Good analysis of the Royal's paralysis David. The minute things they did do such as re-sign O'Hearn and tender an offer to Mondesi, do nothing but clutter up the roster with over stock and diminish younger player's playing time. So far, its the identical roster to last year with the exception of losing Grienke, at least for now. Not an inspiring start for Piccolo. I hope he is not a hoarder of marginal players like Dayton was. He would never let go of any of them it seems and Piccolo hasn't differentiated himself in the least, so far.
I would say firing the manager and pitching coach and then hiring from two of the most sought after organizations is different. And I think being realistic with where the team is very different. It remains to be seen if JJ will be anything more than a slightly better version of Dayton, but to say he hasn't been different at all is untrue, in my opinion.
On Singer, I don't think I would trade him now because of the changes being made to pitching development and coaching. I'd want to see if he could take it to another level yet with some instruction.
On Salvy, as a fan, I'd rather trade Melendez. They both can't catch and neither is great at it. Plus, we have excellent catching prospects in the minors that ought to be ready more in line with the end of Salvy's contract. On the other hand, Salvy seems like a guy that will want to play baseball until literally no one will let him. Even then I wouldn't be surprised to see him behind the dish on an old man town team. So if he isn't going to retire as a Royal, maybe now is the time to move on.
I have a random question that just popped into my head. Does it seem like pitcher's are getting injured less than they used to, even though velocity is way up? If so, what's the reason? Is it the shorter outings? More attention paid to the stress of the outing?
So pumped for 2023 season. The rule changes (even the pitch clock) and the better management and broadcast all have me so excited to turn on a game.
I wouldn't trade Singer either, but if they can get back a haul, you never know. My first choice is to sign him long-term for sure.
As for Salvy/Melendez, I do wonder if the MJ catching talk was to prop him up in a trade given the lack of catchers out there just like it could have been to make a Salvy trade possible. I honestly don't know what they do there. My guess is they stand pat, but I wanted to put the idea out there at least.
And I don't know if pitchers are or aren't getting hurt more, but I think if it is true that they aren't (or more likely that the injuries aren't as serious) it's because their workload is monitored so much.
Re Salvy: I can't find the article (I think it was ESPN.com on the Contreras signing), but I was surprised that Salvy didn't rank in the top 10 offensive catchers since 2016 by OPS+. We know his pitch framing liabilities, of course. And he's been bitten by the injury bug a lot the past few seasons. (On the positive side, he's a bonafide leader & fiercely competitive.) But my point is that maybe he wouldn't bring a great return in trade?
I don't know if that's true or not. I'll take a look later. But if it is, I'd bet some of that is pushed by guys who certainly aren't even in the league anymore. I know he's 11th in wRC+ but Wilson Ramos and Evan Gattis are ahead of him, so...
I do wonder what the return would be and it likely wouldn't be enough, but all it takes is one team.
Mr. L, thx for thinking outside the box for us. Something I've always wondered about: Does a team protect themselves against injury with insurance on most or all of their players, or just pitchers, or just impact players? Thanks
Love this article David, thanks for the information on this. 1. I’m one of the fans not happy right now. Lol. 2. TRADE SINGER.
Here’s the reasoning. If we are all saying, and at this point ALL are saying with the roster moves made so far, that we aren’t competing in 2023. Trading Singer for a package that would get you a pretty penny back would make this organization so much better in 2024. 4 years of team control the right package would probably be at least two top 100 prospects. Get hitters, I don’t care. Stack the lineup, and pay for pitching later. Do whatever you think is best for the organization in 2024 at this point. You either trade him or sign him but sitting and doing nothing and potentially letting him have a regression year should not be on the table. I think my struggle this offseason is so many people are saying, don’t trade (Singer, Melendez, Pratto for example), don’t over spend for x,y,z. All fine in the individual scenarios. But doing nothing is NOT what the Rays and Indians do. I believed you when you said you want to be more like them but actions speak louder than words. Plenty of time yet…but trading Singer would absolutely retool you for 24 and beyond. And as you said, Singer wasn’t this Brady Singer at this time last year. If you hired Sweeney, trust him to find the next Singer during the year. If he doesn’t JJ, you are gone anyway. With Singer, you resign him, trade him here, or have him bang some drums in the dugout for hitters…just so I know the royals actually try to win every now and then. Remember when everyone was up in arms about the Astros cheating scandal….at least they tried man. Lol Great article!
If we hear the Royals don’t trade Singer because he’s part of the “heralded” 18’ class from the GM and find out he won’t resign here long term either. I’m going to be sick. Nobody cares about the 18 class Royals. You either find good players or you don’t.
There is an interesting question there about Brian Sweeney. If he's as good as they think he is, do they need to keep guys or can they expect him to help them find two or three above average starters every year? My opinion is that while Singer was very good in 2022 without a doubt that he wasn't the type of elite good that you worry about trading IF you feel like you can produce more of that.
But I will also say, on the flip side, that if you trust Sweeney to help Singer find another level, the value isn't likely much less with three years of control vs. four. So there are a lot of questions to answer there. My guess is contract or no, he's not traded. The fact that it's hard to find a comp for a good big league starter traded with four years of control tells me it just doesn't happen. You mentioned the Rays and Guardians. The Rays didn't trade Price until he had (I think) two years of control left. They didn't trade Shields until he had two years left. The Guardians didn't trade Clevinger, Bauer and Kluber until they were much closer to free agency. It would be pretty unprecedented to move him now. It was just a thought.
Unprecedented is where I want the Royals to be right now. But yes, again your probably right(your wife must get tired of that) in that the most logical move is just standing pat. One one hand, you don’t need Singer on a 90 loss team next year but if you think 24 is the year you absolutely need him and JJ’s job is on the line so trading talent is not going to be something he will do. Its JJ’s job to know if he will have another level or regress. Or at least what his best guess is. But I understand the reasoning for just holding.
But man, if your telling me St. Louis would move Nolan Gomrnan and Jordan Walker for Singer (pick top prospects from any organization) for Singer now and take off the injury and recession risk. You have to be right, but that lines you up for 24 just as much as keeping Singer in my eyes. And if your JJ, your riding on this new staff. If they don’t then you aren’t around anyway.
It won’t happen, but I hope they at least explore it. Its an interesting question for sure. Its ok to be unprecedented. Just be more transactional like you said you’d be. The funny thing as a fan is I take being more transactional the same as trying. You know?
I think if they're offered Walker for Singer, Singer should pack his bags before the phone call ends. Gorman I don't think is quite as cut and dry, but my guess is they'd do it too. I just don't think that's the return. It's true that if I'm thinking about what Singer was this time last year, teams are too. They might need another year before the return is enough to take the only reliable starter away.
Doesn’t even have to be now. But the Cardinals would make some sense. 4 years of team control on a team that is looking for an ace type player to pair with the always hurt Flaherty. Even if it isn’t this offseason, you the a team in the middle of a playoff chase that is maybe a little more desperate than right now. It makes some sense. If you hear anything let me know. I just don’t want the Royals to not even pick up the phone which seems to have been the case prior.
I do think Massey will.be an impact player. There's just something about the guy that looks like he'll be a really good player. I'd like to see them move Perez. I think he's in decline but I think teams are crazy enough that they won't care about that or his contract. I think he'll still bring a lot in return. I'd like to see them trade Taylor, dozier, and Keller. Get rid of all the larger contracts. That would free up a lot of money and at the same time maybe build up the farm system. If they're going to rebuild then tear it down and rebuild. Not all of these young guys are going to pan out so they need to go out and at least try to get a couple of bats and starting pitchers. I think they'll work out the bullpen. They need to concentrate on getting more innings out of their starters. If they could use one less reliever a game that would make a drastic change on the bullpen. When you use 4 or 5 relievers a game someone is going to screw up. The starters need to try to go 7 or more. It's ridiculous today to get only 5 maybe 6 innings if you're lucky out of your starters. A couple more good bats. Someone takes walks and doesn't strikeout a ton, strategically placed in the lineup would keep the pitchers from pitching around some of the younger guys and allow them to see better pitches. If guys like Witt and pasquintino and Melendez, might get better pitches to hit and really become the hitters I think they could become. You get those guys really going with improved starting pitchers and this is a different team
I have to admit, I have been totally underwhelmed by the lack of player acquisition so far. I had hoped they were really talking about bringing in an impact starting pitcher. Maybe a trade using one of the above or others will still take place before spring, but I don't see it.
For all the bluster with firings, I see the same old, same old. They will wait until all the other teams have eaten their lunch, and pick up more scraps. Scraps that will take away innings from our real prospects, and be dealt for more scraps before the trade deadline.
If the high sticker price shocked them, then we are in for much of the same as far as on field performance going into the future. HOPE the homegrown talent will eventually shine, and be a laughing stock to the rest of the league until they do. Having one big signing would have sent a message to everyone, the Royals are in play. Without pitching improvement, we are in for another one win for every two loses season.
As I wrote yesterday, I'm fine with them not doing much this year. I will not be fine with it moving forward. Don't want to give 30+ starters four years and $17+ million per year in 2023, I'm good with it. You better do it in 2024 once you know exactly what you need to be competitive. The past can't be changed. It sucks that they're six years into this and are correct when they say they don't expect to make the playoffs this season. But things can move fast if you make the right moves, so they need to make 2023 count, no matter how many losses, and figure out how to supplement in 2024. Figure out how to get to 85-87 wins at least.
David, I 'm thinking the new baby is affecting your sleeping and your waking thoughts. IF they trade either Singer or Salvy, there'd be such a fan revolt as to signal any thought of a new stadium, IMO.
Salvy is the face of the team and certainly my favorite Royal. Just love his enthusiasm and seeing the joy of playing the game. For pete's sake, he's a gold glove and silver bat winning catcher!
Trading Whit was a downer for me too.
As for Singer, he's the only bright spot on their pitching staff, and we surely need a bright spot pitcher.
Forget the analytics for a while and factor in the fans that buy the tickets to watch the game. We want to root for our favorites players and not see them on some other team.
I do realize your job is to write about possibilities, but come on man!
You're very connected with the Royals because you follow them regularly. I'd wager that trading either or both of Singer or Salvy would have zero impact on a new stadium. Fans would revolt until they didn't. The only way they wouldn't come back is if the trades were terrible, which is certainly a possibility.
You mentioned factoring in the fans and those who buy tickets. The Royals averaged the fifth lowest attendance per game in 2022. It seems like they're not coming out to see these guys anyway. Fans come to see winning. If trading Singer or Salvy gets them to winning, fans will buy tickets.
Interesting article, David. I'm not as bothered as others by the Royals' inaction at this point - I do think they'll make some moves but nothing significant. And - I did hate the O'Hearn and Mondesi signings.
I don't believe either of those guys will have much of an impact going forward.
However, I'm of the school of thought that getting rid of Matheny and Eldred has much more upside than anyone believes. I think they were so bad and created such a horrible culture that we're underestimating the untapped potential of our current roster. I really believe that finally getting competent leadership in the dugout and on the field will produce great dividends. Cockeyed optimist, maybe.
I think I've written this before, but their long-term moves have been absolutely spot on. The short-term have been iffy. So yeah, I'm with you completely. I think there's a lot to be gained from going from arguably the worst pitching instruction in baseball to someone at least competent and hopefully way more than that.
Different topic for another day. But doesn’t baseball have to have a salary floor soon? I mean, this is getting crazy. I don’t care what you spend if you win….but if you lose, I do care what you spend if that makes sense. If the Rays were losing I’d be blasting them for not trying for example. The royals are losing and I hate that they aren’t spending. But multiple teams are soon going to have a 300M payroll. Not just that but they are smarter about players development and outpace the Royals not just in money but also staff. At some point this league has to have a salary floor even if you say “no cap” but have the penaties in play like you do now. It is literally just stealing before our eyes when these teams are so flush with cash but owners aren’t putting back in the team. Stealing/good business maybe all the same I guess. Topic for another day.
This is definitely a much larger discussion, but the lack of a salary floor is on the owners. The players want to get paid and they wanted a floor. I think what's more likely than a floor at some point, but who knows when, is a sort of reverse luxury tax that taxes teams under a certain threshold. If you're going to be spending the money anyway, might as well pay some players.
I never hear anything about the 28 International players KC signed last year. Where are they playing and are there any that will play in the U.S. this coming year? Also what International players might KC sign in January?
International signings are tough. They're usually super young and you don't see them in full season ball for awhile, so I don't have a ton of information on them. Royals Farm Report is an incredible source for all things minors, though.
Thanks David! You’re giving me the coverage that The Athletic isn’t since Alec left and I greatly appreciate your takes.
Ultimately to make up for the lack of progress these past two seasons, I think the Royals are going to have to make one of these trades that hurts. It feels a little weird to have to trade a starter to get help in the area that they probably need the most (starters) but if someone takes the bait and gives a good return you have to do it.
The Royals have to be good at development in order to win. It just has to be what this organization is known for. I think the new coaching staff can get there so a part of me wants to see what they can do with a guy like Brady. Such a tough call.
It does seem counterproductive for sure, which is why I don't think it happens. And I would love to see what Sweeney and Co. can do with an already good starting pitcher. I just wanted to throw a different idea out there.
I've been advocating for trading Salvy for more than 3 years now. That window appears to be closing rapidly. Already, due to a variety of factors, his trade value is dropping.
It seems to me that robo-umps would make his pitch-framing deficiencies irrelevant. It's unclear whether that would temporarily increase his trade value or not.
The problem with trading Salvy at any point for the last few years is that nobody was giving up anything for a catcher coming off Tommy John. Lots of uncertainty there. Then in 2020, he only has one year left on his deal, which limits the return to some extent, though not entirely. Then after 2021, he would have been a free agent if he hadn't signed but he did sign a long-term deal, so he was under team control but on a deal that didn't start until this past season. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it would have been a tough ask to get much for a team to take on the 32-35 age seasons for a catcher, though his value would have been highest after 2021. The problem, though, is trading a guy before a new contract even starts can be tricky. So there are a lot of reasons Salvy wasn't traded before. It's still incredibly tricky now and would likely require eating some money on the deal, but I'm not sure the value is any lower than it has been in previous years.
Let's go Massey! I think I agree with your assessment and I'm a big fan of his game already. If this is the right front office, we definitely trade Singer! (bc I don't think he signs)!..But not yet..I think Tough is the word that best describes a Salvy trade..hope it works out okay one way or another. Great work as always!
Good analysis of the Royal's paralysis David. The minute things they did do such as re-sign O'Hearn and tender an offer to Mondesi, do nothing but clutter up the roster with over stock and diminish younger player's playing time. So far, its the identical roster to last year with the exception of losing Grienke, at least for now. Not an inspiring start for Piccolo. I hope he is not a hoarder of marginal players like Dayton was. He would never let go of any of them it seems and Piccolo hasn't differentiated himself in the least, so far.
I would say firing the manager and pitching coach and then hiring from two of the most sought after organizations is different. And I think being realistic with where the team is very different. It remains to be seen if JJ will be anything more than a slightly better version of Dayton, but to say he hasn't been different at all is untrue, in my opinion.
You are right in regard to the hires. They seem very good. Just hanging on to non productive players seems the same.
Interesting ideas.
On Singer, I don't think I would trade him now because of the changes being made to pitching development and coaching. I'd want to see if he could take it to another level yet with some instruction.
On Salvy, as a fan, I'd rather trade Melendez. They both can't catch and neither is great at it. Plus, we have excellent catching prospects in the minors that ought to be ready more in line with the end of Salvy's contract. On the other hand, Salvy seems like a guy that will want to play baseball until literally no one will let him. Even then I wouldn't be surprised to see him behind the dish on an old man town team. So if he isn't going to retire as a Royal, maybe now is the time to move on.
I have a random question that just popped into my head. Does it seem like pitcher's are getting injured less than they used to, even though velocity is way up? If so, what's the reason? Is it the shorter outings? More attention paid to the stress of the outing?
So pumped for 2023 season. The rule changes (even the pitch clock) and the better management and broadcast all have me so excited to turn on a game.
I wouldn't trade Singer either, but if they can get back a haul, you never know. My first choice is to sign him long-term for sure.
As for Salvy/Melendez, I do wonder if the MJ catching talk was to prop him up in a trade given the lack of catchers out there just like it could have been to make a Salvy trade possible. I honestly don't know what they do there. My guess is they stand pat, but I wanted to put the idea out there at least.
And I don't know if pitchers are or aren't getting hurt more, but I think if it is true that they aren't (or more likely that the injuries aren't as serious) it's because their workload is monitored so much.
Re Salvy: I can't find the article (I think it was ESPN.com on the Contreras signing), but I was surprised that Salvy didn't rank in the top 10 offensive catchers since 2016 by OPS+. We know his pitch framing liabilities, of course. And he's been bitten by the injury bug a lot the past few seasons. (On the positive side, he's a bonafide leader & fiercely competitive.) But my point is that maybe he wouldn't bring a great return in trade?
I don't know if that's true or not. I'll take a look later. But if it is, I'd bet some of that is pushed by guys who certainly aren't even in the league anymore. I know he's 11th in wRC+ but Wilson Ramos and Evan Gattis are ahead of him, so...
I do wonder what the return would be and it likely wouldn't be enough, but all it takes is one team.
Mr. L, thx for thinking outside the box for us. Something I've always wondered about: Does a team protect themselves against injury with insurance on most or all of their players, or just pitchers, or just impact players? Thanks
That's a really good question. I don't know the answer to it, but I'll see if I can find out for you.
Love this article David, thanks for the information on this. 1. I’m one of the fans not happy right now. Lol. 2. TRADE SINGER.
Here’s the reasoning. If we are all saying, and at this point ALL are saying with the roster moves made so far, that we aren’t competing in 2023. Trading Singer for a package that would get you a pretty penny back would make this organization so much better in 2024. 4 years of team control the right package would probably be at least two top 100 prospects. Get hitters, I don’t care. Stack the lineup, and pay for pitching later. Do whatever you think is best for the organization in 2024 at this point. You either trade him or sign him but sitting and doing nothing and potentially letting him have a regression year should not be on the table. I think my struggle this offseason is so many people are saying, don’t trade (Singer, Melendez, Pratto for example), don’t over spend for x,y,z. All fine in the individual scenarios. But doing nothing is NOT what the Rays and Indians do. I believed you when you said you want to be more like them but actions speak louder than words. Plenty of time yet…but trading Singer would absolutely retool you for 24 and beyond. And as you said, Singer wasn’t this Brady Singer at this time last year. If you hired Sweeney, trust him to find the next Singer during the year. If he doesn’t JJ, you are gone anyway. With Singer, you resign him, trade him here, or have him bang some drums in the dugout for hitters…just so I know the royals actually try to win every now and then. Remember when everyone was up in arms about the Astros cheating scandal….at least they tried man. Lol Great article!
Ugh, just rereading it here. “I believed you” is not directed at you. I’m talking about the royals front office in general.
If we hear the Royals don’t trade Singer because he’s part of the “heralded” 18’ class from the GM and find out he won’t resign here long term either. I’m going to be sick. Nobody cares about the 18 class Royals. You either find good players or you don’t.
Oh I didn't take it that way at all.
There is an interesting question there about Brian Sweeney. If he's as good as they think he is, do they need to keep guys or can they expect him to help them find two or three above average starters every year? My opinion is that while Singer was very good in 2022 without a doubt that he wasn't the type of elite good that you worry about trading IF you feel like you can produce more of that.
But I will also say, on the flip side, that if you trust Sweeney to help Singer find another level, the value isn't likely much less with three years of control vs. four. So there are a lot of questions to answer there. My guess is contract or no, he's not traded. The fact that it's hard to find a comp for a good big league starter traded with four years of control tells me it just doesn't happen. You mentioned the Rays and Guardians. The Rays didn't trade Price until he had (I think) two years of control left. They didn't trade Shields until he had two years left. The Guardians didn't trade Clevinger, Bauer and Kluber until they were much closer to free agency. It would be pretty unprecedented to move him now. It was just a thought.
Unprecedented is where I want the Royals to be right now. But yes, again your probably right(your wife must get tired of that) in that the most logical move is just standing pat. One one hand, you don’t need Singer on a 90 loss team next year but if you think 24 is the year you absolutely need him and JJ’s job is on the line so trading talent is not going to be something he will do. Its JJ’s job to know if he will have another level or regress. Or at least what his best guess is. But I understand the reasoning for just holding.
But man, if your telling me St. Louis would move Nolan Gomrnan and Jordan Walker for Singer (pick top prospects from any organization) for Singer now and take off the injury and recession risk. You have to be right, but that lines you up for 24 just as much as keeping Singer in my eyes. And if your JJ, your riding on this new staff. If they don’t then you aren’t around anyway.
It won’t happen, but I hope they at least explore it. Its an interesting question for sure. Its ok to be unprecedented. Just be more transactional like you said you’d be. The funny thing as a fan is I take being more transactional the same as trying. You know?
I think if they're offered Walker for Singer, Singer should pack his bags before the phone call ends. Gorman I don't think is quite as cut and dry, but my guess is they'd do it too. I just don't think that's the return. It's true that if I'm thinking about what Singer was this time last year, teams are too. They might need another year before the return is enough to take the only reliable starter away.
Doesn’t even have to be now. But the Cardinals would make some sense. 4 years of team control on a team that is looking for an ace type player to pair with the always hurt Flaherty. Even if it isn’t this offseason, you the a team in the middle of a playoff chase that is maybe a little more desperate than right now. It makes some sense. If you hear anything let me know. I just don’t want the Royals to not even pick up the phone which seems to have been the case prior.
And it might be a midseason deal too. You never know.
I do think Massey will.be an impact player. There's just something about the guy that looks like he'll be a really good player. I'd like to see them move Perez. I think he's in decline but I think teams are crazy enough that they won't care about that or his contract. I think he'll still bring a lot in return. I'd like to see them trade Taylor, dozier, and Keller. Get rid of all the larger contracts. That would free up a lot of money and at the same time maybe build up the farm system. If they're going to rebuild then tear it down and rebuild. Not all of these young guys are going to pan out so they need to go out and at least try to get a couple of bats and starting pitchers. I think they'll work out the bullpen. They need to concentrate on getting more innings out of their starters. If they could use one less reliever a game that would make a drastic change on the bullpen. When you use 4 or 5 relievers a game someone is going to screw up. The starters need to try to go 7 or more. It's ridiculous today to get only 5 maybe 6 innings if you're lucky out of your starters. A couple more good bats. Someone takes walks and doesn't strikeout a ton, strategically placed in the lineup would keep the pitchers from pitching around some of the younger guys and allow them to see better pitches. If guys like Witt and pasquintino and Melendez, might get better pitches to hit and really become the hitters I think they could become. You get those guys really going with improved starting pitchers and this is a different team
I have to admit, I have been totally underwhelmed by the lack of player acquisition so far. I had hoped they were really talking about bringing in an impact starting pitcher. Maybe a trade using one of the above or others will still take place before spring, but I don't see it.
For all the bluster with firings, I see the same old, same old. They will wait until all the other teams have eaten their lunch, and pick up more scraps. Scraps that will take away innings from our real prospects, and be dealt for more scraps before the trade deadline.
If the high sticker price shocked them, then we are in for much of the same as far as on field performance going into the future. HOPE the homegrown talent will eventually shine, and be a laughing stock to the rest of the league until they do. Having one big signing would have sent a message to everyone, the Royals are in play. Without pitching improvement, we are in for another one win for every two loses season.
As I wrote yesterday, I'm fine with them not doing much this year. I will not be fine with it moving forward. Don't want to give 30+ starters four years and $17+ million per year in 2023, I'm good with it. You better do it in 2024 once you know exactly what you need to be competitive. The past can't be changed. It sucks that they're six years into this and are correct when they say they don't expect to make the playoffs this season. But things can move fast if you make the right moves, so they need to make 2023 count, no matter how many losses, and figure out how to supplement in 2024. Figure out how to get to 85-87 wins at least.
David, I 'm thinking the new baby is affecting your sleeping and your waking thoughts. IF they trade either Singer or Salvy, there'd be such a fan revolt as to signal any thought of a new stadium, IMO.
Salvy is the face of the team and certainly my favorite Royal. Just love his enthusiasm and seeing the joy of playing the game. For pete's sake, he's a gold glove and silver bat winning catcher!
Trading Whit was a downer for me too.
As for Singer, he's the only bright spot on their pitching staff, and we surely need a bright spot pitcher.
Forget the analytics for a while and factor in the fans that buy the tickets to watch the game. We want to root for our favorites players and not see them on some other team.
I do realize your job is to write about possibilities, but come on man!
You're very connected with the Royals because you follow them regularly. I'd wager that trading either or both of Singer or Salvy would have zero impact on a new stadium. Fans would revolt until they didn't. The only way they wouldn't come back is if the trades were terrible, which is certainly a possibility.
You mentioned factoring in the fans and those who buy tickets. The Royals averaged the fifth lowest attendance per game in 2022. It seems like they're not coming out to see these guys anyway. Fans come to see winning. If trading Singer or Salvy gets them to winning, fans will buy tickets.
Interesting article, David. I'm not as bothered as others by the Royals' inaction at this point - I do think they'll make some moves but nothing significant. And - I did hate the O'Hearn and Mondesi signings.
I don't believe either of those guys will have much of an impact going forward.
However, I'm of the school of thought that getting rid of Matheny and Eldred has much more upside than anyone believes. I think they were so bad and created such a horrible culture that we're underestimating the untapped potential of our current roster. I really believe that finally getting competent leadership in the dugout and on the field will produce great dividends. Cockeyed optimist, maybe.
I think I've written this before, but their long-term moves have been absolutely spot on. The short-term have been iffy. So yeah, I'm with you completely. I think there's a lot to be gained from going from arguably the worst pitching instruction in baseball to someone at least competent and hopefully way more than that.
Different topic for another day. But doesn’t baseball have to have a salary floor soon? I mean, this is getting crazy. I don’t care what you spend if you win….but if you lose, I do care what you spend if that makes sense. If the Rays were losing I’d be blasting them for not trying for example. The royals are losing and I hate that they aren’t spending. But multiple teams are soon going to have a 300M payroll. Not just that but they are smarter about players development and outpace the Royals not just in money but also staff. At some point this league has to have a salary floor even if you say “no cap” but have the penaties in play like you do now. It is literally just stealing before our eyes when these teams are so flush with cash but owners aren’t putting back in the team. Stealing/good business maybe all the same I guess. Topic for another day.
This is definitely a much larger discussion, but the lack of a salary floor is on the owners. The players want to get paid and they wanted a floor. I think what's more likely than a floor at some point, but who knows when, is a sort of reverse luxury tax that taxes teams under a certain threshold. If you're going to be spending the money anyway, might as well pay some players.
David,
I never hear anything about the 28 International players KC signed last year. Where are they playing and are there any that will play in the U.S. this coming year? Also what International players might KC sign in January?
International signings are tough. They're usually super young and you don't see them in full season ball for awhile, so I don't have a ton of information on them. Royals Farm Report is an incredible source for all things minors, though.
Thanks David! You’re giving me the coverage that The Athletic isn’t since Alec left and I greatly appreciate your takes.
Ultimately to make up for the lack of progress these past two seasons, I think the Royals are going to have to make one of these trades that hurts. It feels a little weird to have to trade a starter to get help in the area that they probably need the most (starters) but if someone takes the bait and gives a good return you have to do it.
The Royals have to be good at development in order to win. It just has to be what this organization is known for. I think the new coaching staff can get there so a part of me wants to see what they can do with a guy like Brady. Such a tough call.
It does seem counterproductive for sure, which is why I don't think it happens. And I would love to see what Sweeney and Co. can do with an already good starting pitcher. I just wanted to throw a different idea out there.
We will never trade Daddy Singer
I've been advocating for trading Salvy for more than 3 years now. That window appears to be closing rapidly. Already, due to a variety of factors, his trade value is dropping.
It seems to me that robo-umps would make his pitch-framing deficiencies irrelevant. It's unclear whether that would temporarily increase his trade value or not.
The problem with trading Salvy at any point for the last few years is that nobody was giving up anything for a catcher coming off Tommy John. Lots of uncertainty there. Then in 2020, he only has one year left on his deal, which limits the return to some extent, though not entirely. Then after 2021, he would have been a free agent if he hadn't signed but he did sign a long-term deal, so he was under team control but on a deal that didn't start until this past season. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it would have been a tough ask to get much for a team to take on the 32-35 age seasons for a catcher, though his value would have been highest after 2021. The problem, though, is trading a guy before a new contract even starts can be tricky. So there are a lot of reasons Salvy wasn't traded before. It's still incredibly tricky now and would likely require eating some money on the deal, but I'm not sure the value is any lower than it has been in previous years.
Massey passed the eye test for me
Let's go Massey! I think I agree with your assessment and I'm a big fan of his game already. If this is the right front office, we definitely trade Singer! (bc I don't think he signs)!..But not yet..I think Tough is the word that best describes a Salvy trade..hope it works out okay one way or another. Great work as always!