Sell what? Don't they still have next season is with most of these guys except Kendrys and Volquez? They may be 10 back by the AS break

And Hoch.

Still Highly unlikely they sell.

Chris Young.

We will get 7 hats for him

To Golden State?

This season is swirling around the toilet bowl.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Can't imagine they'd think about moving much.

Maybe Hochevar (who has a mutual option after this year that will not get picked up). Maybe Volquez.

I can't see them moving any of Duffy, Hosmer, Moustakas, Cain, Escobar, Davis, Herrera.

Only real wildcard in a trade is Yordano Ventura.

I would expect Moore to focus on a respectable finish and setting up for next year. That means seeing what Ventura can give you the rest of the way and if he can even out, seeing how Duffy holds up (if he pitches at this level all season and Ventura bounces back nicely, you suddenly feel much better about your rotation for 2017), seeing if Cuthbert and Merrifield continue to hit (and maybe trying Cuthbert at 2B again over the Fall Leagues/Winter Leagues if Merrifield becomes human again).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No way will the Royals sell. Moore is gonna suck this core group while they're all together dry, all the way through 2017.

That was pretty graphic, but yeah.

2 games out of the wild card, its first week of July and people want us to sell. Dipshits out in full force.

Yep. Chris Young doesn't pitch every night, guys. And hopefully he won't be pitching anymore at all. Replace him with literally anybody and this team is instantly better.

Yeah. He is done. No DL shit or long relief. Time for the bootski.

Lol, did facebook Royals fan forget how we made the playoffs in 2014?

We're okay, guys.

They have some time to decide for sure, but the alternative view is we are in a 3-way tie for 8th right now

The road stretch has been pisspoor, but all this talk about selling. Wow.

Which can be made up easily with a short winning streak. If this team ever plays at home again.

I wouldn't say we're ok. We have 3 All Stars on the DL, another All Star struggling for almost a full year now (Gordon) and a shaky starting staff. There's reason for concern, some of it completely out of the team's control. That said, no reason to panic. Some guys need to stabilize, you hope Cain and Wade come back strong after the break and we can find something suitable in the 5th starter spot.

It's a marathon, not a sprint. Definitely need to add to the stable because without an infusion into the starting rotation, they're not going anywhere. Even still, certainly not looking very formidable without some legit guys taking the mound come October.

I would rather focus on picking up a top of the rotation guy and maybe even another middle of the road pitcher over a bat.

Hoping by the deadline they're 5 or less back of Cleveland and they grab a SP and Reddick?

Can we bring up more cyborg arms? Lost 2 closers in, what, 10 months?

I remember being 15-20 games out by this time all too well. Compared to those seasons, to be in the thick of it feels pretty okay.

No offense but Blech.

That's like praising the 1992 Chiefs for going 10-6 when they were actually a horseshit team.

Did the Chiefs win the Super Bowl in 1991?

The Royals have some leeway for a while. The Chiefs do not.

We're not going to see eye to eye on this one. Cheers, mate.

http://rs966.pbsrc.com/albums/ae141/...52tqr.gif~c200

Dayton Moore has drafted and developed pitchers during his tenure?

It's better than 30 years of being mathematically eliminated by June 10.

Other than Duffy and Ventura, not much in the SP department, and neither of them is a shining, slam-dunk success. Kyle Zimmer's ghost shoulder is a significant blow to that factor.

But they have developed/drafted/acquired multiple guys who have either turned into good bullpen pieces (Soria, Herrera, Hochevar) or who have been used as trade chips (Odorizzi, Montgomery, Lamb, Finnegan, Reed).

I'd like to see more production from the farm in terms of developing pitching. But the plan ALWAYS was to develop a wave of talent, get if to the majors, have a second "mini" wave that you use to bolster wave 1, keep a few key guys, then build back around them with the second big wave (which is made up of Bonifacio, Cuthbert, Mills, Junis, Strahm, Dozier, etc). This is exactly what Dayton said he would do.

It has followed Moore's textbook to a T.

It also might be worth noting that MLB changed the draft rules in recent years, which took away many of the tactics the Royals were using to stock up on talent,
And that they've been left out of the COMp balance lottery two straight years (which is something like a 8 percent chance). All things that hurt the ability to acquire talent through the draft.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did anyone happen to take a close look at the box score from last night, particularly the pitching line?

Why can't they put Wang in the rotation? Give him a chance like they have Gee and Young.

Been keeping an eye on Hunter Dozier. He was hot immediately after being promoted to Omaha, then cooled off to .259. The power was there, but he was striking out a ton -- 2 or 3 times a game, getting at least one K in multiple games.

But he's really bounced back strong: Last 10 games he's 17 for 40 (and really, he's been hot for the last 20 games). The most encouraging thing is that his K's are way down -- he's struck out only 4 times in that 10 game stretch (14 K's in his last 20), and has gone six straight games without whiffing. Prior to that he had not gone more than two games without a K all year, including AA.

So right now his Omaha line is .322/.369/.519, 17 doubles and 8 HRs in 54 games.

Where did Dozier's power all of a sudden come from? That's quite the increase

Has Dozier played any corner outfield - RF in particular?

Never mind - just checked. He's played outfield this year - primarily LF, it appears

So do you move Dozier up this year hoping he is more ready for next year or stick with Orlando in RF?

Always had good raw power, finally tapping into it this year. He made some swing adjustments last year that ****ed him over overall to try to tap into. Maybe that struggle was necessary for him.

He's got the athleticism and arm to play a corner OF spot if they decide Cuthbert or Moustakas is their long-term 3B solution.

I'd keep him in Omaha unless/until Orlando turns into an absolute pumpkin. I don't think he's a major difference maker this year, so might as well protect his service time and keep his trade value at max.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He's been playing mostly 3B. I think if they are serious in having him switch to RF, then he's going to need a lot more reps in the Outfield before he gets to the next level.

If you're going to sit Paulo, then I'd put Eibner out there every day to see what we have with him.

duncan, just curious of your thoughts on Jorge Bonifacio. Dude has really had a great half season at Omaha: .295/.362/.511, 13 HR's and 53 RBI's playing primarily RF.

This is cracking me up way more than it should.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kris Medlen is heading back to KC with a shoulder strain. Will be re-evaluated later today <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash">#Royals</a></p>&mdash; Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlannyMLB/status/750731082597707780">July 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I just finished "The Arm" by Jeff Passan. Fascinating book. The stories of Todd Coffey and Daniel Hudson are compelling.

You guys should read it.

I've heard great things about it. It's on my Kindle wish list.

Kind of similar to Dozier. He's a guy who had always made good contact and had power potential, now tapping into it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You realize they put Kendrys Morales in RF last week, right?

Yes, I'm wildly aware of that. You are aware that KenMo has been in Major Leagues for a number of years and started his career as an OF'r, right?

Dozier is a minor leaguer who has been used exclusively as an infielder (primarily 3B) until this year where he's played 12 games in the OF. Some guys (Read: Hosmer, Eric) can't play outfield to save their soul. Maybe Dozier is capable of manning the spot, but there is no reason to rush him at this point (which is really my point). 2017....That's a different story

What is the hypothetical return for a Hosmer trade that makes it worthwhile, in anyone's view?

Not worth much. Only has 1 more year, which he's unsigned and hence eligible for an arb payout of perhaps 10-12M. What would someone pay for that player at that salary?

Probably a #25-40 prospect.

Heading back home from a trip. Was a nice week without a listen/watch of baseball.

These queers been sucking?

You provide great statistical anaylsis at times but when it comes to evaluating a players worth in a trade you are out there.

Virtually zippo given contract status . There's the last guy who you try and move this season. Full out revolt.

Besides, Dayton seems over the moon in trying to resign him. Hosmer is just about to enter his peak years.

Just remember, you can't spell homers without Hosmer.

virtually zippo?!? He is OPS'ing .850 with power.

Yes, the correct move for us is to hold on to him even if we don't think he'll stay after 2017 because we probably have a chance next year, but if we hypothetically decided to trade him now we'd get a decent prospect package from some team who needs a bat and thinks they have a 2 year window.

So you guys think a half year of Zobrist was worth more than 1.5 years of Hos?

Not that he will be traded.

Thank you. I thought I was taking crazy pills reading some of this.

Oh, you're saying trading Hosmer right now? That doesn't have even 1% chance of happening. I assumed he meant offseason.

But is 1 year of Hosmer worth as much as a few months of Zobrist? Well, Zobrist made about 1/2 as much to be 2x as more valuable. 2B > 1B

Might want to read his post again. He said "zippo" would make him do the deal, not that he's worth zippo.

Sorry, I'll clarify. 1. I don't think he's even remotely available, and 2. Few teams would probably meet the Royals demands for a rental who they can try to sign as a FA. At least half the teams won't have the money to sign him, and probably another 7 or 8 teams won't have payroll space to fit him in. So, you're looking at maybe 5 or 6 teams that realistically he's going to be deciding between.

It's not that he's worth zippo, just that it’s an unrealistic scenario of trading him for a number of reasons.

No way they trade hosmer unless they're blown away they want to keep him till the end and hope he gives them a chance to sign

Hence why I asked to begin with.

They're not trading Hosmer this year or next year. Unless they're 10 games out by the trade deadline next year.

It's really not even worth the mental exercise.

But trading 1.5 years of Hosmer should net a big return. One top 25 prospect, another top 75 type, and a lotto ticket.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No scratchers included might be a deal breaker.

Well sure, I assume we are asking for the moon given our situation and that we're not out of it yet, so he will therefore not be traded.

Which would be the equivalent of what, a 1/16th chance of yielding a major league caliber player? A 1 in 64 shot of two major leaguers?

I assume he's talking about top 25/top 75 in all of MLB, not in a team's farm system.

Cool, Kendrys is hurt now too.

Back. Out of the lineup.

Most facebook Royal fans do not want to sell at all....they want to buy buy buy

I'd be all for trading Hosmer at this point. Someone will vastly overvalue him and we can get some excellent prospects or starting pitching locked up. I understand that we won't do that, but if we aren't confident we can get a playoff spot, I'd go for it at least before the trade deadline unless we go on a run.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ned Yost said Kendrys Morales&#39; back &quot;locked up on him&quot; last night. He&#39;ll sit tonight. He&#39;s day to day.</p>&mdash; Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) <a href="https://twitter.com/rustindodd/status/750789799062151168">July 6, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Exactly.

But we all agree not happening.

No worries. The offense has been clicking lately.

As long as Kennedy keeps the Jays to zero or less runs, I think we will have a chance to win.

As we should, assuming we're two games back at the deadline.

If 2014 taught us anything, it's to not undervalue our chances with a wild card spot.

LMAO

Even if we were 14 games back, I haven't given up on 2017. I'll worry about 2018 after 2017.

Me too. I am all aboard the buy wagon.

We also didn't have injuries to Gordon, Moustakas, Davis, Medlen, Cain, Young, Perez, Eibner, Dyson, Vargas.

That's alot of injuries.

As should everyone. We had 30 years of sell already. I'll pass on revisiting that so quickly.

Teams don't make trades like the Bartolommeo Colon deal these days, unless you're trading with the Diamondbacks.

The Royals would get a nice return for Hosmer, but not such an overwhelming one as to make it worth it. It also would rip the heart out of the clubhouse, which does matter, even if it isn't quantifiable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't understand this line of thinking.

If the Royals are 14 games back as the All Star Break 2017, that's the time to once again, make franchise altering trades, especially for pitching.

Chris Davis signed a 7 year, $161 million dollar deal this year. Hosmer will likely get offers for at least 6 years, $150 million. The Royals TV contract wouldn't even cover a year's salary and Gordon's deal begins to escalate in 2018.

If they're totally out of it, getting a great return for Hosmer would make far more sense than getting nothing.

Hos had a considerable injury, Duffy was about to be injured for the whole postseason, Moose was playing like hot garbage, Lorenzo Cain was riding a 5 HR season, and our second best reliever tore his UCL in spring training.

There's always risk in buying, but the last two years should show anybody that the gamble is worth taking.

That's next year. Very different scenario than moving him this season and sending the message they're writing off this season and 2017.

Right.

I'm not suggesting or advocating that they move Hosmer this season. To do so, they'd have to be blown away with an offer and I doubt that's even a remote possibility.

But if they're 14 games back at the break in 2017...

Eh, we were going to release him anyway.

Someone should photo shop cueto on this horse
http://i.imgur.com/WAv46IO.jpg

I love you forever, Johnny Cueto.