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.
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.
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?
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!