MLB News (09/23)
----------
-
-
Royal Rumblings (09/23)
Royal Rumblings
By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | September 23rd, 2022
Singer Shut Down: Even though it appears to be a minor injury, the Royals have placed Brady Singer on the 10-day injured list with what was termed as a shoulder sprain. Manager Mike Matheny also announced after the game that they would shut him down for the remainder of the season, and have re-called right-hander Jon Heasley to take his spot in the rotation.
Lefty Angel Zerpa was also recently shut down, but for an innings limit imposed by the club, as opposed to a specific ailment. Singer and Zerpa figure heavily into next year's plans, as both have had strong second halves to 2022, along with veteran holdover Brad Keller, entering his final season of control with the team next year.
Greinke Still Mum On Future: The Royals and Zack Greinke have not yet entered any official contract extension talks, but through other sources confirmed by long-time MLB writers Ken Rosenthal and Jon Heyman, he remains interested in continuing his career with the Royals beyond this season. That said, the Royals don't figure to compete in 2023, and the righty could want some assurances from the organization before agreeing to return.
The 38-year-old could be making his final home start with the Royals tonight, as he'll take the mound against Marco Gonzales of Seattle at 7:05 CST. Not much of a strikeout pitcher anymore in his later years, he has still managed a solid 4.12 FIP and 4.44 SIERA, which compare well to his overall 4.08 ERA.
Royals Minor Leaguer Earns MVP Honor: Royals minor league infielder Edgar Martinez has won the Arizona Complex Gold League MVP award, taking 12 of the possible 19 first-place votes. In 192 plate appearances with the Gold squad, he hit a remarkable .344/.461/.650 (201 OPS+) with eight doubles, triples, and homeruns apiece. That 201 OPS+ figure means he was just more than double the production of the average player in that league. He also spent some time in Single-A with Columbus, hitting .325/.411/.450 there in eighty-six plate appearances.Comment
Series Preview: Seattle (65-84) @ Kansas City (68-82)
@@@
PITCHING MATCHUPS
09/23: LHP Marco Gonzales (10-9, 2.97) vs RHP Zack Greinke (6-10, 4.08)
09/24: RHP Matt Brash (6-9, 4.83) vs LHP Kris Bubic (4-4, 5.08)
09/25: RHP Chris Flexen (1-4, 5.44) vs RHP Jonathan Bowlan (3-0, 4.60)
WHO'S HOT?
LHP Marco Gonzales, Seattle -- 35 2/3 IP, 23 K, 8 ER (5 starts)
OF Jarred Kelenic, Seattle -- 9-for-21 (.429), 2 HR, 5 2B
WHO'S NOT?
1B Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City -- 0-for-21 (.000), 2 BB, 4 K
SEATTLE INJURED LIST
None.
KANSAS CITY INJURED LIST
SS Adalberto Mondesi (knee) -- 60-day IL
RHP Brady Singer (shoulder) -- 10-day IL
RHP Josh Staumont (shoulder) -- 10-day IL
RHP Nathan Webb (bicep) -- 60-day IL
LHP Angel Zerpa (arm) -- 10-day ILComment
Seattle @ Kansas City (09/23 -- 09/25)
Series Recap: Seattle Mariners
By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | September 26th, 2022
Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals Sep 25, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Seattle Mariners (65-85) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 6 0 Kansas City Royals (69-82) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 X 6 9 0 W: Zack Greinke (7-10) L: Marco Gonzales (10-10) S: None
Friday, September 23rd, 2022
In what may have been his final start at Kauffman Stadium, Zack Greinke picked up the victory as the Royals pulled away late in a 6-2 victory over Seattle to open the final three-game series at home for the 2022 season.
The Royals were powered offensively by Salvador Perez, who doubled, homered, scored twice, and drove in three of the Royals' six runs. Hunter Dozier also had a two-run double in their three-run eighth inning.
"If that's the last time that he ever sets foot on the mound here in this uniform, then I'm glad we could win one for him," said manager Mike Matheny of his veteran starting pitcher. "We've had a hard time getting him runs this year, and I wonder what his win-loss record would look like had we done so."
It wasn't Zack's sharpest performance; he walked four hitters and struck out only four. His four walks were a season-worst mark, as he had walked three in two previous starts, and two or less in all the rest. Jose Cuas relieved him with two outs in the seventh, and Richard Lovelady and Jackson Kowar were able to finish the game out.
Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals Sep 26, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Seattle Mariners (66-85) 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 6 11 0 Kansas City Royals (69-83) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 0 W: Matt Brash (7-9) L: Kris Bubic (4-5) S: None
Saturday, September 24th, 2022
Making his first start in over a month, Kris Bubic went just 4 1/3 innings as the Royals dropped a 6-1 decision to the Mariners on Saturday night. The Royals didn't score until the bottom of the ninth inning against starter Matt Brash, who tied a season-high in pitches with 123 before getting pulled with the bases loaded and two outs for closer Andres Munoz, who got Ernie Clement to ground out to third base to end the contest.
Brash went 8 2/3 innings, scattering six hits and one run, striking out seven with a pair of walks. Munoz's one-third of an inning with the bases loaded was good enough for his 27th save of the season. Bubic allowed six hits, four runs, and walked three while fanning four.
Kansas City's lone run didn't even come on a hit -- Vinnie Pasquantino grounded into a double play after Nicky Lopez doubled to lead off the inning, and then Bobby Witt Jr singled to put runners at the corners with no one out. However, the Royals continued to make things interesting, as MJ Melendez doubled, followed by back-to-back walks to Hunter Dozier and Nick Pratto to load the bases for Clement.
Melendez led the way with a pair of hits, including his 17th double of the season. Lopez's double was his team-best 37th of the season, while Witt Jr's hitting streak reached double digits with his ninth-inning hit. He's now 14-for-40 (.350) over that stretch, with five walks and strikeouts each.
Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals Sep 27, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Seattle Mariners (66-86) 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 5 9 0 Kansas City Royals (70-83) 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 2 X 11 14 1 W: Dylan Coleman (6-3) L: George Kirby (2-7) S: None
Sunday, September 25th, 2022
Things didn't look good for Kansas City as they entered the bottom of the seventh of last night's game, but the fireworks started soon after that as the Royals exploded for eight runs in that inning, and then scored two more in the eighth on their way to an 11-5 victory to close out the home portion of the 2022 schedule on Fan Appreciation Night.
Seven of the eight runs in the seventh innings were on two swings of the bat, as Kyle Isbel hit his first career grand slam with one out, and Salvador Perez, who led off the inning with a flyout to center, hit a three-run bomb in his second at-bat of the frame.
An RBI single from MJ Melendez immediately preceded Perez's homerun, his 36th dinger of the season. It's a bit of longshot, but with nine games to go beginning tomorrow at Detroit, he still has a small chance at becoming the first Royal in team history with back-to-back 40-homerun seasons.
In addition, every single starter collected at least one hit, with Vinnie Pasquantino's three hits leading the way. He hit a triple in the fifth inning, his second three-bagger of the year. Nick Pratto, Nicky Lopez, and Dairon Blanco also chipped in with two each, and Bobby Witt Jr's hitting streak was extended to eleven in the seventh inning with his base hit.Comment
MLB News (09/26)
----------Comment
Series Preview: Kansas City (70-83) @ Detroit (61-91)
@@@
PITCHING MATCHUPS
09/27: RHP Brad Keller (3-6, 2.79) vs LHP Tarik Skubal (7-11, 4.68)
09/28: LHP Daniel Lynch (6-9, 5.10) vs RHP Matt Manning (3-4, 4.64)
09/29: RHP Zack Greinke (7-10, 3.98) vs RHP Spencer Turnbull (6-8, 4.82)
WHO'S HOT?
LHP Tarik Skubal, Detroit -- 12 1/3 IP, ER, 15 K (2 starts)
RHP Spencer Turnbull, Detroit -- 12 IP, 3 ER, 10 K (2 starts)
C Salvador Perez, Kansas City -- 7-for-23 (.304), 3 HR, 4 2B, 2 BB
WHO'S NOT?
IF Ryan Kreidler, Detroit -- 2-for-20 (.100), 3 BB, 6 K
OF Edward Olivares, Kansas City -- 2-for-20 (.100), BB, 8 K
KANSAS CITY INJURED LIST
SS Adalberto Mondesi (knee) -- 60-day IL
RHP Brady Singer (shoulder) -- 10-day IL
RHP Josh Staumont (shoulder) -- 10-day IL
RHP Nathan Webb (bicep) -- 60-day IL
LHP Angel Zerpa (arm) -- 10-day IL
DETROIT INJURED LIST
LHP Andrew Chafin (elbow) -- 60-day IL
RHP Angel De Jesus (elbow) -- 60-day IL
C Eric Haase (finger) -- 10-day IL
OF Derek Hill (elbow) -- 60-day IL
RHP Carlos Martinez (oblique) -- 10-day IL
IF Zack Short (ankle) -- 60-day IL
RHP Will Vest (elbow) -- 60-day IL
LHP Joey Wentz (elbow) -- 60-day ILComment
Kansas City @ Detroit (09/27 -- 09/29)
Series Recap: Detroit Tigers
By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | September 30th, 2022
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals Sep 27, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City Royals (70-84) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 1 Detroit Tigers (62-91) 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 X 4 6 0 W: Tarik Skubal (8-11) L: Brad Keller (3-7) S: Kyle Funkhouser (2)
Tuesday, September 27th, 2022
Vinnie Pasquantino came to the plate as the tying run in the top of the ninth, but Kyle Funkhouser was able to strike him out on a changeup in the dirt as the Royals began their nine-game road trip to end the season on a sour note on Tuesday night, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Tigers.
Brad Keller went the distance, allowing four runs in eight innings of work. He was remarkably efficient, only throwing seventy-six pitches throughout the entire contest. He made only two big mistakes -- a three-run homerun to Spencer Torkelson in the fourth, and then a solo shot by Jonathan Schoop in the seventh.
"BK pitched a heck of a game, outside of the two homeruns," said manager Mike Matheny. "He came in and told me on the Torkelson homerun that it was hit down around the middle of the bat, not the fat part, and somehow muscled it out. He's just freakishly strong."
Kansas City's lone run came in the fifth inning as Bobby Witt Jr hit a 436-foot shot into the right-center seats against starter Tarik Skubal. He also singled and walked as part of a 2-for-4 day. MJ Melendez continues to hit the ball well, going 2-for-4.
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals Sep 28, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City Royals (71-84) 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 8 0 Detroit Tigers (62-92) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 W: Jon Heasley (3-2) L: Matt Manning (3-5) S: Scott Barlow (26)
Wednesday, September 28th, 2022
Called up to replace Brady Singer on the active roster, Jon Heasley made a surprise start and gave the Royals 6 2/3 superb innings as the Royals evened their series with the Tigers in a 3-1 victory on Wednesday night. Heasley scattered just two hits and one earned run, walking three with five strikeouts.
In fact, he retired the first ten hitters he faced before Javy Baez launched a solo homerun with one out in the fourth, but that's the last time that Detroit would come close to scoring until late in the seventh inning. Dylan Coleman replaced him with the bases full and two outs in that stanza, but was able to get out of the inning with a strikeout.
Salvador Perez led the Royals with three hits, and nearly had a fourth in the third inning had Baez not robbed him of a base hit with a diving catch in that frame. Dairon Blanco had the key hit in the fifth, a two-run double. He also singled as part of a two-hit day. Vinnie Pasquantino was hitless, but did walk twice and scored once.
Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers Sep 29, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Kansas City Royals (72-84) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 5 1 Detroit Tigers (62-93) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 W: Scott Barlow (6-5) L: Kyle Funkhouser (2-5) S: None
Thursday, September 29th, 2022
While the Royals fell short in the season series against the Tigers, they were able to take the final two games of the year against their intra-divisional rival, this time besting them 2-1 in ten innings. Kansas City was down to their final strike in the top of the ninth when Vinnie Pasquantino tied the game with a solo shot against closer Kyle Funkhouser.
Nicky Lopez would go on to hit a sac fly in the top of the 10th to break the 1-1 tie, and then Scott Barlow, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, pitched a 1-2-3 tenth to pick up his sixth victory out of the bullpen this season. He struck out three of the six batters he faced, including Javy Baez with a man on second with two outs to end it.
Aside from Pasquantino's big fly, Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 as he continues on his torrid pace to end the season. Zack Greinke again suffered from some tough luck (and lack of support), as he scattered five hits and a run over 6 2/3 innings, but didn't get any run support at all.Comment
MLB News (09/30)
----------Comment
Royal Rumblings (09/30)
Royal Rumblings
By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | September 30th, 2022
Royals Claim Demeritte: With six days left in the season (and on his birthday), the Royals have claimed outfielder Travis Demeritte off waivers from the Braves, according to Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors. He's a former first-round pick that is now with his fourth organization, as he's been with the Rangers, Braves, Tigers, and now with the Royals.
In an extremely small sample size of twenty-one MLB plate appearances this season, he's slashing .278/.381/.389 with two doubles and three walks, but he's likely going to be advanced minor league depth, as he's posted a .267/.360/.537 slash in just over a thousand Triple-A plate appearances with fifty-seven homeruns since 2019. He does have an option remaining for 2023, so it's likely he stays on the 40-man into next season.
They designated JaCoby Jones for assignment to clear room on the roster; and since he (Demeritte) has been optioned five times this season per the new CBA, he'll have to play on the active roster the remainder of the season. Brewer Hicklen was optioned to Omaha, where he'll get to play in the Storm Chasers' post-season run beginning tomorrow.
Omaha Begins Post-Season Run: The second-seeded Storm Chasers will begin their 2022 International League Playoff march with a best-of-seven series with the Worcester Red Sox beginning on Saturday, October 1st. No other Royals' affiliate made their respective leagues' post season.Comment
Series Preview: Kansas City (72-84) @ Cleveland (80-76)
@@@
PITCHING MATCHUPS
09/30: LHP Kris Bubic (4-5, 5.26) vs RHP Cody Morris (4-5, 4.02)
10/01: LHP Daniel Lynch (6-9, 5.10) vs RHP Cal Quantrill (6-1, 4.78)
10/02: RHP Jonathan Bowlan (3-0, 4.62) vs RHP Shane Bieber (13-5, 3.28)
10/03: RHP Brad Keller (3-7, 2.90) vs RHP Triston McKenzie (6-9, 4.11)
10/04: RHP Zack Greinke (7-10, 3.88) vs RHP Zach Plesac (6-11, 5.61)
10/05: LHP Kris Bubic (4-5, 5.26) vs RHP Cody Morris (4-5, 4.02)
WHO'S HOT?
3B Jose Ramirez, Cleveland -- 8-for-21 (.381), 4 HR, 3 BB
RHP Zack Greinke, Kansas City -- 13 1/3 IP, 8 K, 2 ER (2 starts)
C MJ Melendez, Kansas City -- 9-for-26 (.346), 3 HR, 2 2B, BB
WHO'S NOT?
OF Josh Naylor, Cleveland -- 2-for-31 (.064), BB, 15 K
OF Edward Olivares, Kansas City -- 2-for-20 (.100), BB, 8 K
KANSAS CITY INJURED LIST
SS Adalberto Mondesi (knee) -- 60-day IL
RHP Brady Singer (shoulder) -- 10-day IL
RHP Josh Staumont (shoulder) -- 10-day IL
RHP Nathan Webb (bicep) -- 60-day IL
LHP Angel Zerpa (arm) -- 10-day IL
CLEVELAND INJURED LIST
RHP Emmanuel Clase (elbow) -- 60-day IL
LHP Sam Hentges (shoulder) -- 60-day IL
C Manny Pina (hamstring) -- 10-day IL
RHP Carlos Vargas (shoulder) -- 60-day ILComment
Kansas City @ Cleveland (09/30 -- 10/05)
Series Recap: Cleveland Guardians
By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | October 6th, 2022
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians Sep 30, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City Royals (72-85) 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 6 1 Cleveland Guardians (81-76) 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 5 8 0 W: James Karinchak (3-2) L: Gabe Speier (1-2) S: None
Friday, September 30th, 2022
A pair of homeruns from Salvador Perez, and one from newcomer Travis Demeritte in his first Royals at-bat weren't enough to overcome the Indians, as they walked the Royals off in a 5-4 victory to open their monumental six-game series to end the season. Steven Kwan, who homered for only the sixth time this season in the first against Daniel Lynch, hit an RBI double off Gabe Speier with two outs in the ninth to win it.
Cleveland is one of three teams still with an uncertain future in the American League, along with the Angels and Yankees, who occupy the second and third wildcard spots currently.
Perez, who was 3-for-4 with three RBI in the game, hit a two-run homerun in the first inning off Cody Morris, and then tied the game with a solo homerun against James Karinchak in the ninth. Demeritte's homerun was in the second inning, a 418-foot shot over the left field wall.
Aside from those two, only two other Royals collected hits -- MJ Melendez, who singled and scored on Perez's homerun in the first, and Nick Pratto, who singled in the fifth.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians Oct 1, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City Royals (73-85) 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 6 1 Cleveland Guardians (81-77) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 0 W: Dylan Coleman (7-3) L: James Karinchak (3-3) S: Scott Barlow (27)
Saturday, October 1st, 2022
For the second straight game, Kansas City mounted a late rally in the ninth inning. But unlike Friday's game, the Royals held on in the ninth to secure a 4-3 victory. Scott Barlow picked up his 27th save of the season, striking out a pair while working around a leadoff single from Tony Kemp.
Vinnie Pasquantino singled to score a pair with two outs in the ninth, the second time in the last week he's had a huge game-tying or winning hit in that stanza. Pasquantino also reached base four times, three times via walk.
The victory ensured the Royals wouldn't surpass 90 defeats, the third straight season with that distinction; although the pandemic-shortened 2020 season only featured sixty games.
With three runs and six strikeouts over five innings, Kris Bubic was solid, not spectacular. He also scattered three walks and five hits. Dylan Coleman picked up the win in relief by going 1 1/3 innings, immediately preceding Barlow's appearance.
Nicky Lopez collected three hits, going 3-for-4 with a walk. Bobby Witt Jr also went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of walks.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians Oct 2, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City Royals (73-86) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 1 Cleveland Guardians (82-77) 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 7 9 2 W: Shane Bieber (14-5) L: Jonathan Bowlan (3-1) S: None
Sunday, October 2nd, 2022
It wasn't in the Royals' favor, but they were able to witness a little bit of history as Jose Ramirez hit his 53rd homerun of the season, breaking Jim Thome's franchise record of fifty-two from back in 2002, as the Royals were pasted 7-1 in Sunday afternoon's game.
Ramirez's homerun in the seventh was the third of three on the day for the Guardians, who would later be eliminated from postseason contention on that day when the Yankees dispatched the Orioles to clinch the final wildcard spot.
Jesus Aguilar and Franmil Reyes went back-to-back in the sixth to give them a 3-0 lead after six innings, which chased starter Jonathan Bowlan from the contest.
Shane Bieber went the distance, allowing just one run on five hits as he struck out nine with just one walk. The lone run came in the ninth inning on a groundout from Nick Pratto, who scored MJ Melendez on the play.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians Oct 3, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City Royals (73-87) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 1 Cleveland Guardians (83-77) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 9 2 W: Tanner Burns (3-0) L: Scott Barlow (6-6) S: None
Monday, October 3rd, 2022
For the second time in the series, the Royals were walked off in the ninth inning, this time by a homerun off the bat of Tony Kemp as the Royals fell to 73-87 with a 2-1 defeat to the Guardians.
Scott Barlow was tagged with the loss, falling to 6-6 on the season with this latest setback.
Kansas City's only run came in the second inning, an RBI single to score MJ Melendez. Isbel was 2-for-4 in the game; no other Royal player had more than one hit. Nicky Lopez reached base safely twice, going 1-for-4 with a walk.
Making his final start of 2022, Brad Keller allowed just one earned run over 6 1/3 innings, scattering eight hits, walking two, and fanning six. Tanner Burns got the win for Cleveland, working around a pair of hits in the top of the ninth.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians Oct 4, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City Royals (73-88) 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 5 11 0 Cleveland Guardians (84-77) 0 2 2 1 1 1 3 0 X 10 17 1 W: Zach Plesac (7-11) L: Zack Greinke (7-11) S: None
Tuesday, October 4th, 2022
The Guardians didn't score in only two of their at-bats, as they scored two each in the second and third, one each in the fourth, fifth, and sixth, and three in the seventh as they rolled to a 10-5 win over the Royals on Tuesday night.
With a two-run single in the fourth and an RBI double in the fifth, Vinnie Pasquantino led the Royals with three RBI. Salvador Perez and Nicky Lopez chipped in with two hits each, and Perez scored twice.
In perhaps his final act as a Royal, Zack Greinke was battered around a bit, as he was tagged for six earned runs in five innings, walking four and striking out three. Despite giving up ten hits and walking two in five and two-third innings, Zach Plesac got the win to move to 7-11 on the season for the Guardians.
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians Oct 5, 2022 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Kansas City Royals (74-88) 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 9 0 Cleveland Guardians (84-78) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 6 1 W: Daniel Lynch (7-9) L: Cody Morris (4-6) S: Scott Barlow (28)
Wednesday, October 5th, 2022
Four hits from Kyle Isbel, and seven shutout innings from Daniel Lynch were the catalysts for the Royals' 3-2 season-ending victory over the Guardians to finish with a 74-88 record, matching last year's mark. Kansas City wrapped up the road trip with a 4-5 mark, although they lost three of their last four after a 3-2 start.
Isbel homered in the seventh, which turned out to be a huge insurance run (more on that later), and doubled in addition to a pair of singles as part of a 4-for-4 day. He scored twice as well. Nick Pratto and Nicky Lopez also had RBI hits.
Lynch's start was the latest in a long string of solid starts, dating back to his first start in Omaha after getting sent down mid-July. Upon getting promoted back to the majors, Lynch continued his strong performances, throwing four quality starts out of five, including three with two or fewer earned runs allowed.
"You know, this is the guy we thought we were getting when we took him where we did," said manager Mike Matheny. "He's been excellent since he's been back with us, and hope it continues into the future."
Things did get a little hairy for the Royals late. Up 3-0 in the ninth, Scott Barlow walked the first two hitters he faced before getting pinch-hitter Josh Naylor to fly out to center. Andres Gimenez then tripled home both runners before he set down the next two in order to end the contest. It was his 28th save of the season.Comment
MLB News (10/07)
----------Comment
Royal Rumblings (10/07)
Royal Rumblings
By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | October 7th, 2022
Royals Host Season-Ending Presser: Royals owner John Sherman met solo with the media earlier this morning, and right off the top he announced that they would be parting ways with GM J.J. Picollo effective immediately. He said it was a 'gut-wrenching' decision, but that it was best for the organization to move forward. Long-time scouting chief Lonnie Goldberg was also let go, which means that the Royals have three gigantic openings at the top of their personnel shop.
Sherman, who has been very approachable and open with the media, unlike the previous ownership, said that he has confidence in manager Mike Matheny, who is under contract through next season. However, he noted that his POBO (President of Baseball Operations) and GM hires will be the ones to make the call -- "That's not my choice", he said. "I'll give my input, but the baseball guys should make the baseball decisions."
When asked about replacements, he said he wants to fill the POBO role immediately -- "That person is going to make the engine run," he said. "We're in the very preliminary stages of that, though, but hope to have someone in the role as soon as we can."
The POBO position only officially opened up a few days ago, but it's been known that Dayton Moore had made the decision to step down effective at season's end weeks ago. Up until recently, there had been little chatter about potential replacements for Moore. One of them is Guardians GM Mike Chernoff per ESPN's Jeff Passan, and I'm sure he (Sherman) had some extended conversations with his former subordinate while the Royals were in Cleveland for the past week.
A few other names have popped up as well include a pair of names from the Dodgers -- GM Brandon Gomes has emerged as a potential name to watch for, while Dodgers' senior VP of baseball operations Josh Byrnes is also under consideration. Byrnes, 53, has previous GM experience, having served as the Padres' GM from 2012 through 2014 before A.J. Preller came on board.
Others mentioned by Passan that are a little more familiar -- Scott Harris in San Francisco, Dan Kantrowicz of the Cubs, and Matt Arnold in Milwaukee. Harris and Arnold hold official GM titles, while Kantrovicz is the Cubs' scouting chief.
It seems to be from the names that have been mentioned, is that Sherman believes he can get a sitting, young-ish lieutenant from another team to be the number-one in Kansas City. Will it happen that way? I don't know for sure; some of these second-in-command types are pretty generously compensated without the pressure of sitting in the lead seat.
Storm Chasers' Postseason Run Ends: The only affiliate to make the postseason at any level in the organization, Omaha fell in five games to the Worcester Red Sox in the first round of the International League Playoffs.
They got off to a rough start, losing 13-4 in the first game at home, before dropping the second game, also at home, by a 4-1 count.
They won one of three in Worcester, sandwiching two losses around a victory on Wednesday. They lost a 17-inning marathon on Tuesday by a 5-4 score before beating up on a tired WooSox pitching staff in Game 4.
They turned around and were drubbed the following day, losing 10-4 in a game that wasn't even as close as the score indicated, as they were down 10-1 going into the eighth.Comment
MLB 2022 Postseason Brackets
----------Comment
Wild Card Series (10/08)
----------Comment
Working...
👍
😀
😂
🥰
😎
😞
Comment