Scott Barlow signed to 1 yr deal. I don't have a link for the deal, but here's his Minor League stats

http://m.mlb.com/player/605130/scott-barlow

"Scott Barlow". That name sounds like the scrappy utility infielder in one of those thinly veiled romantic comedies disguised as a sports movie. He's the hotshot pitching prospect's wingman who ends up banging a floozie at some point so we can have gratuitous nudity and keep the attention of the guys that are slowly realizing that they're watching a chick flick.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Eric Hosmer and agent Scott Boras met with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Padres?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Padres</a> GM AJ Preller and manager Andy Green and other members of front office</p>&mdash; Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/939206763202600964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Ohtani signed with the Angels for anyone who cares

Breaking news....

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Not the news Seattle fans were waiting for, but the Mariners claimed RHP Mike Morin off waivers from Kansas City.</p>&mdash; Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) <a href="https://twitter.com/Feinsand/status/939211129540235269?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dang, guess our Omaha Steaks package wasn&#39;t enough...😔 <a href="https://t.co/SSe6J8lYBT">https://t.co/SSe6J8lYBT</a></p>&mdash; Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) <a href="https://twitter.com/OMAStormChasers/status/939210235901829122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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I heard about a trade for Gordon, was hoping it was Alex Gordon. Alas, it was Dee Gordon to Seattle. Too bad.

So it sounds like the Yankees will get Stanton. That will be bad for our pitchers when we go to Yankee Stadium, but the only bright side is I can't imagine they'd make a huge offer to Hosmer now. Yankees are eating $265 million of Stanton's salary.

Jesus, Stanton and Judge in the 3 and 4 hole. Work on your sliders, major league pitchers. Or just intentionally walk them every at bat, whichever.

And I would guess that puts an end to the hope of Hosmer coming back. I assume Boston is going to blow his doors off with an offer in an attempt to offset Stanton to New York.

345 hosmer Stanton judge

You knock that shit off right now

Im resigned to the fact they are gone...

He would be perfect in that spot though.

@JonHeyman: Red Sox seeking a big hitter. Looking at JD, Hosmer and possible trade candidates (Schwarber, via @ScottLauber)

I think he goes to the Red Sox. Get back in the AL where he can play some DH as well. Plus I think they need a power bat now to match the Yankees and that isn't Hosmer.

I still think Hosmer will be back in Kansas City, but Boston is the only other choice. Especially since his pussy is in Boston right now working.

I still think HOU or TEX gets involved with hosmer


JD Martinez has Red Sux written all over him

https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/al-eas...ar-infielders/

"The Royals, contemplating a further teardown to rebuild, are fielding interest in closer Kelvin Herrera, who drew interest from the Astros, among others, at the trade deadline last July.

Herrera, who can be a free agent after the 2018 campaign, is coming off his worst season. He had a 4.25 ERA and allowed nine homers in 59 1/3 innings."

@jcrasnick: The #Indians and #Royals have both inquired on 1B Matt Adams. In Cleveland's case, he could be a fallback if Tribe can't bring back Carlos Santana. #Nationals have also inquired on Adams, but as more of a bench bat. Adam Lind, who hit .303 with 14 HRs this year, is a free agent.

I like both of those updates. I don't think Adams is ever going to be what the Cardinals thought he could be, but he's low-cost and may turn into something you can trade for future value.

I also think trading Herrera makes a ton of sense, even coming off the down year. Soria, too.


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@rustindodd: The Royals have received calls on a number of players, including Kelvin Herrera, Whit Merrifield, Scott Alexander and Danny Duffy. This isn't too surprising. They're good players. KC is willing to listen.

@rustindodd: Royals are focused on building their farm system back to 2010 levels — though a complete teardown is unlikely. Team sees value in maintaining a culture. That makes some players hard to move.

Oh sure, now you want him...

Dayton Moore translation - Royals will resign Hosmer and reload.

Now that he's free and they're in position to take risks on post-hype guys and see what happens?

Sure!

Resign Hosmer.

Have him have an amazing first half of 2018. Have the Royals absolutely blow.

Trade him for a haul of prospects.

Eh I don’t think you can have it both ways....if you’re gonna rebuild, tear the damn thing down entirely and rebuild the right way.

If Hos, Moose, etc. aren’t coming back it’s inevitable so why not get a head start on things and cash in on guys while their value is very high or before it’s too late.

He won't bring back "a haul" if he's signed to a pricey contract

@JonHeyman: Padres, thinking big, remain strongly in mix for Hosmer.

I would be sad for Hosmer if that's where he landed, because they're a mess and that park would suck for him, but glad for the Royals and for the money.

Need this to shake out soon. Where KC goes and what the rebuild looks is going to set the course for KC.

How much of a rebuild do you think we'll see? I mean are we talking total teardown....? Salvy and Duffy on the table?

They seem more amenable to a total tear down than most expected before the offseason, but we'll see. Can only place so much stock in what the GM says publicly.

I think if they don't get Hosmer, they'll look at more of a complete tear down. If they keep him, they'll go into a more moderated effort and try to get things ramped up in 2019 and 2020.

Royals couldn't take the PR hit if they traded Salvy and lost Hosmer to free agency.

That does seem an odd fit for them; Petco made some changes to give lefties a fair shake a couple of years ago but it's still pretty damn hard to do much in that park, especially for left-handed hitters.

That said, Hosmer is more of a line-drive hitter who puts some balls over the wall that are simply liners that don't drop. He may actually be able to take advantage of the OF there to become more of the modern day Will Clark I kindof expected him to be.

The obvious difference between him and Clark is the strikeouts. Clark was a tough AB every single time he went to the plate. Hosmer, as you know, is noisy as hell up there and falls into prolonged funks where he couldn't hit a beach ball with a tennis racket. But if he went to SD and realized that he can simplify his approach, drop closer to 18-20 HRs and make it up by hitting more doubles and getting on base more, it might actually be good for him.

4 years ago I looked at Freddie Freeman and Eric Hosmer and had no idea who the better player would be. Then in 2013 Freeman seemed to embrace ihis line-drive approach. He came to really understand his strengths as a hitter and exploded by catering to them. I'm not convinced Hosmer's ever truly done that. Perhaps getting to a park (and getting a big contract) will allow him to focus less on the difficult task of turning liners into homers and more on the much easier job of turning groundballs into liners.

If they don't get Hosmer signed, I would still say it's less likely they unload everything. That's just not the way you "rebuild". You always keep some key pieces - especially affordable ones and guys that can positively influence club-house culture. Would Duffy, Salvy, Merrifield or Hererra get traded? Maybe one of them. It's more likely we would see smaller deals for vets like Hammel, Maurer, Buchter, Soria or even younger guys like Cuthbert, Alexander, Bonifacio and Soler, because we have alternatives in the minors.

Keep in mind, "focused on re-stocking" the minor leagues does not necessarily mean trading every marketable player for top-5 prospects from other orgs - especially if you've paid attention to Dayton's recent history. It would likely be some combination of smaller deals, trading for draft pool and international money along with maybe one "big" deal.

That's not the way teams have 'rebuilt' since the implementation of the present draft rules.

Teams rebuild now by absolutely gutting their squads, losing 105 games, getting themselves huge draft pools so they can go over slot on talent in the middle rounds and squirreling away their top assets in the minors for as long as they can to clump their service time into identifiable windows.

Many teams will focus precisely on moving their 'core' assets because those are the guys who are going to be gone by the time that window arrives or leaving their prime. They'll also get the best return.

Some teams refuse to engage in it and I think they'll suffer for it (the Cardinals). Others embrace it fully and they'll be rewarded for it, IMO (The White Sox are the most recent example; the Cubs and Astros are the most obvious).

If you're going to rebuild, you tear it down to the studs. I'd hold onto Duffy until the trade deadline if I were them; let him re-establish his value. Perez? I'd absolutely shop him around as catchers are tough to find. The problem is that most contenders have one. I'd give the Angels a call and see what's left in that barren system of theirs. They're going to make a hard push now that Otani is there and they can't keep wasting Trout. Maldonado...sucks.

That system is so bad it might be hard to put a deal together with them, but Adell, Canning and Thaiss might makes sense; a big-time toolsy OFer in Adell, a good 'pitchability' righty in Canning that's probably gonna be in an MLB rotation by 2019 and a 1b with helium and an advanced approach in Thaiss. If you could convince them to include Chris Rodriguez in there - huge tools but short on results as a HS pick - you'd have to pull the trigger.

Petco has less OF grass than the K, so I'm not sure it caters to Hosmer's strengths any better than the K does, but it's possible the change in scenery and big contract help Hosmer adjust (though it's just as possible the pressure from those items takes him the other way).

He took off in May of last year by embracing an approach that included hitting the ball up the middle and the other way more often. I think he can continue that and be a consistent hitter (.300/.360/.475-.500, depending how many HR he walks into)... at least as long as his natural talents can support his crazy, complicated swing.

I think you're underestimating how seriously Hosmer takes his brother's (a professional firefighters) hitting advice.

It won't be much longer now.

That's gonna be the key for him. The long-term security and the fact that the Padres will suck next year either way has to convince him that he's willing to write-off all/part of a season while he rebuilds his swing into something that will age better.

Gonna be a tough sell to make to a proud guy sporting a $20 million/season AAV, but it could pay off long-term. His hands/wrists won't allow him to get away with that kind of rusty gate approach to swinging the bat for much longer, IMO.

That seems....unwise.

As DJ pointed out, shipping off all assets that won't be around to help in your next contention window IS the best route to rebuilding these days.

Whether they get there depends on what happens with Hosmer, IMO, because with him, you can project having Hosmer, Perez, Duffy, Merrifield, and a few others to build around as a contending team in 2019, 2020.

Without him, it's hard to see the rebuild being that short. You're looking more at 2021 as the hopeful start of the next wave/window.

I think they're open to moving anyone if Hosmer signs elsewhere. I think it's highly, highly likely now that at least Soria and Herrera are moved, regardless. With Scott Alexander and Whit Merrifield, you have so much control of them still that KC could hold them. I think Alexander would fetch a nice return, though maybe not as nice of one as he would return at the deadline if he's sitting on 15-20 saves and has shown the same dominance and crazy groundball tendencies he did in 2017.

The real questions are Duffy and Perez. It would be very tough from a PR perspective to move them, but they're hugely valuable chips and would do more than anyone else to rebuild the team.

Duffy's value would be somewhere close to Jose Quintana's when the white sox moved him. Perez's return would have to be monumental for the team to be able to do it.

I do agree that Hammel will be on the block and they'll shop him hard.

Moore's recent history doesn't matter if he's going into rebuild mode. The moves you make when you're trying to rebuild are entirely different than the ones you make when you're trying to supplement and fill in the final pieces for a team set up to contend.

And yet... it is so.

Wasn't there a rumor that Hosmer listened hard to Carlos Beltran when he said "get your first contract on steals and batting average, get your second contract on HRs"?

I know this all sounds like it makes sense, but this is not what will happen. You have to have significant major league assets to yield the kind of haul that contains the parts to a future championship level ball club. Perez and Duffy are far more valuable to us than most other teams and the PR headache would just be another negative on those kinds of deals. We just do not have a Greinke on our team to net the kind of haul that would build the minor league system in a way that's any quicker than doing it through smaller deals and working the system for pool / international money.

Rebuilding just means they won't try to add any significant parts to the existing squad. We will play whatever we already have and start working towards the next few drafts. In the mean time, Burns/Orlando/Gordon/Boni/Soler in the OF, Moss/Dozier at first, Cuthbert and Mondesi will fill out the infield. If they just want to shave some payroll, the only moves that make sense are Duffy, Hererra, Kennedy and Hammell. (edit - oops...and Soria).

I would contend that both Duffy and Perez are more valuable than Grienke was. He was a rental and was known as a player who didn't care about his team. Duffy and Perez have very friendly long term deals and clubhouse character in spades.

Again...I know that seems to make sense...but name one executive that is ready to restock our system with trades for either of those guys. MAYBE at the trade deadline. Other GM's are inquiring, because if we're rebuilding...they want to see if they can get a bargain. Few clubs will offer what we want if they feel they have leverage because they believe rebuilding for us means every player must go.

That's why you wait for the deadline. It can turn into an arms race and a bidding war, and the clock works against the contenders.

I feel like I just did - the Angels would almost certainly be eager listeners. In for a penny, in for a pound. They're going full LeBron over the next 3 years to do anything they can to convince Trout to re-sign after this contract ends and become a lifelong Angel. They can't do that if they just keep lowing 80+ games/season and missing the playoffs.

Perez's relatively affordable contract would be very appealing to them. As would his impact on a relatively young pitching staff. He's a perfect fit for that team.

As for Duffy - who wouldn't want a lefty with plus stuff? I don't think he has Quintana's value, but Quintana returned a top 10 prospect and another top 75 guy. Duffy could probably return two top 50 guys pretty easily. Why wouldn't the Blue Jays discuss Alford and Bichette for Duffy?

Hell, you know you who call? The New York Yankees. You send them Duffy, they send you Clint Frazier, Chance Adams and Dustin Fowler. You take a big swing with them and they probably counter with Frazier, Andujar and Acevedo.

It's not at all farfetched. If you could turn Duffy and Salvy into Frazier, Adell, Thiess, Adujar, Canning and Acevedo....jesus, you've loaded that system to the gills. That's probably a little higher return than you'd get but you're dabbling in the margins, IMO.

That's two incredibly toolsy young OFers, your corner IF of the future with a couple of nice polished hitters, a high end (seriously high end) young arm in Acevedo and a high floor almost certain 3rd starter in Canning.

You'd be well on your way to competing, if not contending, by 2021 if you supplement those deals with smart acquisitions.

Depends on your definition of "restocking" the farm.

Team control is probably the biggest asset in baseball right now. Four years of Danny Duffy at an AAV of $13 million and four years of Salvador Perez at an AAV of $12 million would hold real value.

I agree that Duffy isn't going to fetch Jose Quintana-level returns - not quite - but he'd be close-ish. The Cubs are checking in, which means they start with Happ or Schwarber on that deal. Neither is a prospect anymore, but Happ has six years of control remaining and proved he can succeed at the MLB level (and was a top 20-25 guy entering last season; if anything, his value is perhaps a little more).

Same with Salvador Perez. He's very good and controlled for a long period of time. Teams pay more now for very good + control than they do for great + no control (in general).

If the Royals moved both of those guys in separate trades, I'd expect to add 3-5 top 100 prospects (maybe one around top 25, a few top 50) and 2-3 more "pieces."

A Duffy for Happ trade straight up would be pretty close to done. Might get a little more. While Duffy to the Yankees would suck, that may be the best match if they get to it. Frazier + Adams would be pretty enticing.

The Salvador Perez-angels trade proposal/idea is a pretty good one. Jo Addell is someone the Royals really liked entering last year's draft. Not sure where he ends up on 2018 lists, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a top 50ish ranking.

The Brewers also seem like a good match to me for Perez. They have OFs coming out their ears.

@jcrasnick: Carlos Gonzalez is flying under the radar, but a lot of teams are interested because he's likely to sign a short-term deal to re-establish his value. #SFGiants, #Royals, #Athletics, #Rays and #BlueJays are among the teams believed to be keeping an eye on him.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scott Boras on modern evaluations of players: &quot;The eye test is winning over metric evaluations.&quot;</p>&mdash; Tom (@Haudricourt) <a href="https://twitter.com/Haudricourt/status/940984493162278912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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It's almost too easy, but I'll ask anyway: what's his evidence?

It's the stance that makes him more money with his current Free Agents, why would he need evidence? This is Scott Boras.

In some ways, I sympathize with his "view". But his view is on the wrong side of how history is proceeding. Truth is, he'll tout metrics next year if it serves his players better. It's typical Boras-spin.

The Royals are claiming they've lost 65-80 million the past few years LMAO

Eric Hosmer.

He's also used J.D Martinez's defense as an example. It's Boras being Boras

Dayton Moore has a World Series championship and 2 World Series appearances.
Billy Beane has zero.

Sounds like Yelich might be available?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Live look at Christian Yelich enjoying his off-season on Miami’s beautiful beaches <a href="https://t.co/A2eGYxMqPX">pic.twitter.com/A2eGYxMqPX</a></p>&mdash; Lookout Landing (@LookoutLanding) <a href="https://twitter.com/LookoutLanding/status/941011464239726592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lots of trade interest in Duffy right now. Dayton might be getting a good package out of him.

How can they not get a deal done with the Yankees centered around Frazier and a power arm or two?

It just makes all the sense in the world for both sides.

@Ken_Rosenthal: #Royals GM Dayton Moore told KC radio station in November that payroll would be in $110M-$120M range. Sources now indicate number will be no more than $110M. Only way Hosmer fits is if #Royals trim in other areas. KC listening on everyone, getting significant interest in Duffy.

@rustindodd: The Royals are still fielding calls on Duffy, Alexander, Merrifield and Herrera, looking for controllable talent that would fit into rebuild. Also still seeking to unload contracts of Hammel and Soria.

10 min ago

@JonHeyman: Danny Duffy extremely popular on trade market. KC seriously thinking about trading.

Be nice if the Royals could find a way to get rid of Kennedy or hope he does well this season to trade him

I'd trade him first offer.

A McDonald's coupon for a large coke would do the trick. I'd even consider the medium.

So trade everyone to re sign Hosmer and then have a trash team ?

Kennedy was never really the same after his hamstring injury last year (https://www.mlb.com/royals/news/roya...ry/c-262489182), the same thing happened to him in San Diego one season.

I'm willing to bring him back fully healthy and see if he can rebuild some value before I dump him.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bury me a Royal.</p>&mdash; Danny Duffy (@duffkc41) <a href="https://twitter.com/duffkc41/status/941088403533131776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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It’s dumb....if they’re willing to trade Duffy, it should full rebuilding time....everyone on the table.

When is the end of the meetings?

That's a really interesting non sequitor.

It looks like it is trending that way.

I don't buy the loss claims at all. Glass isn't wealthy enough to drop nine figures over the course of two years in pure loss.

get rid of everyone and start over, seriously. Absolutely no reason to keep anyone build that farm system up

I agree...a man so prudent and frugal isn’t suddenly gonna lose $$ like that.

Yankees fans realllly want Duffy

Hopefully Cashman wants him as badly as they do

I'm fine with making moves that make sense, but absent "blow-away" offers for guys controlled 4+ years, I'd hold on to them.

If some team wants to pay 90 percent of the price for Duffy that the Cubs did for Quintana, you have to think about it. I'd need that level of return to say "absolutely."

Same thing on Perez. If they can get a monster package, it's something to consider.

Everyone else? Fungible asset. Merrifield, Herrera, Soria, so on and so forth.

Knowing GMDM, I wouldn’t be surprised if Duffy’s DUI made him easier to part with this offseason.

I am totally fine with resigning no one and fielding solid offers for everyone but Perez.

And keeping Perez is only for my selfish reasons. I've never liked a baseball player, who's also a good person, more in my life.

:(

This is sad. We've gone decades with literally no one actually WANTING to stay a Royal for life.

We have one in Duffy who has clearly stated numerous times he just wants to stay here and pitch.

I don't give a shit about the DUI. I still like Duffy and hope he gets his wish.

Yeah I guess I'm in the minority but **** trading DD. He's done nothing but love being a Royals his whole career and he's vocal as can be about it. I get the partial rebuild thing but why part ways with a good pitcher who loves being here? Don't answer that, I get the logic but I don't like it.