Yeah, I wouldn't put any bets on that actually occurring. Zimmer is glass.

I was a fan of Cuthbert but he had trouble staying healthy obviously. I feel like with reps he had talent to grow. I guess this pretty much means Dozier is the guy at 3B, or they're looking to sign someone else.

They must have really liked what they saw from Zimmer. He spent time working with Driveline Baseball, a training center in Seattle. This is a lot of info but they have a different way of rehabbing guys. Trevor Bauer of the Indians is a big client of theirs. There's a video in here of Zimmer doing one of their drills.

https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/20...ball-pitchers/

I'm bullish on Zimmer's prospects if they liked what they saw via driveline. I recall Flanagan doing an update (can't recall if it was radio or TV) and when seeming to be candid, he said that he actually thinks Zimmer might have actually turned a corner. Too much talent to leave on the table if that's true. The Royals have made some of these reclamation projects work, it would be a shame if they didn't take a final flyer on one of their own. He could be a weapon at the back end of the bullpen if he can put it together.

RE: Cuthbert, they must really be down on him to release him over a host of other guys. It will be interesting to see if they make an attempt to re-sign him to a minor league contract. Perhaps they just like Gutierrez more and think he's close to being an option alongside Dozier. This also makes sense of the comments about Moore looking for another "bargain" infielder on the open market.

I think they pretty much have to sign someone. Not only because of Dozier, but because of 1B too. If either him or O'Hearn regress badly, or just get hurt, they're going to have a huge hole in the lineup. Gutierrez might be an option but I imagine they'd start him in the minors and continue to let him improve.

Yeah...and we really need a sometimes-platoon at 1B due to O'Hearn's typical splits. It will help him continue to succeed at the MLB level to have him sit against half of the lefties we face. Let him mash the right handed pitching and continue work off of last year' s successes. Another right handed corner infielder seems likely. Here comes Esky. I kid...sorta.

All in all, this tells me that they also plan on playing Owings quite a bit this year. Not sure whether he or Whit would play 3B more, but one of them might be getting a decent amount of reps there, depending on how Dozier fares.

I really don't think they want to move Dozier around. I think they like him at 3rd and would prefer just to leave him there. He really seems to have marginal defensive value in RF or 1B.

First base types for platoon? Schwindel at Omaha is a possibility, RH bat -- Major League minimum guy, probably not much left to prove at AAA. There should be any number of RH 1B candidates on waivers or unsigned FA's.

As far as Bonifacio is concerned, his PED suspension means he has to earn his way back to the majors, so he goes to Omaha along with Gore and Starling. Gordon-Hamilton-Philips/Goodwin with Soler as the DH until Hamilton is flipped. At Omaha Starling and Bonifacio must play to establish a baseline of performance and alleviate health concerns.

Possibilities for the Royals to trade at the deadline
Hamilton, Gore, Bonifacio, Owings, Soler, Duffy, Kennedy, Peralta

After deadline or September call ups
Nicky Lopez (2b of the future)

My outlook is that much like last year I probably won't even watch a single game's worth of innings in 2019, what with the going to bed at 8 every night mixed with losing so many games.

I think this team will be a lot of fun to watch-run, run, run Royals.

IF O'Hearn is for real, and Dozier can pick up where he left off, and IF the bullpen is improved, this might well be a .500ish team playing games that matter into September. I'll take that.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Royals pitcher Eric Skoglund has been suspended after testing positive for performing enhancing drugs. <a href="https://t.co/DToGICsABI">https://t.co/DToGICsABI</a></p>&mdash; FOX 4 Sports (@fox4sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/fox4sports/status/1085667127514796041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Oh man. What the ****?

So stupid.

Proof that PEDs don't make everyone MLB-worthy.

Or maybe it does as he made it to a major league roster.

Bullpen sucks but i think they'll be better than people think. I think.500 or a little under

All the baseball-related final jeopardy questions: https://www.sporcle.com/games/jfrank...final-jeopardy

I got 33, should have been 34 except for dumb spelling.

Thatd be ****ing amazing if Zimmer amounted to anything. Id start his ass out in the majors until he inevitably gets a phantom injury and is out for the season. Juat get whatever you can from him.