What happens to Billy Butler?
 

We aren't gonna pay him 12 mil. He will have to take a hometown discount.

Dayton Moore: "We have some tough decisions to make with our roster." Including Billy Butler contract #Royals

Well Billy made it clear he wants to stay a Royal. What's unclear is if he really wants to be a Royal or just stay close to the rib platter at Joe's

They'll bring him back at a reduced price. Not much of a market for pure DH's anymore, especially ones that don't hit for big power numbers.

139, 117, 97

2.9, 1.5, -0.3

The top numbers are his wRC+, the bottom his fWAR for the last three years. His ability to hit fastballs has also decreased significantly for two straight years and he has a bad body.

Most signs point to him aging poorly, and post PEDs- the aging curve shows that you hit your prime closer to 25-6 than 27-8.

I don't think picking up his option is the worst thing in the world, but giving him a multiyear deal might end up as a contractual albatross.

Yea, I agree. If he wont deal for a lower deal then we can just cut bait.

I'm good with giving him the 1M buyout, and see if there is an upgrade out there somewhere.

Sure would love to have Sandoval here, but he's going to get paid a lot, no doubt.

He will be released, that's what

Go after Panda and rotate the DH around

Why the hell would we want to bring him back even at a discounted price? We need some slug from the right side from our DH and RFer next year. That's part of the reason Bumgarner kicked our ass.

I'm lukewarm at best about Butler returning, a very solid "meh" if you will, but come on. Ty Cobb, Pete Rose and Barry Bonds weren't going to hit Baumgrarner this series the way he was pitching. I don't think people realize what an all time historic show he put on this postseason.

Too fat. /Omaha

Dumb

****

I don't know. I think the Royals played a huge part if making him the apple of Joe Buck's eye. They seem to always shit the bed against good leftys since they're best hitters are left handed.

l like Billy the guy, but if you want to see more playoff runs you can't have him as your DH. I believe there are about 3-4 full time DH's left now that Dunn retired .. Cruz, Ortiz, and Carter all of whom are far superior numbers to Billy. It's would be reeruned to bring him back even for 500K if your goal is actually winning which I believe it is now and why he won't be back. I wouldn't be shocked if Billy retires, finds himself in the minors, or at best on the bench as a PH'er. He's not good enough to be a FT DH and is a liability in the field. I don't see a market.

I don't see there being a huge market out there for Billy. I think it's a very short very home town discount deal or wishing him well.

Here's to the pipe dream that Fat Panda loves him some KC BBQ! No way we're in that bidding war any other way.

Meh.

Someone mentioned during the Orioles series that Butler had more sacrifice flies than any team in the playoffs or some shit.

Optimally you get a good consistent hitter in there, but if we can't land anybody and he's willing to work cheap I don't mind it. Don't like it, but don't hate it.

The dude had a 379 slug and is a huge liability on the base paths. You'd like get more production batting a shitty backup catcher at DH. Moore should be fired if Billy is the opening day DH next year.

Billy's not retiring, and he won't be a Royal next year

He gone....

So where does that leave him? Not a starting caliber DH anymore or 1st baseman. Minors or bench player.

Someone will def take a shot at a bounce back from him. Hitting is hard to find now and he punished LH. Even as a strict platoon guy, most AL teams would have no problem giving him300ab mostly vs LH

We can't afford to gamble or to pay good $ for platoons so it won't be here

He is gone. We need the DH spot to give Perez days off from behind the plate. Also need a platoon to play right. With Hosmer being a gold glove, it makes no sense to bring back Billy.

Aramis Ramirez is declining, but the dude is a professional hitter. Might be worth kicking the tires on...

No it doesn't, however I'd love a bat with some power.

I know how our team is built and I really like what I know of Billy Butler the person, and he had some key hits this postseason. But the Royals played 15 post season games and our DH did not hit a single HR. That lack of power is simply not acceptable. Not for 1 million not for $500,000. There will always be a spot in my baseball heart for a guy who I think truly loved being a Royal. But if you want to improve this team, it starts with better hitting/power so:


Bye bye Billy. At least you made it to a WS as a Royal, something 3 decades of Royals never did

Billy Butler can GTFO. Weak ass DH

So he will be a Yankee because they give out big contact like that. Imagine him over there and Yankees dont allow facial hair.

Obviously Dayton declines the option and Biilly gets his 1mil. Would not shock me to see dayton offer 2 years for $12 mil with a team option for 10 mil in year 3

Nah, he can just leave.

Panda or Cruz please!

Walmarts apologizes for Billy Butler costume.

My friend, who is an Indians fan, says he's heard they will make a run at Butler.

The Orioles should sign Butler. He crushes that park.

he goes on a diet

ROFL

Good comparison. Billy and panda were the 2 best players in the series at getting bat on ball. We have too many players whiffing on pitches. Pay the man.

Need more power from DH and RF. Aoki is awful

I like Billy, he has been a solid contributor to the Royals for several seasons but I’m pretty good with letting him go ground into double plays for someone else now.

he moves to another team where he continues to hit weak foul pop ups to the third base side

This is where I'm at as well.

Butler had one at bat in the three games played in San Fran and that was a strike out. If the Royals are going to pay someone $12M, I'd rather it be someone that (1.) has more playing flexibility, (2.) hits with more power, and (3.) doesn't argue with the first base coach when he's obviously in the wrong.

Butler is a pile of shit. 3 doubles, 0 homers in 49 AB this postseason (.660 OPS). That OPS is approx what Jarrod Dyson hit this season, and that's not mentioning his speed on the bases which fatty lacks


He was dreadful. He was Jarrod Dyson without the speed. Josh should've gotten all those ABs

According to Jon Heyman Royals are expected to decline Butlers option but have some interest in re signing Aoki

Well PB, you definitely said it with a little more colorful language that I did.

Ill always hate fat-ass because he nearly cost us a postseason berth with his awful season, and he possibly cost us a WS by being terrible again. When he mouthed his profanity during his 9th inning popout last night I thought: "why curse? You were expecting to actually contribute something?"

**** re-signing Aoki.

My guess?

He ends up somewhere that will platoon him/use him intelligently as part of its DH/1B rotation, on a much reduced contract (something like $3-5 million).

I think it's the right move for the Royals to walk away from him and spend the money elsewhere while gaining roster flexibility and likely not damaging the lineup. But it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he lands in a more hitter-friendly ballpark and puts up numbers that make some bitch about letting him go in the first place.

We need a RF and a DH who can not necessarily have power but who will get on base and get hits. Shields is gone. Ventura will be our ace. Zimmer might be ready by next year. Sign Ian Kennedy.

I'd actually be good with Aoki, Infante, and Butler being replaced.

If he wants to sign for $3-5 million to be our platoon guy who starts against all lefties, occasionally against some righties, and is our first bench bat as well as good depth...sure, ok. Maybe.

I don't think that's going to happen, though. Billy was a good Royal. I wish him nothing but luck down the road.

Infante isn't getting replaced. We need to hope he bounces back and is healthy next year.

I'm warming up to the idea of Gordon/Dyson/Cain as our every day lineup against right handed pitchers.

We need a good OF bat who dominates lefties.

We need to sign two guys. One who dominates lefties, and one who dominates righties. Maybe even three guys.

Butler and Shields are both gone no pt discussing them any longer. They'll pick up option/arb on the 3 relievers. So we know this.


What then? Top goal for me is doing whatever it takes to get out from under Infantes deal. Colon is perfectly ready, and he's young and cheap and hungry. We have to eat some of that contract but its more than worth it

Infante was probably at 60% towards the end of this season. He said his shoulder was really bad that he couldn't have any power because of it. It hurt everytime he swung

If we sign Kennedy, we should be the hands down favorite to win the central next year.

The only way Butler stays is if he settles for a lot less money. Royals may want to move on, as Billay is limited in what he can do defensively, and hasn't generated the kind of power or production we would expect at this point in his career. I was hoping he'd be our version of Jim Thome, but he just doesn't have the power to hit 30 plus homers on a consistent basis. Getting stronger in the outfield and rotating the DH position is what most teams do now. Shields is gone. Somebody will throw stupid money at him. Ventura was our big game pitcher, I think Shields was gassed in October, and just didn't have his usual stamina, velocity or control. He'll make a fine number four guy for the Dodgers, Yanks, Red Sox, etc. But I'll be very surprised if he signs here. He'll be like Santana was last year. He'll go somewhere for stupid money, eat a lot of innings and be a .500 pitcher or a little better. Time for the Royals to call up Zimmer and plug him in. I'd do everything possible to keep the three relievers together as a matched set. Hard to top that formula, it works.

How do you figure? Are you saying that Kennedy > Shields?

My list:

Let Butler go to a hitter-friendly park.

Sign a 4th OF and make a go of letting Dyson start every day.

Sign a part-time DH who will be fine with only starting about 90 games. (Salvy needs to DH at least 30 games) This could be Willingham.

Sign a SP to a 2-year deal, probably a #3/#4 guy for depth and insurance against injury or ineffectiveness.

Not necessarily but I would say the drop off is not that significant. With a whole off season to work and with Ventura and Duffy ready to anchor the rotation, I think one more good pitcher makes the rotation really formidable. I should also add we need to pick up a decent power bat as well.

White Sox and Indians don't scare me, Twins are the Twins and the Tigers are ready to be slaughtered into old guy with bad contract hell for a few years. True flash in a pan teams are rare, most teams with a run like this stay in contention a few years. We should have another ticket or two to the dance before everyone jumps ship for bigger market teams.

I would LOVE getting Willingham for 1 and 4-5. When healthy, he has legit pop and he takes tons of walks. He's perfect for this team. I'd love if he played 1 more year

2007 Rockies - ??? say hi.

That wasn't his fault. Besides, that was NOT a strike 3. Billy has the best vision of our hitters. He took a ball that was called a strike. You can't fault him for being the DH playing NL rules.

ian kennedy isn't a FA.

willingham is going to retire.

Are there any guys on the roster currently who can ground into more DPs than hit home runs as the DH?

What's that got to do with anything?

That is yet to be determined. There were a flurry of stories on September 25 that he was "100 percent retiring", but he quickly denied those reports and said he hasn't made a decision.

we can't 'sign' him. he'll cost fungible assets, unfortunately. maybe it's not that expensive from a prospect perspective, but alas, we didn't get him at the bargain basement that the padres did.

If I were Baltimore, and Cruz walks... I'd consider going after Butler. It's obviously a drop off but you're gonna get that anyway. Butler could pop a lot of home runs in that ballpark.

Butler said if they decline his option he still wants to talk and see if they can work something out

What are you basing that on? Dude hit 9hr and I don't recall very many war in track outs from the guy. And 5 of them were at home anyway. He isn't becoming a power hitter next year no matter where he plays and a 52% ground ball rate proves it



Pens quote on Billy wanting to work something out ain't the sign of a guy thinking he's wanted. Shields isn't saying that.

Shields is saying we and us. He's saying stuff like he wants to be here and expects to be here

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He just hit 29 2 years ago.

He could easily do that in Baltimore.

Would you want to come back to a team that has you or Billy Butler to use as the DH...and you used Billy Butler at DH 95% of the time? I wouldn't. I bet Willingham is really confused why he didn't receive more ABs

Shields may just sign the QO ... hmm

Because he struggled. He couldn't hit anything the last month or so

No way that happens. None. He'll get 4-5 years from someone.

Aoki, Frasor, Downs, Willingham, Ibanez, Hochevar are officially free agents as of this morning. Oh, and James Shields, too. #Royals

James Shields using words We and us not them or they at the celebration today. Speculate away