonus deal worth roughly $875K to forego college and enter the Royals' system.
MOORE: "KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN"
Royals GM talks trades, draft
06/25/2020
By artoodeetoo
The Royals sit at 40-33, in third place in the AL Central behind the surging Indians, and surprisingly, the Tigers, who lead the division by a narrow margin over the Indians and Royals at this point. While it's just mid-June at this point, he's already been pretty busy when it comes to the July 31 trade deadline as the franchise looks to upgrade either the farm, or the lineup, depending on where they sit closer to the deadline.
"Right now, we're just in that no-man's land, where you have to keep your ear to the ground on both sides of the fence," he said, referring to the potential positions his team might be in closer to the deadline. "While we'd love to improve our farm system, I think we're at a point where we have the capital to move some guys to fill some needs."
Reportedly, Moore is looking to bolster the offense, which ranks ninth in the AL in runs scored, and they're in a tie for seventh in homeruns with seventy-four. The emergence of Brett Phillips as a run-producer has quelled the need for a corner outfield bat to this point, but Royals' first and third basemen are amongst the worst in all of baseball when it comes to OPS (.691). Four different players have started a game at first base, with Ryan O'Hearn, Ryan McBroom, Salvador Perez, and Hunter Dozier all getting starts there.
"We've made some calls, but obviously, they're in the very preliminary stages," Moore went on to say. "We're in a pretty unique position to where we can afford to sit back and keep our options open."
The Royals could also use some help in the starting rotation. Jake Junis looks like the team's ace to this point, and his peripherals are solid and back that up. After that, it's much murkier -- Danny Duffy is a Jekyll-and-Hyde case, Brad Keller doesn't miss a ton of bats, and Jose De Leon is promising, but has allowed north of 2.0 HR/9 so far this season. Luiz Gohara was moved to the bullpen after mixed results in the rotation since the beginning of May.
The bullpen also has slipped a bit in recent weeks, but are still very good -- their 3.54 ERA is good for second-best in the AL, and that's without the services of Josh Staumont, who entered the season as the closer. Richard Lovelady hit the baker's dozen mark in saves just a few days ago, and has a sub-2.50 ERA with a 28/6 K/BB ratio over 23 innings of work. However, Connor Sadzeck has struggled in May and June, with 11 ER in 14 1/3 innings over the past two months (covering fourteen appearances); and Josh Staumont is still months away from returning, so the bullpen could use some shoring up, especially from the right side.
Our attention then turned to the draft, where the Royals picked Aaron Nixon ninth overall roughly three weeks and change ago. Most experts thought the Royals would go the prep route, but for a pitcher. Moore said they had Nixon as one of their top "three or so" players, and when he fell to number-nine, they couldn't pass him up.
"Aaron's a different player than Bobby is," said Moore, who tried to differentiate between Nixon and Bobby Witt, Jr., last year's second-overall pick for Kansas City. "We think Aaron could really grow into an All-Star caliber shortstop, or even a third baseman. He's got that kind of arm strength that pops off the tape, and we think his power potential is much greater than you otherwise would see suggested. He has such a great swing, and when he fills out a bit more, we think he could really start popping the ball over the fence more."
Prep outfielder Enrique Bradfield was the team's supplemental pick, while New Mexico outfielder Chris Dunn went in the second. Third-round pick Ian Bedell, a local product from the University of Missouri, went to the Royals in Round 3, and signed a bonus deal just a few days ago. Fourth-rounder Kellum Clark (1B) and fifth-rounder Albert Hernandez (RHP) rounded out the top five picks, both high schoolers. Clark recently signed a bonus deal worth roughly $875K to forego college and enter the Royals' system.
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