Benson to KC
 

According the Gammons the Royals are trading Affeldt and MacDougal to the Mets for Kris Benson.

I cant wait for his wife to hit the town. :drool:

http://www.rotoworld.com/

ESPN's Peter Gammons is reporting that Kris Benson is on his way to the Royals for Jeremy Affeldt and Mike MacDougal.
Metsblog.com's Matthew Cerrone says it might be a prospect instead of MacDougal along with Affledt. The Royals can't give up both relievers for the right to pay Benson $15 million over the next two years.

I'd be surprised if it's both for Benson....

I hope it turns out to be just Affeldt and maybe a low level prospect. If not the Royals better be getting more back.

Oh Anna Benson...welcome to KC, sweetheart!

Ehhh. I hope it's just Affeldt and somebody else. I really don't wanna trade MacDougal. Not for Benson. I actually kinda like Benson, I just hope he doesn't have a sour attitude about playing in KC coming from New York.

Gammons ****s these up daily. But, that being said, Victor Diaz/Nady or Keppinger better be on the way to the Rojas - otherwise we got screwed, er, again.

People on the Mets' side of things say its Affeldt and a prospect, not both Affeldt and MacDougle

No way we trade both that would be really stupid, keep Mac out of the two if any, since Affeldt just cannot get it together here, but knowing our luck he'll kick ass elsewhere.

I wonder if KC is ready for Mrs. Benson...

DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE: Rivalling Karen Burnett for the title of Most Talked About Wife at these meetings is the steaming mad spouse of New York Mets pitcher Kris Benson. Amid reports the Mets were looking to deal her husband to Baltimore just one season into a four-year deal, Anna Benson blasted the team and said the move was in retaliation for her musing aloud about posing nude for Playboy magazine.

But even more interesting than Anna Benson's non-clothing issues — she once posed for Penthouse and threatened last season to sleep with the entire Mets squad if her husband ever cheated on her — was her take on patriotism and former Jays slugger Carlos Delgado, now with the Mets.

"How are they going to sit there and say it's so controversial," she told the New York Daily News of her pondered Playboy shoot, "when they sign someone like Delgado, who turns his back on our flag?

"Playboy is all-American. Everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Cindy Crawford has posed. They didn't turn their back on the flag."

Neither did Delgado, of course. If Benson could put her thinking cap on for five minutes — along with the rest of her clothes — she'd realize Delgado not standing for God Bless America was merely exercising his right to free-speech. Just as she now clamours, in a much louder voice by the way, for her right to earn money peddling what seem to be her finest attributes.

Benson heading to K.C.
Dec 6 - The Mets are about to trade right-handed starter Kris Benson to the Royals for left-hander Jeremy Affeldt and right-hander Mike MacDougal, reports ESPN's Peter Gammons, who says the deal could get done Tuesday night.

Earlier, the Newark Star-Ledger reported that Mets GM Omar Minaya had spoken with several teams about Benson -- including Baltimore, San Francisco and Kansas City.

The Mets like Benson but would move him in order to clear his salary ($15.5M over two years) so they could make a deal for a high-priced starter such as Arizona's Javier Vazquez or Oakland's Barry Zito.

New York almost dealt Benson to Baltimore last week for Jorge Julio. But the Mets went back to the Orioles demanding a high-level prospect in addition to Julio, and the O's balked.

The only way this deal goes down Macdougal and Affeldt for Benson is cause baird gets a to bang Anna, only explaniation.

I guess I'll be the first to say the obligatory: This post is totally worthless without pictures

[QUOTE=JohnnyV13][QUOTE]According the Gammons the Royals are trading Affeldt and MacDougal to the Mets for Kris Benson.

I cant wait for his wife to hit the town. :drool:

http://www.rotoworld.com/I tried to post pics but I am not too computer literate. She looks great in pictures...of course she can not talk in pictures.

Wow

So the Royals look like they are going to go with Sisco and Burgos as their closers. I'm ok with that, especially if Nunez can figure out how to get some control. We need to find a good 7-8-9 combination like we had with Burgos-Sisco-Mac

according to kcroyals.com we may be close to getting jacque jones too, we might actually get 2 more wins against the twins if thats the case!!!!!!!!!!!111111111wone!11

People obviously think very highly of Sisco and Burgos. Allard supposedly kept throwing Mac and Affeldt at the Marlins for Luis Castillo... trying to get a leadoff/2B... and the Marlins refused, said they wanted Sisco or Burgos.

.

I can live with a Brown, Dejesus, and Jones OF.

If all these moves actually happens I like what Baird has done. Jones is solid, Benson still has a lot of potential, Pratt is a top backup catcher, and Dessens is a good swingman. I dont know much about Miles from Colorado so if anyone can clue me in feel free.

Just need another starter and maybe the Royals can win 75 or 80 games this year. Not great but its a start.

Start printing playoff tickets!!!wun1!
/obligatory.

I like this deal.

Affedlt particularly hasn't really been able to define a role for himself on a bad pitching staff even when used in a lot of different spots. I don't think Macdougal is ever going to be a guy that a contending team can rely on as a closer. And we need starting pitching help in the worst way.

I think Sisco and Burgos could turn into a decent punch from the bullpen, and both guys have several years less on the odometer than the ones leaving.

Getting younger while not giving up much in the way of potential, and adding a guy who should help in the rotation. What's not to like?

MacDougal in NY is a meltdown waiting to happen. I agree I like this deal.

Baird and Glass bring Benson in so they can showcase his wife and more people will buy tix just to see her.

Remaining Needs
1. 2b - I'm not comfortable with any of our options right now. It's a glaring weakness that needs to be addressed this Winter

2. OF - Jones would fit the bill just fine, but I wouldn't mind a natural LF vs. another RF.

3. Another Starter. I'm ok with Greinke, Hernandez and Howell. With the addition of Benson, it would be nice to find another arm out there, preferably a hard throwing Lefty

4. Back-up Catcher. I'm not talking about a 40 yr old door stop. I'm talking about someone who can put some pressure on Buck. That's probably a pipe dream, but it's a need for sure.

5. A leadoff hitter - I don't care what position, just find a guy with a little speed who can find a way to get on base.

at the price of starting pitching right now, affeldt and a prospect, or macdougal and a prospect sound good. but not both, the expierience coming out of the bull pen is important. i like mac, we just don't give him enough chances, what was his save % under bell?

Seems like the Mets are looking to lighten their salary a little bit and will take a flyer on project players like Mac to do it.

I doubt if he will see any of Shea without some growing-up.

I thought Benson was a black butler?

Castillo would have been nice. I wish there was some way we could still get him.

The Twins won't trade him in-division.

I know, hence the I wish...

Affeldt and a prospect... ok. Affeldt and MacDougal is reeruned.

The Royals' Wives Food Drive just became a must attend event. I'll gladly give her canned goods...write bad checks....crawl through a mile of broken glass to hear her fart on a pay phone....Did I say that out loud?

Not a bad trade. Benson has been mediocre for most of his career but has pretty good stuff. He may finally be able to put it together.

After his wife complaining earlier this week, this trade is pretty damn funny.

no shit i bet bob davis and split would love to get her in the booth lol

Bob's looking for his Viagra at this very moment, he wants to be prepared.

Oooooh...Daddy Like!
Definitely trade for this guy. Hell, If we're gonna lose 100 games, we might as well have some hot wives hanging around.
Check this out:
http://www.annabenson.net/

Man, I really wish I had remembered to start the "Why the Royals need to trade for Kris Benson" thread earlier today complete with Anna picks. Just got busy and forgot. Oh well.

I'm OK with Benson; I saw these rumors a few days ago and thought it would be a good deal for KC, although I would prefer to hang on to Mac. But again, they've got a lot of good young arms behind him, he'll be aribitration eligible in a year or so, I don't think he'll ever be an elite-type closer. So good riddance if he's part of the deal.

I really don't want Jacque Jones if it's for the contract terms speculated on a few days ago. And I sure as heck don't want Aaron Miles as the 2B.

But Benson for 2 years, I can stomach.

Speaking as a Met fan, I think we just pulled a fast one on you guys. ROFL

I suppose Benson'll be a bit of an improvement over what the Royals usually trot out to the mound, but he's probably not worth the contract. Considering you gave us pretty good bullpen help, I'll take it.

Frees up money for Manny or Zito too. :)

Yeah, the Mets board seems to be pretty happy with the deal, at least if we include MacDougal. I don't know, I don't really wanna give up Mac. Affeldt needs a change of scenery. I really question their mental toughness pitching in NY though. I kinda view those guys the same way I do Beltran, talented but they aren't real tough guys, and Beltran didn't light the world on fire under NYC pressure last year. If Affeldt goes through a slump or two it'll be interesting to see how he responds to the heat. He couldn't do it very well in KC, NYC will be a whole different ballgame.

You figure if it's not MacDougal, it'll be a pretty good prospect. And probably an arm.

MacDougal is about the ceiling on pitching prospects we'd be willing to trade. At least for somebody like Kris Benson. If it's somebody else they won't be MLB ready most likely.

Excerpts from this morning's KC Star....

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/13345454.htm

I know I'm in the minority here, but I would like to see them keep Affeldt. Teach him a cut fastball and stick him in the rotation and leave him there.

He's never going to be good here. The Royals haven't figured him out and have just screwed him up. They might aswell get something for him from a team that thinks they can figure him out.

I was over reading the Mets board... a blurb posted over there said that was part of the problem, the Royals kept pushing MacDougal and the Mets kept asking for Affeldt.

I think Affeldt could really use a change of scenery, but I like the logic in not trading him. With Affeldt's stuff, it's wiser to at least try to go after a gold glover like Orlando Hudson or a couple really good young players from the Braves, over a career .500 guy like Benson.

That may be true, but if they are packaging both Affeldt and Mac for Benson they're getting screwed. NYM will be getting 2 cheap power arms for their bullpen (unless they start Affeldt) and will be dumping salary for a SP with a career record of 57-61. NYM knows they screwed up when they gave him that big contract. Their new pitching coach (peterson from OAK) was supposed to perform miracles and help him to finally realize his potential. What makes you think he'll finally realize that potential here in KC. Why the hell should we help the Mets by letting them bail out on a stupid contract plus give up 2 power arms for the bullpen. Affeldt is 5 yrs younger than Benson. If you stick him in the rotation for the next 5 yrs I would almost guarrantee he would have a better career record than 57-61. I repeat if you give up both of them, then they need to get someone like Diaz or Milledge (although I'm sure they will hold on to him to use to try and pry Manny away from BOS).

Read the blurb I posted... the Royals said they have no interest in trading both of them together unless they get an amazing package in return. Which doesn't surprise me at all. Both guys might get traded, but they'll be in separate deals. I think Benson is better than some of the options out there in FA though, even some of the guys that have already signed...

His W-L record isn't that big of a deal since he has played his much of his career with the Pirates. His salary isn't great but its not terrible either. 7.5 million isn't bad for a #3 starter. Though with the Royals budget its probably not the best way to spend that.

Power arms are not the hardest to find in the pen but then again Affeldt may eventually develop. My first reaction to this trade was mediocre starter is probably better than mediocre relievers. After thinking about it a little more its not really a trade you need to make but I dont think it would be that bad.

Yep the FA market this year pretty much sucks. Millwood is about the only good pitcher left but I think someone will overpay for him. Washburn isn't bad but his other numbers just don't support his low ERA.

Yeah, I would rather give Kris Benson 7 mil a year over the next two years over someone like Paul Byrd or Kenny Rogers.

I think I would really like an Affeldt/Berroa for Kelly Johnson and another Braves top prospect. Shame that probably won't happen. Those Braves OF'ers have good plate discipline and I think would be good hitters in the K.

Sometimes it seems that Affeldts fastball tends to be too straight (which is weird for a lefty), that's why I think a cut fastball will do him wonders. I'd just like to see him here when he has the success that he eventually will.

Actually I think that 7.5 mil is a bit much for a #3. Just my opinion though.

There's no doubt about that. That's really his biggest weakness, his fastball is so straight. When you watch it on TV it doesn't look right because most pitchers have at least a little movement on the fastball. The cutter worked wonders for MacDougal.

I'm just not in favor of spending a $#!+ pot full of money on mediocre players that in the long run won't make this team any better. In 2 years Benson's @$$ is out the door. No way his hot little wife wants to be here in KC where there are absolutely no oppurtunities to use that hot little bod of hers to further her career oppurtunities.

The Royals are atleast 2 years away from having a chance to make some noise in this division and that is only if guys like Butler, Gordon, and Huber (as well as some others) develop into Major League hitters. That and the continued development of Teahan, Buck, and DeJesus as well as the young arms is the only chance we've got. We're never gonna get where we want to get by throwing millions after average major league talent.

You take those 2 years and let Jeremy develop in the rotation, and I mean give him a chance to really develop by sticking him in there and leaving him there. If that was allowed to happen I'd be willing to bet that you'd end up with a much better SP then Kris Benson.

What makes you think that he'll do any better here in KC where our major league talent at the moment IMO, is in considerably worse shape than the Pirates.

Yeah, I don't think we've given Affeldt enough of a chance in the rotation either, at least after he finally figured out his blister problems. That's kinda why I think he needs a fresh start. We'll see.

Really, in an ideal world, and this will never happen, we'd send Mac for Benson, Affeldt/Berroa for Johnson/prospect, sign Jacque Jones or Reggie Sanders, then ship Sweeney and a prospect like Nunez to the Angels for Kotchman/Kennedy/Santana or something like that. The Angels wanted 1B like Konerko and getting rid of Kennedy would help get Chone Figgins on the field more. Doing all of that would kinda thin out our strengths, namely a great RBI hitter in Sweeney and our power bullpen, but it sure would level out our weaknesses some, and in baseball that might be more important.

C- Buck
1B- Kotchman
2B- Kennedy
SS- Blanco
3B- Teahen
LF- K. Johnson
CF- DeJesus
RF- J. Jones or R. Sanders
DH- Stairs/E. Brown

A much better defensive group (actually a pretty good defense I think) with hitters who I think fit our ballpark, probably not an elite offensive team though, but I want pitching and defense. And that doesn't even include the three elite hitting prospects (Huber/Butler/Gordon).

SP - Greinke
SP - Hernandez
SP - Benson
SP - Santana
SP - Howell

RP - Dessens
RP - Wood
RP - Snyder/Bayliss/Gobble/somebody with an arm
RP - Bautista
RP - Sisco
CP - Burgos

Now that's a team I'd be interested in seeing, I think it would appease some by at least being more competitive than the last couple years, while still having tons of room for growth. Even if we couldn't get Santana in a Sweeney trade we'd just have another good position prospect like Erick Aybar to put at short, be able to keep Bautista in the rotation, and fill out the bullpen with another arm, somebody will step up and be a solid bullpen guy. I kinda get scared when we talk about trading Mac/Affeldt but really when you write this all out, we do have some flexibility with our pitchers. We aren't the A's but we aren't hurting there either.

Just that won-loss record isn't a stat thats specifically dependant on the pitcher's performance is all. You pitch for a bad team you will have less wins. The Pirates were pretty bad when he was there, so citing his won loss record doesnt really say all that much about his ability.

I see some of the logic in that.

Speaking for myself I really don't want to see Sweeney traded. I have to be honest though, these sentiments aren't based entirely on good baseball wisdom. Mike happens to be my kids favorite player. My 9 yr old son really likes him and follows his progress in games more than any other Royal. My 6 yr old daughter absolutely adores him and this has now rubbed off on her 3 yr old sister. What can I say, as a parent he's one major league ball player that you can actually point to as an ideal role model for kids to emulate.

All that being said, it would make alot of sense to try and restock the major league talent level by trading your best player. I'm not a big fan of Kennedy at 2B but he might work out until gordon is ready to play 3B here in KC then I'd explore moving Teahan to 2B. I think Teahan will never be considered an elite 3B (hitting wise) but I think he'd make a pretty good stick at 2B. While Gordon has the potential to be an absolute stud at 3B.

I still think Affeldt was ruined when, coming off his dominant 2003 season, the Royals (and I forget which pitching coach was caught in the revolving door back then) told Affeldt to stop focusing on strikeouts. They took a power pitcher and tried to turn him into a finesse pitcher. His K ratio plummeted, and so did his effectiveness.

As much as I loved the guy, I think he needs a change of scenery.

Yeah, I'm not much of a fan of that "pitch to contact" philosophy crap either.

Anna benson is not a bad thing She's a good thing.

tk13, I like the world you live in...

More rumors from Rotoworld:

* The Royals are looking to trade for left-hander Mark Redman, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
Rosenthal says they're not close on a deal for Kris Benson, as they won't give up both Mike MacDougal and Jeremy Affeldt. Redman should come at a lesser price. Dec. 7 - 12:49 pm et
Source: FOXSports.com

* The Royals offered to trade Mike Sweeney to the Angels for Casey Kotchman and Brandon Wood, a source told the Los Angeles Times.
How kind of them. Especially considering salaries, Kotchman is a more valuable property. He'll probably be the better hitter of the two within a couple of years and he's far superior defensively now. The Royals are afraid of just what their attendance will look like next year if they dump Sweeney, but trading him straight up for Kotchman would be of a lot of help to the club and it's a deal the Angels would likely make. Dec. 7 - 12:43 pm et
Source: Los Angeles Times

Ha! Kotchman AND Wood! Allard, you devil you. I'd trade Sweeney straight up for Wood, although I doubt the Angels would.

I hope Baird pulls off some of these moves.

I like these ideas much better than Benson. Kotchman, Wood, and Redman for Sweeney and Affeldt? That would be awesome.

Link

Bucs acquire Bayliss for Redman
By Ed Eagle / MLB.com

DALLAS -- The Pittsburgh Pirates unloaded their second left-handed starter in less than 24 hours Wednesday morning by sending veteran southpaw Mark Redman to the Kansas City Royals for right-hander Jonah Bayliss and a player to be named later.
Bayliss, 25, was 0-0 with a 4.63 ERA in 11 relief appearances as a rookie with the Royals last season. He is expected to compete for one of the right-handed spots in the bullpen which were vacated with the free agent losses of Brian Meadows, Rick White and Jose Mesa.

Redman, whom the Pirates acquired from the Oakland A's as part of the Jason Kendall deal on Nov. 27, 2004, was 5-15 with a 4.90 ERA in 30 starts with the Bucs last season. Redman began the year strong, posting a 2.80 ERA in his first 14 starts, before dropping 11 of his final 12 decisions.

Redman chose to exercise his $4.5 million player option for 2006 rather than opt for free agency. It was not immediately known if the Pirates would assume responsibility for any of the money owed to Redman for next season.

Tuesday, the Pirates sent southpaw Dave Williams to the Cincinnati Reds for first baseman Sean Casey. The trade is contingent upon both players passing physicals, and neither team is expected to make an official announcement until Wednesday, at the earliest.

Nice work Allard!

I figure Redman at the very least keeps us from resigning Lima, which is a great thing.

I like this move. Redman is a good pitcher and it still gives Baird the option to use Affeldt and MacDougal as trade bait for an OF, 2B, or another starter.

Yep

Getting a lefty starter for a guy that would have had a hard time even making the team is quite a steal.

I would have liked to have seen Bayliss for another year, but I'm not going to cry over it. I don't like the fact that Redman has just one year left on his contract though.

I'm proud of Allard to say "We want Kotchman and Wood for Sweeney." The Angels obviously refused, but there remains the possibility we talk the deal down to Kotchman and Aybar, which is what we want in the first place. Allard really needs to get this Sweeney thing done.

I do. Any veteran we bring in should be for 1-2 years (that's why I oppose giving Jacque Jones 4 years). They should be stopgaps to allow our kids time to grow in AA and AAA, rather than be rushed to the majors. Plus, we don't need to make longterm salary commitments to mediocre vets. We need the flexibility to A) make them tradeable in a pennant race and B) dumpable on the fly when the kids are ready.

I think Allard said in the paper today that they're telling agents they're not going beyond 3 years on FA contracts. That seems smart. I wouldn't mind if they signed Scott Elarton or Byung-Hyun Kim cheaply, then package some relief arms for OFers and middle infielders.

If we pull that off, and then can get Hudson or someone for 2B, then I will be pretty excited about this offseason.

Potentially bad news for KC:

* If the Rangers trade Alfonso Soriano, they could target Toronto's Orlando Hudson as a replacement and offer some combination of Kevin Mench, Gerald Laird and Adrian Gonzalez.

That's probably a better package than we can assemble.

* The Braves have traded catcher Johnny Estrada to the Diamondbacks for right-handed relievers Lance Cormier and Oscar Villarreal, FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting.

Those are the bullpen arms we could've supplied the Braves for one of their OFers. Dammit.

Damn! There goes the Baves deal we had going. Things are gong down fast over in Dallas.

Allard's quote that he'll have someone who can at least compete for the 2B job leads me to believe we might take Kevin Howard (Reds) in the Rule 5 draft. Here's what Royals Corner has to say about Howard:

Better him than Aaron Miles.

I think so too. (I made a typo, it's Kevin, not Ryan :)) Baseball America has been giving him a lot of love after hitting well in the AFL.