Crown Jewels: Making the Team Whole, NRI Update and a Site Announcement

We have reached the point in spring where most players are done, most fans are checked out and pitchers still aren't stretched out enough.

If you ask most players, I think they'd tell you they’re done with spring training after about three or four weeks. They’ve been there four weeks now, and while this year is different because of the WBC, I’m guessing you’d get that answer from the players if you went around and asked them off the record. But, as we saw last season, three or four weeks isn’t really enough time to get pitch counts up to the point that they’re ready for the season, so the position players have to go through the motions just so their pitcher buddies can be ready to go once the bell rings on March 30.

The funny thing is that I think fans get a little burned out too. The games don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The Royals lineup on Wednesday, for example, featured exactly two players with big league experience. They played split-squad games on Tuesday, which is almost ironic given that 44.4 percent of their projected starting lineup is away at the WBC and 27 percent of their projected Opening Day roster is gone. So they’re splitting up a team already missing those guys. I’ll get to this. I love the WBC, but it absolutely dilutes the spring training product. Personally, I’m pretty pumped that we’re 13 days away from a game that actually counts toward something other than getting work in and I think most have gotten to that point too now that the Royals have stopped winning basically every game.

The Return Home

I just said it, so I hope you haven’t forgotten already, but I love the idea of the WBC and hate what it does to teams during spring training. Is there a better time for it? I don’t think there is. So I don’t have a solution and don’t think there is one other than to note that the Royals have been without their best hitter, their best power hitter, their (arguably) best player, one of their most important hitters and their (probably) best starter for awhile now and could be without most of them for a little while longer. But that’s coming to an end.

We already know that Vinnie Pasquantino and Nicky Lopez are done after Italy lost to Japan yesterday morning. Puerto Rico (MJ Melendez) plays tonight against Mexico. While I expect them to move on, who knows with the Edwin Diaz injury? Maybe that shook them. USA (Brady Singer and Bobby Witt Jr.) take on Venezuela (Salvador Perez and Carlos Hernandez) tomorrow night, so two of their guys are coming back after that. The championship for the WBC is March 21. There’s at least decent odds that at least one of their important players will play in that game, but that means the team will likely be whole again on March 23. I think that’s important to get some games with the whole group.

Perez needs to catch Jordan Lyles and Aroldis Chapman and all the other new arms. Singer needs whatever time with his new coaches for adjustments. Pasquantino and Witt could use the work with the rest of the infield. I won’t go as fas as to say that going to the WBC was detrimental for anyone because I think it’s an amazing opportunity. I can’t say I hate guys like Witt being around Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and others who are lauded for how they prepare or Singer getting to pick Adam Wainwright’s brain or any of that. But, while baseball is probably the most individually-centric team sport, I think there’s value in having the group together for some work.

So I’ll be curious to see what the lineup starts to look like with the group back together and how they gel over the final week of spring training. I’ll also be interested to find out what changes, if any, some of these guys have made based on working with different teammates who might have some great advice for them. But more than all of that, it’ll just be good to get the whole team together soon enough to put the finishing touches on a strong spring and hope that, for once, it carries over into the regular season and there’s some competitive baseball played beyond Memorial Day for the first time in awhile.

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NRI Updates

I wrote in my last roster projection that there were plenty of guys playing well who aren’t currently on the 40-man roster, but there’s only so much room due to the limitations of that roster only allowing for 40 players. Yesterday, the Royals signed Jake Brentz to a two-year deal, and while he was signed to a major league contract, he’s still recovering from Tommy John and may not even pitch at all in 2023, so he’ll be moved to the 60-day IL shortly, which will re-open that spot. That leaves one open roster spot, but I count two pitchers and five position players who could find their way to the big league roster on March 30.

Let’s start with the pitchers because they’re a little easier to figure. I think the two with any shot are Ryan Weiss and Nick Wittgren. I know that they have Mike Mayers and Brooks Kriske getting a fair amount of innings and maybe Kriske deserves to be mentioned given the fact that he’s struck out nine without walking anyone, but I just don’t see it because 6.1 spring inning doesn’t erase a career 14.40 ERA, which is admittedly in only 15 career innings. Still, if I’m wrong about him, I’ll live with that.

So Weiss and Wittgren are the two with a shot and both have shown a fair amount. Wittgren has struck out six and walked just one in five innings, which is obviously excellent. He’s been a little hittable and a couple people who have seen him have said he hasn’t impressed more than other guys who are already on the 40-man. As I wrote about the other day, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t add him to keep their inventory, though. Wittgren has a relationship with Brian Sweeney from their days in Cleveland and could very well be part of the plans. I also don’t know if he has an opt-out in his deal. He’s been interesting enough and has looked good in his last couple of outings that the Royals may be hesitant to lose him.

Weiss, though, is the interesting one to me. The Royals claimed him off waivers from the Diamondbacks on July 1 and put him on the 40-man. Most people didn’t notice it. He proceeded to five up 49 hits in 35.2 innings with 34 strikeouts and 16 walks. He was non-tendered and ended up re-signing with the Royals on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. He also retooled his repertoire and is now much more two-seamer and slider rather than four-seamer and curve. And people are RAVING about him. The numbers are great. He’s struck out 38.2 percent of hitters he’s faced and walked just 8.8 percent. This is the type of story a team with a good coaching staff can have and the type of story the Royals didn’t have with the previous regime. I don’t think he has a real shot at the Opening Day roster, but watch out for Weiss at some point.

On the hitting side, the real candidates are Matt Beaty, Jackie Bradley Jr., Johan Camargo, Matt Duffy and Franmil Reyes. I don’t think Camargo makes it. Yes, he plays good defense, but his bat just isn’t enough when you already have a defense guy in Lopez. I do think two of the other four will make the roster and I’m very confident one of those two will be Reyes. I had Duffy on my last roster projection, but Beaty has been red hot since then and has even played a few innings at third base. I think he’s moved ahead of Duffy and my guess is he makes the roster as of this moment.

The wrinkle is Bradley. I think it comes down to how comfortable the Royals feel with Nate Eaton playing center field when Kyle Isbel doesn’t play. As great as Eaton was defensively in the outfield, he only has 214 professional innings in center. If they feel comfortable with that, I don’t think Bradley makes the roster. But if they don’t, they aren’t going to run a roster out where the only player who they feel comfortable with playing the position likely should sit against tough lefties. And that’s honestly another point for not keeping Bradley because he certainly shouldn’t be playing against lefties either. So it’s kind of interesting that the roster spot for Beaty/Duffy comes down to the Royals belief in Eaton playing center.

As for the 40-man spots, they still haven’t moved Diego Hernandez to the 60-day IL and they will, so that’s not an issue. The fact that they will have two so easily created means there is a chance they could keep a third NRI, but as I wrote last week, that would require a roster move. Now, the Mets did just lose a certain closer, so they could come calling for any number of Royals relievers, but specifically, Scott Barlow could be of interest to them. Maybe there’s a deal to be made to open up a third spot to make the Eaton conversation moot. Or maybe the new coaching staff has seen enough of someone and they get DFA’d, I don’t know. But there’s a nice battle brewing and I’m excited to see how they play it.

A Site Announcement

You might see something a little different and have been seeing something a little different over the last few weeks. If you’re a subscriber, you’ll see something offering the chance to “pledge” a subscription. That gives you the chance to pledge a certain amount to subscribe to support Inside the Crown (and other great Substacks). A few of you have submitted your pledges here and I have to say it makes me feel fantastic to know that you’re that interested in my work here. The way the pledges work is that they won’t be taken out unless I turn paid subscriptions on.

Well, I’ve had people ask in the past how they can pay me for this, and I’ve always held the idea that I would eventually charge for the content. But I’ve struggled with it. I felt conflicted because I do spend a lot of time on this site and I do have a family that might want to see more (or maybe they don’t, hard to say). But also the team hasn’t been especially good. I kept waiting for the right time and honestly probably missed it in April 2021. But I think the time is right, so I’m going to do something a little outside the box and open up paid subscriptions but all the content will still be available for everyone. The only caveat is that comments will only be allowed for paid subscribers. I think that’s a good middle ground.

I’m not going to tell anyone how to spend their hard-earned money, but I’m going to keep this very cost-effective. It will be $5/month or $36/year. But! If you subscribe between now and the end of the first weekend, I’ll give you an offer of $3.75/month or $27/year. I’ll keep comments on for everyone through March 30th, but starting with my newsletter recapping Opening Day, they’ll only be available for paid subscribers.

I’m also planning to open up chat here on Substack that will be available for paid subscribers and I’ll have some giveaways throughout the year for my paid subscribers. Those can include some free glasses my talented wife makes, maybe some t-shirts and other designed items and even tickets to games that’ll come with two tickets in pretty good seats and a parking pass, so there are added benefits beyond the comments! I should note that I may eventually put some posts behind a paywall, but it won’t happen during the 2023 season.

I love the conversation here, so I hope you’ll choose to support my work with the added bonus of being able to continue that conversation. Thank you to everyone who has made the newsletter so much fun since I started it two years ago. I can’t wait to start my third season on Inside the Crown!