Offseason Report #7/Spring Outlook (02/26)
Offseason Report #7/Spring Preview
As they head into the spring portion of the schedule, there are a couple of recent acquisitions to bolster the pitching depth -- the Royals signed former Orioles, Angels, and Twins hurler Dylan Bundy to a one-year, $7.6 million deal about a week ago, and then the next day brought in former Tiger and Yankee hurler David McKay on a minor league deal that will convert to a major league contract if he's promoted before May 1st. Both arrived in camp yesterday, and will be on the spring roster when the games begin tomorrow.
Bundy is coming off an outstanding 2022 campaign in which he posted a 9-2 record with a 3.10 ERA in 113 1/3 innings of work for the Twins, striking out ninety-nine hitters against just twenty-seven walks. His FIP and SIERA marks of 3.43 and 3.47, respectively, also strongly back up those surface numbers. However, injuries limited him to just twenty-three starts. McKay is actually a former Royals draftee, having been picked in the 14th round back in 2018. He has scant MLB experience (26 1/3 innings), but has extensive successful upper minors experience. He combined for a 2.87 ERA between Double and Triple-A last season, striking out seventy-five hitters in forty-seven innings.
They also claimed right-handed pitcher Noe Toribio off waivers from the Yankees earlier in the week. Toribio, a sinker-slider-changeup pitcher, was not in their top thirty prospects, but with all of the pitching that has moved off the Royals' prospect lists over the last two seasons, Toribio is actually slotted in as their 18th-ranked prospect after the move. Jake Brentz was designated off the roster to clear room.
Lastly, the Royals completed their Andrew Benintendi trade from the deadline, adding outfielder Matt Koperniak from the Cardinals. He was the player-to-be-named-later in the deal, only getting confirmed after Benintendi signed with the Mets this week. Under the terms of the deal, Alec Burleson would have been the PTBNL if Benintendi had re-signed with the Cardinals.
THREE STORYLINES WE'RE WATCHING...
BWJ assumes leadership role: Despite just entering his age-22 season, Bobby Witt Jr is already assuming a leadership role on the team, along with long-time fan favorite Salvador Perez and pitcher Brady Singer. He was one of the first position players to arrive in big-league camp; and has noticeably bulked up a bit, as he's now listed at six-foot-one and an even two-hundred pounds.
"Working with Drew (Saylor) and Bobby (Stroupe), I've been able to get my body ready to play a full 162-game schedule," he said. "My goal is to play all 162 games this year. I know the likelihood of doing that is low, but I'm going to prepare like I am. I want to be on the field as much as I can."
Witt also noted that he didn't set any specific personal goals for the season ("I'm going to keep that to myself", he said), except for making the postseason.
"There's such a different air about the clubhouse this year, and with all the young guys, with Kris (manager Kristopher Negron) in the clubhouse, he's not much older than some of the vets here, so there's a real vibe of confidence in here now," he said. "We just want to get to the postseason and see what happens from there."
Hunter Dozier hopes for bounce-back year: The last three seasons have been an absolute nightmare for Hunter Dozier, who signed an extension after his breakout 2019 season in which he hit twenty-six homeruns and ten triples. A prolonged bout with Covid-19 in 2020, and down seasons in 2021 and 2022 have soured him a bit to the fanbase. However, he said that coming into this spring is the "best I've ever felt", and is primed to regain his 2019 form.
"The last two years have been really trying for me, with adding to our family and dealing with the after effects of Covid-19, but I think this year, I finally feel like I'm back both physically and mentally," he said prior to a workout earlier in the week. "I'm just ready to get back out there and help us win more games, and try to get this team back to the postseason."
Young arms in camp: Given that the Royals didn't really do much to remedy the bullpen in the offseason, only bringing in veterans in Adam Cimber, Colin Poche, and David McKay, it should be no surprise that a lot of younger bullpen hopefuls are in big league camp. Toribio (23), Will Klein (23), Drew Parrish (25), Nathan Webb (25), and Kasey Kalich (24) are amongst the newcomers that are experiencing their first major league spring camp, and still others like Angel Zerpa (23) are young pitchers that are going through their second camp in as many seasons.
Webb is the only one that has pitched at a higher level than Double-A aside from Zerpa, but early returns from the others in the group are promising. New pitching coach Dane Johnson, who has coached most of these pitchers in the past in previous stops within the Royals since 2019, has been rather effusive in his praise of the new arms in camp.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
There are a total of 60 players in camp -- down from the usual seventy-five we've seen over the past few years as Covid restrictions are wound down. There are thirty-one position players, with twenty-nine pitchers comprising the sixty players.
CATCHERS (5): 1 MJ Melendez, 13 Salvador Perez, 48 Sebastian Rivero, 78 Freddy Fermin, 98 Logan Porter
Not a lot of intrigue here, except for a potential 40-man roster spot behind Perez and Melendez. They're the only two catchers currently on the 40-man, but a big spring from one of the other three could get them onto it. Porter can also play first or third, which could give him a leg up.
INFIELDERS (14): 7 Bobby Witt Jr., 8 Nicky Lopez, 9 Vinnie Pasquantino, 16 Brent Rooker, 17 Hunter Dozier, 19 Maikel Garcia, 25 Ernie Clement, 26 Adam Frazier, 27 Adalberto Mondesi, 32 Nick Pratto, 74 Travis Blankenhorn, 75 Jeison Guzman, 77 Bobby Bradley, 92 Michael Massey
The starting infield is largely settled, although Massey could push for the second base role if he has a huge spring. Frazier, who has outfield experience, could play left or right in that scenario. The battle for the reserve infield spots should be interesting, as Mondesi returns from injury to compete with Dozier, Clement, and Garcia for one, maybe two spots on the bench.
OUTFIELDERS (12): 0 Dairon Blanco, 6 Drew Waters, 14 Edward Olivares, 15 Brewer Hicklen, 18 Bryan De La Cruz, 28 Kyle Isbel, 45 Travis Demeritte, 68 Nathan Eaton, 81 Tyler Gentry, 84 Edwin Rodriguez, 89 Nick Loftin, 93 John Rave
De La Cruz is likely the only player of this group who is guaranteed a starting role (barring injury, of course). Waters is a near-lock for center, with the caveat being injury or if he struggles with the bat so badly it's apparent he'll need more work in Triple-A. One of the intriguing stories here is the addition of recent international signee Edwin Rodriguez to the spring roster, which should tell you how the new staff feels where he is in his development.
On the whole though, there's a lot of depth here. Loftin, Gentry, and Eaton are all quality players that could potentially play other positions in the future. Hunter Dozier could also figure into the outfield mix in one of the corner spots.
STARTERS (13): 11 Dylan Bundy, 37 Jackson Kowar, 41 Zach Haake, 43 Carlos Hernandez, 44 Jesus Luzardo, 49 Jon Heasley, 50 Kris Bubic, 51 Brady Singer, 52 Daniel Lynch, 56 Brad Keller, 61 Angel Zerpa, 71 Noe Toribio, 95 Drew Parrish
RELIEVERS (16): 35 Will Kincanon, 38 Colin Poche, 40 Collin Snider, 53 Tyler Zuber, 55 Richard Lovelady, 57 Ronald Bolanos, 58 Scott Barlow, 62 David McKay, 63 Josh Staumont, 65 Dylan Coleman, 67 Gabe Speier, 72 Josh Dye, 76 Kasey Kalich, 83 Nathan Webb, 90 Adam Cimber, 99 Will Klein
Now, most in the starters group will end up in the bullpen, either with the Royals or in the minors, but have past starting experience, so they'll be included in the starting group.
You have to figure that Luzardo, Bundy, Keller, and Singer are likely penciled in as starters, with a pretty fierce battle for one spot between Heasley, Bubic, Lynch, and Zerpa. Zerpa appears to have the upper hand based on his work from last season, but Lynch pitched incredibly well down the stretch in 2021. Any of them could also see time as a long-relief option out of the pen, with the added possibility of a six-man rotation early on.
As noted earlier, the bullpen is a bit murkier. Scott Barlow is back to reprise his role of closing games, and Dylan Coleman seems to be the likely eighth-inning arm. After that....? Josh Staumont missed the final few months of 2022 with a shoulder issue, but has looked healthy in camp. Of the other returnees, he has the most experience. Poche and Cimber also figure to hold down some sort of middle-inning role. Collin Snider was impressive early on in 2022, but then looked like he hit the wall in mid-August.
I would not be surprised if one of the non-roster arms in camp, such as Klein, McKay, Kalich, or Parrish, snag a bullpen role to start the season, much like Snider did prior to last season.
Offseason Report #7/Spring Preview
By Brian Douglas | Kansas City Star | February 26th, 2023
As they head into the spring portion of the schedule, there are a couple of recent acquisitions to bolster the pitching depth -- the Royals signed former Orioles, Angels, and Twins hurler Dylan Bundy to a one-year, $7.6 million deal about a week ago, and then the next day brought in former Tiger and Yankee hurler David McKay on a minor league deal that will convert to a major league contract if he's promoted before May 1st. Both arrived in camp yesterday, and will be on the spring roster when the games begin tomorrow.
Bundy is coming off an outstanding 2022 campaign in which he posted a 9-2 record with a 3.10 ERA in 113 1/3 innings of work for the Twins, striking out ninety-nine hitters against just twenty-seven walks. His FIP and SIERA marks of 3.43 and 3.47, respectively, also strongly back up those surface numbers. However, injuries limited him to just twenty-three starts. McKay is actually a former Royals draftee, having been picked in the 14th round back in 2018. He has scant MLB experience (26 1/3 innings), but has extensive successful upper minors experience. He combined for a 2.87 ERA between Double and Triple-A last season, striking out seventy-five hitters in forty-seven innings.
They also claimed right-handed pitcher Noe Toribio off waivers from the Yankees earlier in the week. Toribio, a sinker-slider-changeup pitcher, was not in their top thirty prospects, but with all of the pitching that has moved off the Royals' prospect lists over the last two seasons, Toribio is actually slotted in as their 18th-ranked prospect after the move. Jake Brentz was designated off the roster to clear room.
Lastly, the Royals completed their Andrew Benintendi trade from the deadline, adding outfielder Matt Koperniak from the Cardinals. He was the player-to-be-named-later in the deal, only getting confirmed after Benintendi signed with the Mets this week. Under the terms of the deal, Alec Burleson would have been the PTBNL if Benintendi had re-signed with the Cardinals.
THREE STORYLINES WE'RE WATCHING...
BWJ assumes leadership role: Despite just entering his age-22 season, Bobby Witt Jr is already assuming a leadership role on the team, along with long-time fan favorite Salvador Perez and pitcher Brady Singer. He was one of the first position players to arrive in big-league camp; and has noticeably bulked up a bit, as he's now listed at six-foot-one and an even two-hundred pounds.
"Working with Drew (Saylor) and Bobby (Stroupe), I've been able to get my body ready to play a full 162-game schedule," he said. "My goal is to play all 162 games this year. I know the likelihood of doing that is low, but I'm going to prepare like I am. I want to be on the field as much as I can."
Witt also noted that he didn't set any specific personal goals for the season ("I'm going to keep that to myself", he said), except for making the postseason.
"There's such a different air about the clubhouse this year, and with all the young guys, with Kris (manager Kristopher Negron) in the clubhouse, he's not much older than some of the vets here, so there's a real vibe of confidence in here now," he said. "We just want to get to the postseason and see what happens from there."
Hunter Dozier hopes for bounce-back year: The last three seasons have been an absolute nightmare for Hunter Dozier, who signed an extension after his breakout 2019 season in which he hit twenty-six homeruns and ten triples. A prolonged bout with Covid-19 in 2020, and down seasons in 2021 and 2022 have soured him a bit to the fanbase. However, he said that coming into this spring is the "best I've ever felt", and is primed to regain his 2019 form.
"The last two years have been really trying for me, with adding to our family and dealing with the after effects of Covid-19, but I think this year, I finally feel like I'm back both physically and mentally," he said prior to a workout earlier in the week. "I'm just ready to get back out there and help us win more games, and try to get this team back to the postseason."
Young arms in camp: Given that the Royals didn't really do much to remedy the bullpen in the offseason, only bringing in veterans in Adam Cimber, Colin Poche, and David McKay, it should be no surprise that a lot of younger bullpen hopefuls are in big league camp. Toribio (23), Will Klein (23), Drew Parrish (25), Nathan Webb (25), and Kasey Kalich (24) are amongst the newcomers that are experiencing their first major league spring camp, and still others like Angel Zerpa (23) are young pitchers that are going through their second camp in as many seasons.
Webb is the only one that has pitched at a higher level than Double-A aside from Zerpa, but early returns from the others in the group are promising. New pitching coach Dane Johnson, who has coached most of these pitchers in the past in previous stops within the Royals since 2019, has been rather effusive in his praise of the new arms in camp.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
There are a total of 60 players in camp -- down from the usual seventy-five we've seen over the past few years as Covid restrictions are wound down. There are thirty-one position players, with twenty-nine pitchers comprising the sixty players.
CATCHERS (5): 1 MJ Melendez, 13 Salvador Perez, 48 Sebastian Rivero, 78 Freddy Fermin, 98 Logan Porter
Not a lot of intrigue here, except for a potential 40-man roster spot behind Perez and Melendez. They're the only two catchers currently on the 40-man, but a big spring from one of the other three could get them onto it. Porter can also play first or third, which could give him a leg up.
INFIELDERS (14): 7 Bobby Witt Jr., 8 Nicky Lopez, 9 Vinnie Pasquantino, 16 Brent Rooker, 17 Hunter Dozier, 19 Maikel Garcia, 25 Ernie Clement, 26 Adam Frazier, 27 Adalberto Mondesi, 32 Nick Pratto, 74 Travis Blankenhorn, 75 Jeison Guzman, 77 Bobby Bradley, 92 Michael Massey
The starting infield is largely settled, although Massey could push for the second base role if he has a huge spring. Frazier, who has outfield experience, could play left or right in that scenario. The battle for the reserve infield spots should be interesting, as Mondesi returns from injury to compete with Dozier, Clement, and Garcia for one, maybe two spots on the bench.
OUTFIELDERS (12): 0 Dairon Blanco, 6 Drew Waters, 14 Edward Olivares, 15 Brewer Hicklen, 18 Bryan De La Cruz, 28 Kyle Isbel, 45 Travis Demeritte, 68 Nathan Eaton, 81 Tyler Gentry, 84 Edwin Rodriguez, 89 Nick Loftin, 93 John Rave
De La Cruz is likely the only player of this group who is guaranteed a starting role (barring injury, of course). Waters is a near-lock for center, with the caveat being injury or if he struggles with the bat so badly it's apparent he'll need more work in Triple-A. One of the intriguing stories here is the addition of recent international signee Edwin Rodriguez to the spring roster, which should tell you how the new staff feels where he is in his development.
On the whole though, there's a lot of depth here. Loftin, Gentry, and Eaton are all quality players that could potentially play other positions in the future. Hunter Dozier could also figure into the outfield mix in one of the corner spots.
STARTERS (13): 11 Dylan Bundy, 37 Jackson Kowar, 41 Zach Haake, 43 Carlos Hernandez, 44 Jesus Luzardo, 49 Jon Heasley, 50 Kris Bubic, 51 Brady Singer, 52 Daniel Lynch, 56 Brad Keller, 61 Angel Zerpa, 71 Noe Toribio, 95 Drew Parrish
RELIEVERS (16): 35 Will Kincanon, 38 Colin Poche, 40 Collin Snider, 53 Tyler Zuber, 55 Richard Lovelady, 57 Ronald Bolanos, 58 Scott Barlow, 62 David McKay, 63 Josh Staumont, 65 Dylan Coleman, 67 Gabe Speier, 72 Josh Dye, 76 Kasey Kalich, 83 Nathan Webb, 90 Adam Cimber, 99 Will Klein
Now, most in the starters group will end up in the bullpen, either with the Royals or in the minors, but have past starting experience, so they'll be included in the starting group.
You have to figure that Luzardo, Bundy, Keller, and Singer are likely penciled in as starters, with a pretty fierce battle for one spot between Heasley, Bubic, Lynch, and Zerpa. Zerpa appears to have the upper hand based on his work from last season, but Lynch pitched incredibly well down the stretch in 2021. Any of them could also see time as a long-relief option out of the pen, with the added possibility of a six-man rotation early on.
As noted earlier, the bullpen is a bit murkier. Scott Barlow is back to reprise his role of closing games, and Dylan Coleman seems to be the likely eighth-inning arm. After that....? Josh Staumont missed the final few months of 2022 with a shoulder issue, but has looked healthy in camp. Of the other returnees, he has the most experience. Poche and Cimber also figure to hold down some sort of middle-inning role. Collin Snider was impressive early on in 2022, but then looked like he hit the wall in mid-August.
I would not be surprised if one of the non-roster arms in camp, such as Klein, McKay, Kalich, or Parrish, snag a bullpen role to start the season, much like Snider did prior to last season.
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