*** Official 2018 Royals Offseason Repository ***

[duncan_idaho]

It's the end of the world as we know it... and we feel... fine?

2018 is a season of transition for the Royals, or at least it is at this point. Dayton Moore is back. Will he swing full into THE PROCESS 2.0? Or will he try to load up again and make some reload magic happen?

Pending Free Agents:
1B | Eric Hosmer | San Diego Padres, 8 years, $144 million ($5 million signing bonus; $20 million/year in Yrs 1-5; $13 million/year in Yrs 6-8 wth player opt out)

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: Texas Rangers, 6, $118 million)

3B | Mike Moustaskas | Kansas City Royas, 1, $6.5 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 5, $98 million)

CF | Lorenzo Cain | Milwaukee Brewers, 5 years, $80 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: San Francisco Giants, 4, $68 million)

RP | Mike Minor | Texas Rangers, 3, $28 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 3, $35 million+ $12 million team option

SP | Jason Vargas | New York Mets, 2, $16 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: Baltimore Orioles, 2, $29 million)

SS | Alcides Escobar | Kansas City Royals, 1, $2.5 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: San Diego Padres, 1, $6.5 million)

2018 MLB Draft Picks
#18
#33 - Compensation (Eric Hosmer)
#34 - Compensation (Lorenzo Cain)
#40 (Competitive Balance Round A)

Comp picks explanation:

Spoiler!

In case I, picks would be #32, 33, and 34, if Alex Cobb of Rays signs for $50 million guaranteed.

Kansas City will likely have 5 of the top 40-45 picks in the draft, and the bonus pool money should rival that of the teams drafting 1-3 in the 2017 draft. This should give KC tremendous flexibility in acquiring talent that otherwise might slip or not be "signable."

2018 Draft Names to Watch

RHP Kumar Rocker, N Oconnee HS, Georgia.

Spoiler!

Possibly goes top 10 but is a big, physical SP with ace potential. Moore and co. will be all over him if he slips a bit and could offer top 10 money at No. 16

OF Jarred Kelenic, Waukasha West HS, WI

Spoiler!

Kelenic is the top prep bat, toolsy OF. Royals would be ecstatic to have shot at him.

1B Triston Casas, American Heritage HS (FL).

Spoiler!

Tremendous raw power, best in HS bats. Royals typically like HS arms or HS bats with "special" tools. He qualifies.

RHP Carter Stewart, Eau de Gallie HS (Ga).

Spoiler!

Another big, physical specimen with huge upside. More likely to be available mid-first than Rocker.

ANY Any, Any (Any). Any current top projected pick who slides for injury concerns. Includes current top prospect prospect SP Brady Singer, U of Florida.

[BlackHelicopters]

Originally Posted by nychief

Flynn needs to be part of the bullpen.



Also we might lose 110 games.

Losing 100 games is difficult. Losing 110 is historical.
Might happen, though.
Because Royals.............

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by BlackHelicopters

Losing 100 games is difficult. Losing 110 is historical.

Might happen, though.

Because Royals.............

There is no "because Royals."

They crushed the **** out of that mantra in 14 and 15.

That mantra is saved for bad franchises that make bad decisions. Like the Chiefs. And my Tigers.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

There is no "because Royals."

They crushed the **** out of that mantra in 14 and 15.

That mantra is saved for bad franchises that make bad decisions. Like the Chiefs. And my Tigers.

This.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

There is no "because Royals."

They crushed the **** out of that mantra in 14 and 15.

That mantra is saved for bad franchises that make bad decisions. Like the Chiefs. And my Tigers.

You switch bodies with Dayton Moore as you awake tomorrow morning.

What are your moves if your objective is to get them into an annual WC contender / reasonable chance of a divisional champ by opening day 2021?

[nychief]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

You switch bodies with Dayton Moore as you awake tomorrow morning.

What are your moves if your objective is to get them into an annual WC contender / reasonable chance of a divisional champ by opening day 2021?

They are in the weeds for a couple years minmum. They have to start drafting better...too many whiffs. Gotta be able to spend in the international market again... the cubboard is bare, fellas. That being said, we are going to have a top 5 pick next year for sure...prolly the year after that too.

I'd also wait till the trade deadline and unload Duffy whit and anybody else we could for young controllable players.


This isn't going to happen overnight. See ya in 5 years.



I

[gblowfish]

Friend of mine who's a huge baseball fantasy guy sent me this:

The Joe Sheehan Newsletter
Vol. 10, No. 6
February 26, 2018

Let’s kick off the week by picking a couple of non-contenders who have seen their 2017 rosters stripped, either through free agency or trades. These two teams will compete to be the worst in their respective circuits this season.

The Royals, at least, have 2015. In fact, the two-year ride, 2014 and 2015, was as much fun as you can have as a baseball fan. This was a mostly homegrown team, one playing a style that went against the modern grain in the regular season, then busting out some well-timed big flies in the postseason. They won dramatically, they won often, and in the end, they won the last game of the season. The threat of 2018 was always on the horizon, but if you’re a Royals fan -- I may know one -- flags fly forever, and Eric Hosmer is always safe at home.

The Royals lost their top two players by bWAR, Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain, to free agency. (Their #9, Mike Moustakas, is also unlikely to return.) They return just three players who produced at least two bWAR for them last year: Whit Merrifield, Salvador Perez, and Danny Duffy. It’s not as if they have a lot of internal replacements raring to go, either; the Royals didn’t have a single player in Baseball America’s 2018 top 100 prospects. Playing time is available for some of the failed projects of recent seasons, such as Jorge Soler and Adalberto Mondesi and Paulo Orlando. Nathan Karns might be healthy. Alcides Escobar was brought back. This is how you end up gazing upon Michael Saunders in late February and thinking, “Sure, why not?”

There are reasons to watch. I had Mondesi on my Rotowire “Picks” list, although his path to an everyday job is now unclear. Duffy, when healthy, can look like a #1 starter; then again, he’s 29 now and has qualified for an ERA title once in his career. All in all, though, this looks like a bad baseball team, no longer good defensively, no longer great at making contact, no longer loaded with dominant relief pitching. Mostly, this looks like the morning after the party. It sure was a hell of a party, though.

2B-R Merrifield
RF-R Bonifacio
C-R Perez
LF-L Gordon
DH-R Soler
CF-L Saunders
3B-R Cuthbert
1B-R Dozier
SS-R Escobar

I’m openly guessing on the corners. Hunter Dozier was the eighth overall pick in the 2013 draft, and he has hit .282/.349/.499 in parts of two seasons at Triple-A. Dozier missed almost all of last year with assorted injuries, and the “1B” up there is wishcasting a bit: he has 35 career innings at the cold corner.

This team should have the worst OBP in the league. Then again, they’ll make up for it with a lack of power and some low-percentage basestealing (returning Royals were just 54-for-78 stealing last year).

Bench-B Burns (OF)
Bench-L Goins (IF)
Bench-R Butera (C)

As little as Ned Yost uses his bench, and as few innings his 2018 team projects to get from its starting pitching, the Royals will carry 12 position players most of the time. I’d like to see Billy Burns, who is now 28, get one last shot at a regular job. He’s a generation late, but he’s 110% of the player Terrence Gore is. Or maybe 90% of Billy Hamilton. I may need a better sell job. Ramon Torres’s great contact rates -- his entire skill set -- betrayed him at Triple-A and in the majors, so he’s not someone to worry about now.

SP-L Duffy
SP-R Kennedy
SP-R Hammel
SP-R Junis
SP-R Karns

Ian Kennedy declined to opt out of his deal, which isn’t the end of the world for the Royals. Someone has to pitch, and Kennedy’s primary skill at this point is his ability to take the ball.

The Royals may use a dozen or more starting pitchers this year. I’ve liked Jesse Hahn for a while, and this could be his last shot at a career. I might take a peek at Trevor Oaks, who was the prize in the Scott Alexander three-way trade. The next crop of real prospects is a long way off.

RP-R Herrera
RP-R Maurer
RP-L Flynn
RP-R Peralta
RP-R McCarthy
RP-R Almonte
RP-R Smith
RP-R Keller

By trading Alexander just to get Joakim Soria off the payroll, the Royals gave away the game. It’s all about payroll reduction now, so look for Herrera to be offered around the first time he goes three nights without allowing a run or leaving the game holding his arm. Wily Peralta isn’t going to be the next Wade Davis; then again, the Royals didn’t trade Wil Myers for him. There’s some chance Peralta is the next exciting starter-to-reliever conversion project.

The Royals nabbed two pitchers in the Rule 5 draft. I can’t see both Burch Smith -- who was in the majors back in 2013 -- and Brad Keller sticking, but if you’re going to try that, this is the year to do so, when the record doesn’t matter.

(Then he talks about the Marlins sucking it this year)

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

You switch bodies with Dayton Moore as you awake tomorrow morning.

What are your moves if your objective is to get them into an annual WC contender / reasonable chance of a divisional champ by opening day 2021?

You're not asking me, but I'd trade Duffy and Merrifield without hesitation. I'd also consider a Salvy move, but it'd have to be for a haul. Our best choice is to load up on picks. I'd also try to stagger the arrival of players if possible. Having almost half your starters in the field hot free agency in the same year isn't ideal.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

You switch bodies with Dayton Moore as you awake tomorrow morning.



What are your moves if your objective is to get them into an annual WC contender / reasonable chance of a divisional champ by opening day 2021?

Well, first I would sign Ian Kennedy to a lifetime contract ...

If those are my goals, I would have approached 2018 differently.

I wouldn't have used Scott Alexander to dump salary, or Ryan Buchter. Those guys would have been dealt, but for honest value unencumbered by salary dumps.

I would trade Kelvin Herrera by no later than the trade deadline.

I'd sit on Jason Hammel and move him to a team looking for SP depth coming out of ST.

I'd move Whit Merrifield for best return.

And I'd listen on Perez and Duffy. Need big returns to move either, and I wouldn't trade them unless I was getting big value back.

Organizationally, I'd find someone from either the Cardinals or the Rays system that I can put in charge of scouting and developing pitchers.

I'd tell my scouts to focus less on tools and raw potential, and pay attention to IQ and pitch recognition for hitters.

I'd tell my instructional coaches to focus less on maxing out "stuff" for pitchers and also have them focus more on pitchability, command, etc.

And I would end the organizational hatred of the slider. And advanced college arms and bats.

[BlackHelicopters]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

There is no "because Royals."

They crushed the **** out of that mantra in 14 and 15.

That mantra is saved for bad franchises that make bad decisions. Like the Chiefs. And my Tigers.

Ok.
Because 1990’s and 2000’s Royals.

[Prison Bitch]

110 losses wouldnt be historic anyway (plus, historical is the wrong word).

[BlackHelicopters]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

110 losses wouldnt be historic anyway (plus, historical is the wrong word).

Thanks, Bitch.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

110 losses wouldnt be historic anyway (plus, historical is the wrong word).

You have to be historically bad to lose 110+. You're talking about something that has only happened a handful of times since 1962 - five or six, if I remember correctly.

Even the Astros, in full-on and purposeful tank mode, couldn't accomplish 110 losses.

[Prison Bitch]

11 since 1900 and some of those were in the 154 game schedule. Those teams ended up like 60 games out. That ain't happening to us, esp with the Tigers and Sux offering up some gimmes

[petegz28]

WTF would you trade Merrifield? WTF do you think you're going to get for him that justifies trading one of the best players on the team? Seriously. The kid is a baller and has some years left in the tank but you're not going to get much for him in the way of a trade. You need players like him on this team. Especially if you're making a youth movement.

I think some of you won't be happy until the entire team is traded for a bunch of prospects that you will end bitching about and want traded for the next 10 years.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

11 since 1900 and some of those were in the 154 game schedule. Those teams ended up like 60 games out. That ain't happening to us, esp with the Tigers and Sux offering up some gimmes

And don't forget the NL Central we get them in interleague play this year. Reds and Pirates are turds.