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

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MLB NEWS WIRE
All-Star reserves announced; Colorado, Pittsburgh make managerial changes

By MLB.com staff
07/07/2025

7/5 -- Colorado cleans house; Black, Redmond gone: In the midst of one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Colorado Rockies have decided to clean house as manager Bud Black, bench coach Mike Redmond, and hitting coach Hensley Meulens have all been fired per an official press release from the team.

Spoiler

“Our play so far this season, especially coming off the last two seasons, has been unacceptable. Our fans deserve better, and we are capable of better,” Rockies owner, chairman and CEO Dick Monfort, said in a statement. “While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out, these changes are necessary.”

The move comes at a weird time as they've won three straight games, but this move was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal noted that the Rockies' ownership group in tandem with GM Bill Schmidt had been working on a buyout agreement with 'certain members' of the staff, thought to believe Black and 'likely several' others.

Third-base coach Warren Schaeffer was elevated to the big seat on an interim basis, while former manager Clint Hurdle, who had been working in an advisory role with the front office, was appointed as the team's bench coach. Black surpassed Hurdle as the franchise's winningest manager last season, but that wasn't enough to keep him around in the midst of a 30-59 season.

Albuquerque hitting coach Jordan Pacheco was elevated from there to the hitting coach role in Colorado.

7/6 -- Pittsburgh fires Shelton; elevates Kelly: One day after the Rockies fired half of their coaching staff in one fell swoop, the Pirates have fired manager Derek Shelton after a 37-53 record so far in 2025. It wasn't quite on the scale of the house cleaning in Denver, but some of the moves were similar.

Spoiler

Don Kelly will take over as the interim, and former White Sox and Pirates manager Gene Lamont, 78, will serve as the bench coach in the interim. Lamont last managed in 2000 with Pittsburgh, and spent four seasons there without a playoff appearance. In four seasons prior to that, he was the White Sox skipper with one playoff appearance.

"I believe strongly Donnie is the right person to manager the team right now," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement about Kelly taking over as manager. "He has the skills and experience needed to do this job really well and deeply cares about the Pirates and Pittsburgh. I look forward to working with him even more closely."

Pirates majority owner Bob Nutting echoed the same sentiments.

"Donnie is as respected as any person in our clubhouse and throughout our organization," Nutting said regarding Kelly. "He is a Pirate. He bleeds black and gold. No one is more committed, and no one loves this team or city more than Donnie. He is the right person to manage our team and help get us back on track."

Kelly was drafted by the Tigers in 2001, eventually signing as a minor league free agent with Pittsburgh in 2006, spending one year with the Pirates in 2007. He hit just .148 that year with a .429 OPS as a rookie.

7/6 -- Nationals drop 13th straight; new franchise record: It's been a rough season in the DMV area, as along with the Orioles' collapse, the Nationals have also dropped completely off the map.

Spoiler

With their 4-2 defeat at home against the Red Sox in ten innings, that set a new franchise high (low?) for consecutive losses, breaking the old mark of a dozen straight losses set back in 2008.

"Right now, just have to take it one day at a time," said Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said in front of his locker after the latest loss, a game in which he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. "There's not a guy out of the twenty-six of us in here that are happy about what's going on, including the coaches, but what's important is to just put our heads down and block out the noise."

Washington ranks in the bottom-third league-wide in nearly every offensive category with the exception of strikeouts, where they are a little better than average when it comes to the rest of the league. Also, aside from their bullpen, they have a bottom-third pitching staff.

They also appear to be throwing in the towel on the season as well, as they have nabbed outfielder Joe Lampe from the Guardians in exchange for veteran reliever Derek Law, who posted a 2.39 ERA out of the bullpen for the Nats. Other veterans, including first baseman Josh Bell and outfielder Alex Call, are on contending teams' radars, looking for additional offense for the stretch run.

7/7 -- Reserves, pitching staffs announced for All-Star Game: On MLB Network last night, the twenty-three other players on the roster for each league were announced, including the pitching staff.

Spoiler

Some players, such as Giants righty Ryan Walker and Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll are on the injured list, and will be replaced on the roster in the coming days. Toronto outfielder George Springer, who is in the top three in the AL batting race, has been playing through an elbow injury; but will be inactive for the game itself.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will be managing the National League in Cincinnati, has already said that Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis, Jr., would be replaced in the starting lineup by Mookie Betts, who was one of the players voted in by his fellow players.

Betts was the second-highest vote-earner behind Tatis in the initial phases of voting, so by rule he would be the next man up to start.

With that, here are the announced reserves with position players listed first (any needed alternates have yet to be selected):

AMERICAN LEAGUE: C Ryan Jeffers (MIN), C Shea Langeliers (ATH), 1B Ryan O'Hearn (BAL), 1B Isaac Paredes (HOU), 2B Jackson Holliday (BAL), 3B Alex Bregman (BOS), SS Carlos Correa (MIN), SS Gunnar Henderson (BAL), SS Corey Seager (TEX), OF Jarren Duran (BOS), OF Nick Maton (CWS), OF George Springer (TOR)*, LHP Kris Bubic (KC), Max Fried (NYY), Shane McClanahan (TB), Tarik Skubal (DET), Framber Valdez (HOU), Emmanuel Clase (CLE), Jhoan Duran (MIN), Josh Hader (HOU), Kenley Jansen (LAA), Chris Martin (TEX), Andres Munoz (SEA)

NATIONAL LEAGUE: C J.T. Realmuto (PHI), 1B Pete Alonso (NYM), 2B Brendan Donovan (STL), 2B Luis Garcia Jr (WSH), 2B Matt McLain (CIN), 3B Matt Chapman (SF), 3B Austin Riley (ATL), OF Ian Happ (CHC), OF Garrett Mitchell (MIL), OF Mookie Betts (LAD), OF Corbin Carroll (AZ)*, DH Shohei Ohtani (LAD), RHP Ryan Feltner (COL), RHP Sonny Gray (STL), RHP Freddy Peralta (MIL), RHP Paul Skenes (PIT), LHP Blake Snell (LAD), RHP Logan Webb (SF), RHP Zack Wheeler (PHI), RHP Anthony Bender (MIA), RHP Orion Kerkering (PHI), LHP Tanner Scott (LAD), RHP Ryan Walker (SF)*

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Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

ROYALS HEADLINES
Ozuna drawing interest from K.C., team drops two of three to the Bucs

By artoodeetoo
07/10/2025

7/7 -- Skenes sizzles as Royals succumb to the Pirates: Paul Skenes was not a hospitable guest in his first visit to the K, allowing just one earned run over eight innings as the Royals were smacked around by Pittsburgh to the tune of a 6-1 score.

Spoiler

Jack Suwinski led the way with three hits and three runs scored, including his team-best 16th homerun of the season in the third inning. Recently up from Triple-A, Trey Cabbage also went 2-for-4 with a homerun of his own, his first as a Pirate.

The Royals finally broke through in the bottom of the third off Skenes, with Vinnie Pasquantino's double to score Michael Massey denting the scoreboard. However, after Kyle Isbel's double in the fourth inning, the Royals didn't get a runner past first base against Skenes over the next four innings; and only when he was removed from the game for Caleb Ferguson did the bats show any signs of life.

A single from Jac Caglianone and another single from Drew Waters pushed runners into scoring position after Oneil Cruz mis-played Waters' hit. The Royals failed to capitalize, however, with Isbel, pinch-hitter Mark Canha, and Maikel Garcia all recording outs to leave both runners stranded.

"I think if he stays healthy, we're looking at one of the greatest pitchers of this upcoming generation," said manager Matt Quatraro, whose team has now lost six of their last eight, about Skenes' performance. "The thing that is so remarkable about him is that most young guys with his stuff is that he can command it so well at this point in his career; he's not going to give out a lot of freebies."

At 47-44, the Royals are not out of the playoff race by any stretch, but pressure is beginning to mount on the front office to bolster the offense as the lineup continues to sputter as they head into the break. You'd like to see the Royals win the next two against lesser pitching and get some confidence back as they will play three against a solid Mets team before break hits.

7/8 -- Ragans' return propels victory: It wasn't a long outing for Cole Ragans, going just five innings and ninety-three pitches. But it was enough combined with a relative outburst from the offense as Kansas City won going away 5-1.

Spoiler

He scattered five hits, didn't allow a single run or walk, and struck out seven Pirates' hitters in his first start since late April.

"The plan was to go at least six if I could, but they were fouling off some tough pitches, and that ran my pitch count up a little more than I had hoped," Ragans disclosed in a post-game interview at his locker. "Still, I'm pretty happy with how things went."

Pittsburgh's Mitch Keller matched Ragans blow-for-blow through the first three innings before the Royals finally broke through in the fourth. Bobby Witt Jr kicked off the scoring with a solo homerun, and Jac Caglianone would later add an RBI single.

In the sixth inning, Steven Cruz surrendered four hits, but somehow managed to only allow one run. After a fly out to begin the inning, a fielder's choice sandwiched in between two singles on both sides kept the inning from getting any worse.

However, after Cruz recorded the final out of the sixth, three relievers combined to get the final nine outs in order to end the contest.

Maikel Garcia and Witt each collected two hits to lead the offense, while Vinnie Pasquantino drew three walks. Drew Waters collected just one hit, but it was a two-run single as part of the Royals' three-run eighth that put the game out of reach.

7/9 -- Royals amongst teams interested in Braves' Ozuna: Kansas City is one of the handful of teams interested in acquiring slugger Marcell Ozuna from the Braves, per reports from Jon Morosi.

Spoiler

Texas, Seattle, Minnesota, and Toronto are amongst the teams, along with the Royals, that have inquired about the availability of the 32-year-old slugger, who is just two years removed from a 40-homer season in 2023.

They've also shown interest in Baltimore's Ryan O'Hearn and Cedric Mullins, along with Seth Brown of the Athletics, Arizona's Eugenio Suarez, Colorado's Brenton Doyle, and even Josh Bell in Washington; even though the Royals are already heavy on first base/DH types. And those are just the ones that we know of through others' reporting.

Just a little over a week from acquiring Angel Perdomo from the Athletics, JJ Picollo still continues to state that they're looking for another bat, but has also added the caveat that it's not necessarily someone with multiple years of control, as was the case.

"It tells me that what they've heard back on some of these younger players is going to cost too much in terms of prospects," said Kansas City Star columnist Sam McDowell on a local radio show. "So they've widened their net to include some rentals, and that should tell you that they've really begun to panic a bit in that front office."

Ozuna himself isn't having quite the season that he has enjoyed the last two years, as he is slashing just .219/.321/.404 in 374 plate appearances, but he would easily be the best pure slugger the Royals have had since Jorge Soler back in 2019, when he broke the franchise single-season homerun record (only to see Salvador Perez tie it in 2021) with forty-eight.

7/9 -- Royals cap off series with disappointing loss: Although he had to deal with a couple jams of his own making, Kyle Wright got through the first five innings of his outing unscathed in just sixty-four pitches, ending in the Royals falling 6-1 to the Pirates.

Spoiler

His luck ran out in the sixth inning, however, as he was smacked around for five hits to lead off the sixth inning, finally getting Spencer Horwitz on a strikeout before a Ke'Bryan Hayes double and a walk to Trey Cabbage preceded a sac fly to score Nick Gonzales.

"They clearly had something figured out by then," said manager Matt Quatraro. "They had some weaker-contact hits on him throughout the first half of the game, but in the sixth, they clearly had a plan and were hitting him pretty hard. His pitch count wasn't real high, so we stuck with him as long as we could."

Again, the Royals' offense failed to come up with much of anything -- just a Kyle Isbel sac fly in the seventh was all they could muster. Vinnie Pasquantino is showing some signs of busting out of a lengthy slump he's been in, following a three-walk day with a 2-for-3 effort, including another walk.

Drew Waters also collected a pair of hits, and Jac Caglianone doubled and walked. But no other Royal hitter reached base more than once, and Maikel Garcia had his career-high seventeen-game hit streak snapped.

Today is a day off before they welcome the New York Mets into the K for a three-game series prior to the All-Star break, which appears to be much-needed at this time. The Mets got off to a slow start through the first few months, but have been one of the best teams in baseball over the last month-plus, ripping off an impressive 29-7 record since the beginning of June, including a 6-2 mark so far in July.

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MLB NEWS WIRE
Guardians' Ortiz placed on leave; Rangers' deGrom eyes return

By MLB.com staff
07/10/2025

7/7 -- Rangers' deGrom makes second rehab start; eyes return: After a rough go in his first rehab appearance in which he was tagged for four earned runs in two innings, Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom's second start was much better as he went three and two-thirds innings, striking out six with just one earned run allowed.

Spoiler

The back issues that have plagued him earlier in the season are behind him, per manager Bruce Bochy. And he'd be joining an already-strong rotation, with Nathan Eovaldi the 'weak link' of the group with a 4.09 ERA. Youngsters Cody Bradford and Kumar Rocker have been solid in their first seasons as full-time starters, and Jon Gray has been very good since coming off an injury of his own, posting a 3.10 ERA in twenty-nine innings over six starts.

"It's a good problem to have," Bochy said in a recent interview. "Having six guys that can go out there and give you a quality big-league start every time out is a luxury that the majority of teams don't have, so we feel pretty good about our pitching situation."

The 37-year-old deGrom is expected to make one more rehab start on Sunday, July 13th at Reno, and if all goes well, should re-join the rotation for the second half of the season.

7/8 -- Braves' Profar returns from suspension: Atlanta has fallen out of the playoff race, but they do get one of their expected contributors back in Jurickson Profar, who hasn't played since April 7th.

Spoiler

Profar had an 80-game suspension handed down from the league after testing positive for a banned substance. It's likely that he'll slot somewhere in the middle of the order, especially with Ronald Acuna Jr out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Before being reinstated, he hit .326 with three homers and a .991 OPS in the dozen games he played for Triple-A Gwinnett over the past two weeks, as MLB allowed him some time to ramp up. It's far too late for the Braves' playoff hopes, but Profar could be an interesting trade piece for several teams in search of offense.

The most notable of those teams are the Kansas City Royals, who was interested in signing Profar this past offseason before he signed his three-year deal with the Braves, but would the small-market Royals be willing to take on the remainder of his salary?

Kansas City has some nice top-end prospects like catcher Blake Mitchell; but they have a middle-of-the-road farm system overall, and may not be willing to part with such prospects in addition to Mitchell, like pitchers Ben Kudrna, Blake Wolters, and David Shields; along with infielder Yandel Ricardo.

7/8 -- League tabs Suwinski, Megill as All-Star replacements: With San Francisco closer Ryan Walker and Fernando Tatis Jr out, the league has named Milwaukee reliever Trevor Megill and Pittsburgh outfielder Jack Suwinski as the replacements on the NL roster.

Spoiler

Mookie Betts, as reported previously, will slide into the starting lineup in RF, and Suwinski will essentially take Betts' spot on the bench. Megill gives the NL bullpen another power arm to replace Walker's.

Toronto outfielder George Springer, who was selected to the AL side but is playing through an elbow injury, is expected to make a decision in the coming days as to whether he'll participate in the game to allow enough time to choose a replacement if needed.

7/9 -- Guardians' Ortiz suspended indefinitely: Per a report from ESPN's Jeff Passan, MLB has indefinitely suspended pitcher Luis Ortiz in regards to assertions of gambling.

Spoiler

A betting-integrity firm, IC360, spotlighted two wild pitches that Ortiz threw that sparked 'unusual gambling activity', per sources close to the firm.

Ortiz was placed on indefinite paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the league. He is just coming off a start in last night's game in which he went 7 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs with a walk and five strikeouts.

His paid leave, which ends at the conclusion of the All-Star break, was negotiated between the league and the MLB Players Association. If the investigation remains open, the leave could be extended.

"The Guardians have been notified that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation," the team said in a statement. "The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league's confidential investigative process."

Ortiz has been a steadying presence for a rotation that has seen several key contributors injured, such as mainstay Shane Bieber, who returned early in June and has gotten off to a slow start. Acquired from the Pirates along with Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy for Spencer Horwitz, he is 6-5 with a 3.63 ERA in the 2025 season.

7/10 -- D-Backs' Carroll placed on IL; teammate added to NL All-Star roster: Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll (elbow), who was added to the NL All-Star roster via player vote, was placed on the 10-day injured list and is expected to be out through the break.

Spoiler

Carroll left after the fifth inning in Arizona's 7-2 loss yesterday to the Padres, with manager Torey Lovullo saying that he felt a twinge in his elbow on a throw from the outfield back to the infield on a single from Jackson Merrill.

With him being the only Arizona representative chosen from the player ballot or fan vote, the league replaced him with a D-Backs teammate in third baseman Eugenio Suarez. Suarez has also committed to compete in the Home Run Derby, so it's a double thrill for him as he's participating in the Derby for the first time in his career alongside his second career All-Star bid.

"It's always been a goal of mine to be invited to the Derby," Suarez said. "I didn't hesitate when they asked me to participate."

Despite being one of the more prolific power hitters of the past ten years, Suarez has only made one All-Star squad prior to this season and has never been in the Derby. He sits just seven homeruns shy of 300, with five seasons of thirty or more homeruns in his career so far.

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2025 Mailbag: Vol. 1, Ed. 3
Royals' struggles entering the break; trade deadline options

By MLB.com Staff
07/10/2025

Is it time to panic?

If your expectation was to win the division, then yes it is. If you're wanting the team to just get back to the postseason and have another crack at it, then no. Now if they come out and lose two of three or get swept by the Mets this weekend and get outscored by double digits...? Then it might be justified. But that hasn't happened and may not.

This team is going to get healthier (better?) on the other side of the break. Jonathan India (more on him later) should be back later this month, Cole Ragans looked outstanding in his first start back, and the hope is -- I hope -- that they make a move to bring in a bat sooner rather than later.

However, JJ Picollo may be keeping his powder dry in the event that this current backslide continues and he's forced to start selling assets. As noted, the Mets will be tough, and the back half of July aside from the Marlins is no picnic. If they can't at least get two of three from Miami, then katy bar the door. That series will tell us quite a bit.

If they do cast their lot and stay in the hunt, I've come around to the idea that they just need to get someone, and that player doesn't necessarily need to have multiple years of control for it to be successful. They just need to get help for the lineup however they can.

If the Royals somehow end up selling...who is untouchable?

I'd entertain anyone but BWJ, Jac, Ragans, and perhaps Noah Cameron. If you think it's possible to get a long-term deal done with either Kris Bubic or Vinnie Pasquantino, then I'd add them to the untouchable list. Otherwise, everyone else on the active roster is fair game. Yes, even Salvy. And I don't know if Maikel Garcia is going to be an .800 OPS guy going forward, playing out of position at third base.

Jac is off to an okay start, but they need young high-level bats in the worst way, whether it's for the stretch run to the postseason or to begin thinking about the future.

Jonathan India is set to come back soon -- do you move Maikel Garcia out of the leadoff spot?

This is a graet question. Garcia has been gangbusters in the leadoff spot, even earning an AL Player of the Week honor last week. Garcia's not the prototypical leadoff hitter, but he's been hitting so well it's hard to imagine Quatraro moving him out of there, but where would you slot India? He's not a run-producing kind of bat.

India has also been a net-negative defender, only at best earning somewhat below-average marks at best in left field, which is not even his natural position. He's been bad at second base and less bad, but still bad at third. To make matters worse, second base has been a black hole defensively with the complete defensive collapse of Michael Massey, who was once so adept defensively at second that some thought he could be an above-average shortstop or even a center fielder, but that's off the table now.

My guess is that Q will ultimately go with India, BWJ, and Pasquatch in the first three slots in the order, but I'd consider dropping Vinnie down at least one, maybe two spots as he's scuffling hard right now with his average down below .250. Perhaps Garcia in the three-hole? I predict the Royals are still going to make a move for a bat (more on that later), but getting India back is ultimately a good thing no matter where they put him as his on-base skills are sorely needed with the offense struggling.

All-Star snubs -- who ya got?

I'll go with one hitter and one pitcher in each league.

My hitters are Jeimer Candelario in the NL and Cody Bellinger in the AL. With such a weak SS class in the NL, I think they went with more defensive utility (which is strange in an ASG) with the selections of Matt McLain and Brendan Donovan. Not that those two weren't worthy, but the Candy Man is a pretty glaring omission from the position player group, although he's going to participate in the Home Run Derby, so the hometown fans will (hopefully) get a good show.

I also would have gone with Bellinger over Julio Rodriguez, but I think Yankees fatigue probably had a little to do with that vote. Plus, the Mariners' fan base is not as big as most, but they are very active and are very good with getting fans to vote.

Pitching-wise, I'll go with Spencer Strider in the NL and Luis Castillo in the AL. Strider playing on a mediocre Braves team hurts him, but across the board he's been better than Zack Wheeler in most major pitching categories other than ERA. Strider is the NL leader in strikeouts, and has the third-lowest WHIP in the NL behind two other All-Stars, Sonny Gray and Paul Skenes.

I feel they largely got the AL right, though, so picking one here was a bit difficult. Gavin Williams of Cleveland has better surface numbers (2.91 to 3.12 ERA, more victories) than Castillo, but strikes out hitters at about a 3 to 4% clip higher with roughly the same walk rate.

Honorable mention -- hard to believe the Tigers and Cubs with just one All-Star each. You would think those two contending clubs in the thick of their divisional races would have more than one, but Tarik Skubal and Ian Happ were it.

Is it time to end the Michael Massey experiment?

As noted earlier, getting India back should help as his offense will offset a decent lack of defense. What's most disappointing about Massey is that his defense has been as bad as it's been; and without that, he doesn't even really have value as a reserve. Quatraro has been asked about Massey's struggles; and has defended him quite a bit of the time, but at this point, why not give Peyton Wilson a shot in that reserve role?

I mean, he has just only about 160 Triple-A plate appearances in his first stint there, but he's smoking the ball to the tune of an .931 OPS with eight homeruns, five doubles, and a triple. He can also play the outfield as well as second and third, so there's positional versatility.

Otherwise, Maikel Garcia makes more sense as a second baseman rather than at third, where it's reasonable to think he'll be better defensively there rather than at the hot corner.

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Team Roster/Records | Statistics | Standings

ROYALS HEADLINES
Ozuna drawing interest from K.C., team drops two of three to the Bucs

By artoodeetoo
07/14/2025

7/11 -- Red-hot Mets dump the Royals in opener: Thanks to a big second inning, the Royals led 3-0 and would later add a run in the fifth to make it 4-1, but would go on to fall 6-4 to New York, who is now 30-7 since the beginning of June.

Spoiler

A MJ Melendez double kicked things off in the second, followed by a one-out error and then a walk to load the bases. Michael Massey's ground ball out to score Melendez from third was the first run, and the second run came on a balk by Mets starter Paul Blackburn.

Maikel Garcia's single brought home Kyle Isbel with the third run of the inning, but what could have been a much bigger inning fizzled out fairly quickly.

"We had a nice second inning, and we capitalized on some mistakes, but we can't rely on the other team to slip up for us to get offense," manager Matt Quatraro mused. "There was a lot of momentum that we didn't really capitalize on, and that was disappointing."

Kansas City led by three as late as the seventh inning, as the Mets struck for five runs in the seventh, with all of them coming before the second out of the inning. Steven Cruz, who had finished the sixth inning, allowed the first two hitters to reach in the seventh before Daniel Lynch IV was called in to try and keep them exactly where they were.

Lynch couldn't strand the baserunners that were the responsibility of Cruz's; and was charged with three of his own before John Schreiber came in and got the final out via strikeout. Newly-minted All-Star Kris Bubic had one of his shorter starts in recent weeks, going just 5 1/3 innings, but still had a strong outing with just three hits scattered, a walk, and four punchouts.

7/12 -- Senga stymies Royals' bats in loss: MJ Melendez's 13th homerun of the season, a solo shot, in the second inning against Mets ace Kodai Senga was the entire offense for Kansas City as their July slide continued in a 3-1 defeat.

Spoiler

Senga moved to 8-6 on the season, tossing eight strong innings on just ninety-six pitches, striking out eight with just one walk on five hits. Meanwhile, Noah Cameron wasn't incredibly sharp, but still allowed just one earned run over 6 1/3 innings, scattering four hits, three walks, and six strikeouts.

"He has a pitch repertoire that you don't see an awful lot, so it was tough for us to get into a rhythm," said manager Matt Quatraro. "He throws probably the best forkball I've ever seen; our timing on it appeared to be very good, but just couldn't get a bat on it, or even just enough to put it in play."

In fact, Senga's forkball has been dubbed a "ghost fork", given that it just seems to disappear when it gets to the plate. He gets swings-and-misses on the pitch at an impressive 24% of the time, far more than any of his other pitches.

"It's really tough to lay off of because it looks like a change-up at first," said first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who was 0-for-4 with a strikeout on the forkball. "But the bottom just falls out of it at about the fifty-eight foot mark."

Noah Cameron took his first loss of the season, and pitched admirably well with just one earned run over 6 1/3 innings. He scattered four hits, three walks, three runs (one earned), and fanned six.

7/13 -- Royals acquire player to complete Perdomo trade: The player-to-be-named-later in the Angel Perdomo deal earlier this month has been revealed, as it is infielder Davis Diaz who will be heading to Kansas City to complete the deal.

Spoiler

A 22-year-old who was drafted in the eighth round of last year's draft out of Vanderilt, Diaz has slashed .237/.326/.342 in 129 plate appearances with the Athletics' Single-A affiliate in Stockton, Calif., the Stockton Ports, playing all four infield positions and some in the outfield.

He'll report to the Royals' Single-A affiliate in Columbia, S.C. and join up with the team in Charleston on Tuesday as the Fireflies begin a road series with their cross-state rivals.

While not a consensus top 30 prospect in the Athletics' system, Diaz had consistently been on the cusp of that distinction, ranking 32nd in Baseball America's rankings and 37th in BNN's rankings.

7/13 -- Royals amongst teams interested in Braves' Ozuna: Kansas City is one of the handful of teams interested in acquiring slugger Marcell Ozuna from the Braves, per reports from Jon Morosi.

Spoiler

Texas, Seattle, Minnesota, and Toronto are amongst the teams, along with the Royals, that have inquired about the availability of the 32-year-old slugger, who is just two years removed from a 40-homer season in 2023.

They've also shown interest in Baltimore's Ryan O'Hearn and Cedric Mullins, along with Seth Brown of the Athletics, Arizona's Eugenio Suarez, Colorado's Brenton Doyle, and even Josh Bell in Washington; even though the Royals are already heavy on first base/DH types. And those are just the ones that we know of through others' reporting.

Just a little over a week from acquiring Angel Perdomo from the Athletics, JJ Picollo still continues to state that they're looking for another bat, but has also added the caveat that it's not necessarily someone with multiple years of control, as was the case.

"It tells me that what they've heard back on some of these younger players is going to cost too much in terms of prospects," said Kansas City Star columnist Sam McDowell on a local radio show. "So they've widened their net to include some rentals, and that should tell you that they've really begun to panic a bit in that front office."

Ozuna himself isn't having quite the season that he has enjoyed the last two years, as he is slashing just .219/.321/.404 in 374 plate appearances, but he would easily be the best pure slugger the Royals have had since Jorge Soler back in 2019, when he broke the franchise single-season homerun record (only to see Salvador Perez tie it in 2021) with forty-eight.

7/13 -- Wacha, Royals halt Mets' win streak at eight: Thanks to another quality start from Michael Wacha, the Royals snapped the Mets' winning streak at eight games while halting a short three-game skid of their own in a 6-3 win over New York.

Spoiler

The win assured the Royals of heading into the break with a winning record, but they still sit fourth in the AL Central race and are three games out of the final wildcard spot. The Twins and Rangers sit just ahead of them, while the Mariners and Rays are each just two games behind the Royals in the race, and appear to be gearing up to be buyers.

It looked early on like another pitcher's duel with former Royal draftee Sean Manaea and Wacha locked in until the Mets struck for a pair in the fourth inning on back-to-back RBI hits from Pete Alonso and Brett Baty. It wasn't until the fifth inning when the Royals finally struck, as Salvador Perez hit a two-out grand slam off Manaea to put the Royals in front for good.

They tacked on two more in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run double from Maikel Garcia for some additional insurance. A Francisco Alvarez homerun off Wacha in the sixth would be all the Mets could conjure up after that, as the Royals' bullpen with Angel Zerpa and Hunter Harvey combining to hold things down. Wacha allowed three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six with no walks.

"It's always good to head into the break on a high note," said manager Matt Quatraro, sounding more relieved than anything. "Got some big hits when we needed them, and Mike really pitched well for us, as well as the bullpen."

Quatraro has received some increased scrutiny for how the team has played in recent weeks, along with hitting coach Alec Zumwalt. However, despite an offense that has fallen off a cliff and injuries to starters like Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Michael Lorenzen, still has them in the hunt for the postseason.

"It has definitely been a different story on the health front this season," he said when asked about how differently he's had to manage this season as opposed to 2024. "We've really had to lean on the bullpen more, and they've really done well with the increased workload and leverage they've had to deal with."

[artoodeetoo]

MLB NEWS WIRE
Nationals latest team to clean house mid-season; Springer to play in All-Star Game Tuesday

By MLB.com staff
07/14/2025

7/10 -- Yankees strike deal to get Martinez from Cincinnati: The Yankees made a move to bring some starting pitching depth to the Bronx, with Nick Martinez swapping the red and white of Cincinnati for Yankee pinstripes.

Spoiler

Trystan Vierling is headed back to the Reds as compensation, along with cash considerations. Martinez accepted the Reds' qualifying offer of $21.05 million last offseason, and the Yankees are going to send an undisclosed amount of cash back to Cincinnati to help facilitate the deal.

The 34-year-old right-hander is 6-9 with a 4.49 ERA in 104 innings with the Reds this season, striking out ninety-three in that timeframe. He'll join a Yankees rotation that is already amongst the best in the league with a 3.73 starters' ERA. Rookie Will Warren, who was recalled at the end of June, was optioned to Triple-A. He had allowed eight earned runs over 10 2/3 innings, covering his last two starts with New York.

It was Warren's second stint with the Yankees, as he went 2-3 with a 3.10 ERA in his first stint up until he was optioned on May 17th following a five-walk performance.

7/11 -- Home Run Derby field set: With the additions of the Athletics' Seth Brown and the Reds' Jeimer Candelario, the eight-man Home Run Derby field is set.

Spoiler

There are four players from each league that will participate in tomorrow night's event -- Cal Raleigh (Mariners), Isaac Paredes (Astros), and Ryan O'Hearn from the Orioles in addition to Brown on the American League side, with Jackson Merrill (Padres), Matt Olson (Braves), and Pete Alonso (Mets).

All four of the AL participants are first-timers, while only Olson and Alonso have participated in the Derby in the past out of the National League. Alonso is a five-time participant and two-time winner (2019, 2021). Olson has only been in one other Derby (2021), but was beaten out by Trey Mancini in the first round that year.

However, all eyes will be on hometown player Jeimer Candelario, who was one of several first basemen who have been on several 'snub' lists, along with Olson and Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers. Candelario is the first Red since 2016 (Adam Duvall) to be featured in the event; and will look to be the first Reds winner since 2015, when Todd Frazier won the Derby in front of the hometown crowd.

7/13 -- Giants acquire Ottavino, Smith in trades: With the loss of Ryan Walker in recent weeks, the Giants have bolstered their bullpen with a couple of trades only a few days apart. First, they acquired Adam Ottavino from the White Sox, and then turned around roughly 36 hours later and nabbed Will Smith from the Marlins.

Spoiler

Ottavino was retired, but was coaxed out of retirement and signed a contract with the White Sox, and in his age-39 season has been very, very good -- in thirty innings over twenty-seven appearances, including seven starts as an 'opener', Ottavino pitched to a 3.00 ERA with forty strikeouts to seventeen walks. He has said this will be his final season regardless, and will go back to commentating as soon as the season is over.

Smith made his debut last night against the Dodgers, pitching a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. His season hasn't gone as well as he had hoped to this point, but brings a wealth of playoff experience, having won three World Series rings with three different teams, and has been in the postseason with four different squads.

This is also his second stint with the Giants, having pitched for them from halfway through 2016 through the end of 2019. His final season in San Francisco was the season in which he earned his only All-Star bid, having thirty-four saves that season. He finished with a 2.70 ERA in 136 1/3 innings previously with the club.

To facilitate these deals, the Giants sent pitcher Luis de la Torre to the White Sox or Ottavino, while dealing pitcher Josh Wolf and infielder Victor Valera to Miami to get Smith.

7/12 -- Tigers' Skubal, Giants' Webb named as starting pitchers: The American and National League managers and coaching staffs have named their starting pitchers for the upcoming game on Tuesday night, with Detroit's Tarik Skubal and the Giants' Logan Webb set to take the mound.

Spoiler

Skubal is the Tigers' only All-Star entrant despite playing on a second-place team in the thick of not only the wildcard races, but a team that's good enough to win the division and make a deep playoff run. He doesn't have the lower ERA like he has had the last few years, but still leads the AL in strikeouts and is one of five AL pitchers tied for second in the league with ten wins.

His rWAR of 3.9 is also tops in the AL, and is third league-wide to the Mets' Kodai Senga and Webb, who leads with a 5 rWAR mark. As of this piece, Senga has not been named as an alternate, but figures to be the first call, or one of the first, if any of the other pitchers cannot participate.

Webb (2.54) is third in the NL in ERA, behind only Sonny Gray (2.16) and his Cardinals teammate in Miles Mikolas' 2.49 mark. In addition to leading the league in rWAR as mentioned earlier, he also leads all of baseball in innings (142) and xFIP (2.36).

7/12 -- Amidst historic losing skid, Nationals file Rizzo, Martinez: The last time that the Nationals tasted victory, the calendar still read June.

Spoiler

It was June 21st, and the Nationals had just finished off the Dodgers in a 3-2 ten-inning win. They were 42-36 and looked like the rebuild was full steam ahead, perhaps a year ahead of schedule.

But fast-forward to today, July 12th, and they will not proceed with both president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez, per a report from Jeff Passan. Washington has lost a staggering seventeen straight since that win, resetting the franchise record for the most consecutive losses each time out.

They have not named an interim manager, and most don't expect them to until after the All-Star Game. However, they've already elevated assistant GM Mike DeBartolo to the big seat on an interim basis, mainly so other teams have a point of contact when it comes to dealing with personnel decisions, as well as the draft that begins tomorrow night.

"We thank Dave and Mike for their contributions to the club over the last two decades, especially the World Championship in 2019. But the time has come to move forward with different leadership and a different vision," controlling owner Mark Lerner said in a brief statement on the team's website.

7/13 -- Toronto's Springer to participate in All-Star Game: With the All-Star Game just a few days away, Toronto outfielder George Springer has decided that he will be available to play despite battling a minor elbow injury that he has played through most of the season.

Spoiler

The 35-year-old is enjoying arguably the best offensive season of his career despite the nagging injury, posting a 153 OPS+ in 2025 so far. He's also on pace for the best bWAR of his career, as his stolen bases (18) and DRS (5) are also helping his cause.

Springer has never stolen more than twenty bases in a season, but he's already on pace for thirty. He credits his newfound base-stealing ability to two things. One, the bigger bases, and secondly a strength-training program that has helped him get quicker jumps in the outfield and on the bases.

"Aside from my elbow, I've never really felt better," he said in a recent interview. "I think at this point in my career, I'm going to do what I can to try and maintain the ability to go out and play everyday, whether that's chasing down fly balls or taking the extra base."

7/13 -- Red Sox's Abreu added to roster after teammate goes on IL: With the news that George Springer would be active for the All-Star Game, the Red Sox received some bad news that outfielder Jarren Duran would be out for at least the next ten days with a foot contusion that happened during yesterday's game with the Rays.

Spoiler

With the injury and subsequent placement on the IL, his teammate, Wilyer Abreu, was added to the AL roster to take his place on the AL side for his first All-Star bid.

Abreu has certainly had an All-Star worthy season, already besting his entire 2024 output in homeruns with sixteen so far in 2025, and putting up a 135 OPS+ and 3 bWAR.

"Alex (Manager Cora) came to me during the game today, and told me that the league office had just chosen me to take Jarren's place," he said. "I couldn't be more thrilled, I'm ready to go represent Boston and put my best foot forward."

7/13 -- 'Half a dozen-ish' teams interested in Braves' slugger: The Rangers, Mariners, Padres, and Twins are amongst a 'half a-dozen-ish' other teams that are looking into acquiring Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna, per a report from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

Spoiler

The 'half-a-dozen-ish' term is from Braves VP Alex Anthopolous, who said that he's 'lost count' of the calls he's taken regarding Ozuna's availability, among other players as well.

"It's pretty brisk right now," said the Braves' exec in a local interview. "They're asking me when we're going to decide what we're doing at the deadline, and I tell them that I don't know. Right now, the plan is to stay in, but we'll have to re-evaluate that after the break."

Another team that could be a darkhorse for Ozuna is Kansas City, as the Royals and Braves' front offices have a very good relationship dating back to the 1990's. Brian Bridges, who is now in the Royals' front office, was on the staff in Atlanta when they signed Ronald Acuna Jr., among other top prospects.

Former Royals GM Dayton Moore, now with the Rangers as a special assistant, and current GM JJ Picollo also came from Atlanta with Moore back in 2006, where they were under John Schuerholtz, who...you guessed it, came from Kansas City when he was the architect of some very good Royals' teams in the 80's.

Ozuna himself isn't having quite the season that he has enjoyed the last two years, as he is slashing just .219/.321/.404 in 374 plate appearances, but he would easily be the best pure slugger the Royals have had since Jorge Soler back in 2019, when he broke the franchise single-season homerun record (only to see Salvador Perez tie it in 2021) with forty-eight.

Kansas City started out the season in April with a Top-5 offense; but have been a bottom-five offense since, and really could use a shot in the arm in their lineup as they're now a middle-of-the-pack offense league-wide. At 49-47 heading into the break (4-8 in July), they're running out of time if they want to stay as a contender in 2025.

[artoodeetoo]

DRAFT'S FIRST DAY IN THE BOOKS
Kansas City takes high school players with three of first five selections

By artoodeetoo
07/14/2025

JJ Picollo was billed as a 'transactional' GM when he took over for Dayton Moore several years ago, and he's largely lived up to that billing. Where he's really been different from Moore is in the draft, and last night's first round was a highlight of that.

The Royals in the past have been reticent to take high school players high in the draft, as they come with lots of boom-or-bust potential and the high amount of bonus money it typically takes to get them to forego college commitments, especially at high-profile baseball schools like LSU, Vanderbilt, Tennesee, and Wake Forest.

Two years ago was Picollo's first draft as the head of the front office, and they took prep catcher Blake Mitchell with the eighth overall pick, and signed him away from his LSU commitment. Last year, the Royals were rumored to be interested in taking high school shortstop Bryce Rainer with the sixth overall pick, but Jac Caglianone slipped to that point, and the chance to take arguably the best two-way college player in recent memory was too good to pass up.

This year, they've dipped back into the high school ranks for two more players in the first round, making Sean Gamble and Josh Hammond the newest Royals' farmhands. Gamble is a speed-over-power outfielder that can also play on the dirt, but a ton of projectability remains in his profile. Hammond is a two-way player who has a much brighter future as a third baseman, although he could likely play at least an average shortstop as a pro or as a pitcher.

While not a first-rounder, their third-round selection in high schooler Cameron Millar wasn't even on most teams' radars until experiencing a jump in velocity as a senior, going from a low 90's fastball into the mid-to-upper 90's, also offering a slider and a changeup that play up a bit better with the increase in velo. With a commitment to Arizona, he will likely need an over-slot bonus to get him out of that commitment.

Fans seem to be questioning the wisdom of taking such players when you had more polished college players like Arkansas' Wehiwa Aloy, the Golden Spikes winner, and Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill still on the board. And there's some validity to the notion, although hear me out for a moment.

Passing on those players tells me that they still believe in what they currently have in the minors, namely recent picks such as Gavin Cross, Tyler Gentry, Spencer Nivens, and Carson Roccaforte in addition to recent international signee Asbel Gonzalez; who some around the organization speculate is who the Royals want to eventually take over in center, but lacks any meaningful power at this point in his career.

However, the oft-injured Cross has been a disappointment, and was the highest pick (9th overall, 2022) of the aforementioned group. Gentry, a third-rounder in 2020, had a cup of coffee with the team a year ago, but his power has seemingly disappeared this season, which is why he hasn't been called up despite the lack of outfield production.

The best offensive player of the bunch is Spencer Nivens, who they took in Round 5 in 2023, but his lefty-righty splits have a canyon-wide gap in favor of right-handers, with an .895 OPS against RHP, as opposed to a paltry .514 OPS against the same-handed pitchers. All eleven of his homeruns have come against righties, and just two XBH against southpaws all season.

All of these guys except for Gonzalez were -- wait for it -- college players! Perhaps the Royals are sick of the quick-fix college bats, and feel secure enough with their scouting and evaluation of the major league roster to get productive players to put around Bobby Witt Jr while the minor league process works itself out. Brian Bridges, one of the more renowned amateur scouts in baseball who has worked for multiple organizations, has played a key role in this front office's different approach to the draft.

Keep in mind that I haven't mentioned Caglianone too much here, as he's one of the few high Royals picks in recent years that has not only made it to the majors, but in relatively quick fashion. He's just one data point in a sea of players that have either flamed out, or have languished at one or more levels on the minor league ladder.

That doesn't mean they will ignore the college ranks -- they did select two college arms with their two second-round picks in Michael Lombardi out of Tulane and Justin Lamkin from Texas A&M. Lombardi is an athletic hurler who also played in the outfield his first two years before making the move to pitching full-time this past season with success.

The draft continues again today at 1 PM Eastern time, live from Truist Park in Atlanta, and will go from the beginning of the fourth round all the way through to the end.

[artoodeetoo]

ALONSO WINS THIRD CAREER DERBY
Mets slugger becomes second three-time winner

By MLB.com staff
07/15/2025

After falling short last season in the Home Run Derby in Arlington a year ago, Alonso vowed to return the following year and re-take the title that he's already won twice in 2019 and 2021, essentially making him a back-to-back champion thanks to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

He did just that, topping Houston Astro and fellow first baseman Isaac Paredes in the finals by a 10-9 score in last night's competition, while hitting forty-three total homeruns into the Truist Park stands; and even a few that landed on the concourse and bounced out of the stadium completely.

Alonso and Paredes each hit nineteen in the first round, with hometown favorite Matt Olson and Jeimer Candelario each hitting sixteen to move on to the semifinals. Paredes beat Candelario 14-13 to move to the finals, while Alonso nipped Olson with just a handful of chances left in a 16-15 battle.

The clock then dropped to two minutes for the final round, and the fatigue certainly looked to be setting in for both in the finals -- Paredes could only get nine, leaving the door open for Alonso to really pick and choose his pitches in his half of the final round.

With :31 remaining, Alonso clinched the championship trophy with a shot off the left field foul pole for his 10th homerun of the round.

Alonso's third title matches Ken Griffey Jr's three, in which 'The Kid' won derby titles in 1994, 1998, and 1999. Griffey Jr., Alonso, Prince Fielder, and Yoenis Cespedes still remain the only four to even win multiple derby titles.

"Oh, I'm coming for number four next year," Alonso laughed as he was interviewed on the field, holding the trophy. "I have so much fun with this, win or lose, and I just love competing here."

The All-Star Game is tomorrow night at 7 PM Eastern time, with Detroit's Tarik Skubal and San Francisco's Logan Webb set to take the bump for their respective sides.

[artoodeetoo]

NATIONAL LEAGUE TAKES MIDSUMMER CLASSIC
Senior circuit gets barrage of runs early; coasts to easy win

By MLB.com staff
07/16/2025

With a three-run homerun in the fourth inning, Mookie Betts effectively put the game out of reach early on his way to winning MVP honors in a 7-3 win for the National League. Betts was 2-for-3 in the game, while the Mets' Francisco Lindor went 3-for-3 with a couple of runs scored to pace the NL's offense.

Betts was tabbed for the start in right field thanks to Fernando Tatis being voted in while on the injured list several weeks ago. His counterpart in the AL lineup, Aaron Judge, was a late, last-minute scratch from the lineup with right quad tightness, and didn't play. Judge was the league's leading vote-earner in the fan vote. Boston's Wilyer Abreu, who was added to the roster on Saturday night, went from being nearly left off the roster to starting in a matter of days.

Judge's absence made things interesting for AL manager Aaron Boone, who was down an outfielder without the ability to replace him on the roster. Late in the game, they had to do a double switch to get Abreu out of the lineup, moving DH Ryan O'Hearn to right field, putting the pitcher in the eighth spot in the order.

"It was certainly a challenge, but to get some guys in it was a move we had to make," he said after the loss. "In the end, we were able to get each position player into the game for an at-bat, and there were a few pitchers that didn't get in, but they weren't likely to pitch as they are going to be pitching for their respective teams on Friday."

AL starter Tarik Skubal of Detroit got off to a shaky start, but managed to avoid serious damage thanks to a double play that plated a run. But San Diego's Jackson Merrill put an exclamation point on the second inning, hitting a solo homerun against Drew Rasmussen of the Rays to put the Senior Circuit up 3-0 midway through the second.

Rasmussen was replaced by Kansas City's Kris Bubic, who got out of the second with a fly out before pitching through a scoreless third inning, fanning a pair of hitters.

His Royals battery-mate Salvador Perez cut the deficit to two in the bottom of the second, hitting an RBI double to score Julio Rodriguez against Logan Webb, but Webb was able to shut down the rally and get out without any additional damage. The American League wouldn't score again until the seventh when Perez's replacement, Shea Langeliers of the Athletics, banged a two-run homerun to center off Padres righty Jeremiah Estrada.

After winning nine straight Midsummer Classics from 2013 through 2022, the National League has rebounded to win two of the last three. The four-run victory is also a relative blowout compared to recent years, as the margin of victory is the largest since 2012, when the NL won 8-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

[artoodeetoo]

SECOND-HALF OUTLOOK
Tough early second-half schedule; buyers or sellers?

By artoodeetoo
07/16/2025

With the draft and All-Star Game in the rearview mirror, the Royals now turn their attention to the trade deadline. At 49-47 and only a handful of games out of the final wildcard spot, the Royals' first six games are going to be critical in what direction the team ultimately goes.

They have a six-game road trip to begin the unofficial second half of the season, with three each in Miami and the North side of Chicago before heading back home for a three-team, seven-game homestand that begins with a makeup game with the Rays on July 24th. Then they have three with Cleveland, followed by another three with the Braves before the trade deadline hits.

The first one-third of August is also not forgiving with playoff contenders Toronto, Boston, and Minnesota all on tap; all on the road through the 10th. They also will get eighteen games against some of the worst teams in the league, with six games against the White Sox and Angels, along with three each against the Nats and Athletics. It's crucial they make hay in those games to offset any potential losses from the tougher portions of the back-half of the schedule.

Three games back of the final wildcard doesn't seem like much, but they have to get past three other teams to get there. It's why the win on Sunday was so huge -- they'd be four back, and just the psychology of being .500 when you were at one point ten games over .500 mere weeks ago would have been a huge disappointment.

Regardless of which direction is ultimately taken, they need to bolster the offense, whether it's a couple of young, controllable bats for the future through trades, or a veteran bat that adds some additional length and thump for the stretch run. The name that the Royals have been most closely linked to is Marcell Ozuna, but that's strictly based on the relationship that the Royals and Braves have fostered over the years. There has only been an indication that the Royals are interested, but so are seven or eight additional contending teams.

Ozuna would be a pure rental, and the Royals could easily cover the $7 million or so remaining on his one-year, $16 million deal. That should also keep the Royals from having to dig too deep into their top prospects. His ISO of .174 is well below his usual historical averages, which is a concern; but still walks a ton (12%) with a strikeout rate (23%) that also is around his career average. His ISO drop has less to do with his homerun total, but more with a lack of doubles as he has just ten two-baggers on the season, putting him on pace for less than twenty doubles.

Another potential plus is that he wouldn't really be blocking anyone, as he is strictly a DH-only player at this stage of his career and unlikely to be re-signed in the offseason. That's a good thing because it further deflates his value, perhaps easing what the Royals could give back to Atlanta in return.

Ozuna isn't the only player they've been associated with in recent weeks, as they've also shown interest in Cedric Mullins, Eugenio Suarez, Brenton Doyle, and Josh Bell; although of the four, Doyle is the most appealing due to his defensive prowess and controllable years, despite the fact he plays half his games at Coors Field. Sure, most of his value is tied up in his defense, but he's still putting up a 104 OPS+ (which is adjusted for park factors already), and also gives the Royals another speed threat on bases with 19-of-24 steals. It would cost a pretty sum in prospects; prospects that I'm not sure that JJ Picollo wants to part with.

On the other hand, what if the Royals end up selling? Kris Bubic is their most valuable piece at this point, unless someone would be willing to take on Seth Lugo, who is currently on the 60-day injured iist and is likely not going to pitch until late August. I know that in a past mailbag I noted that I wouldn't part with Cole Ragans; but he's in a team-friendly deal, and for the right price I'd move him too in a selling situation.

The only truly untouchable players on the roster are Bobby Witt Jr and Jac Caglianone. Perhaps Noah Cameron with his hot start and oodles of team control, but beyond that? If I'm Picollo, I'm at least listening on every one else.

That would include Salvador Perez -- though he fully embodies the Royals, along with Junior. A few seasons ago during the Royals' 106-loss disaster, they nearly pulled the trigger on a deal that would send him to the Rangers. All Perez had to do was waive his 10/5 rights to facilitate the trade, but declined to do so provided they take steps toward being more competitive the following season. The first salvo in that strategy was Cole Ragans, which has been one of the savvier trades in recent league history. That offseason, they went for Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo in free agency to solidify the rotation, which worked out wildly well.

2025 is not nearly as dire as 2023. Offensive problems aside, the Royals are in playoff contention at the break. Trading Salvy isn't as high on the list for fans as it was then. But again, the Rangers have reported to be interested in trading for him should the Royals fall out of the race. Other catching-needy contending teams like the Mets, Padres, and Cubs have also approached the Royals in recent days regarding Perez.

Also, and this is pure conjecture, but I think Perez playing in another uniform hurts his HOF chances. Not the Royals HOF (he's a shoo-in for that regardless), but Cooperstown. If he gets to 300 homeruns, he's damn near a lock for the Hall as only Lance Parrish hit more than 300 homeruns primarily as a catcher and is not in Cooperstown. Perez's five (and counting) Gold Gloves, ten All-Star teams, and handful of Silver Sluggers also bolster his case.