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Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud
I just don't think the Royal can (or even should) go to $25 million per for Hosmer. He's a perfect fit for a team like the Dodgers, as he's a leader and a winner and they have basically unlimited pockets.
It sucks but it's reality.
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Can they? I think absolutely, they can. They have very little payroll committed beyond 2017. As I pointed out, if they have cheap internal options at SS and 3B and 2B, they can carry a big salary for Hosmer in 2018 and 2019 and balance it out with pre-arb salaries at the other positions.
They have around $60 million in committed payroll for 2018, and that includes Kennedy picking up his player option (which he likely will). It also includes a starting LF, C, one RP (Soria) and another SP. Kelvin Herrera will still be under team control and probably will add another 8-10 million.
In the scenario I sketched, they'll likely be paying Mondesi around 600k, and around 750k-1m for Merrifield and Cuthbert. Even if they're paying Hosmer 25 million a year, that still leaves quite a bit of room under the current spending threshold (and that's if it doesn't continue to increase), as you're likely still sniffing around $100 million at that point.
If they solve RF internally, that's also likely a cheap position. Leaves KC really in position to only need to "pay" or "buy" CF on the position side of things.
They'd need 3 SP to fill out that rotation. That's the hairiest part, and this whole thing becomes more likely if one of them is filled with someone from the Strahm/Mills/Junis/Fernandez grouping (though I think Fernandez ends up in the pen).
I'm not saying it's likely. But it's possible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch
I don't either, but we need to get a starter this winter. And I mean like badly, even if it's a slight overpay. This rotation resembles one from a 68-94 team, not a playoff contender.
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Just don't think they get a return for Moustakas that is nearly as impactful as he is on next year's team. Starting rotation will again get some bandaids and maybe another trade to try to address weaknesses, but I'd believe much more in it being built around minor league assets (Bonifacio, Dozier, etc) than an established one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. tegu
So about Orlando. Is everyone comfortable with continuing to roll with him in RF this year and beyond?
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I'm fine with him this year... was slow to come around, but he has earned it. As for next year, depends on how he does, but good defense plus a quality bat at a cheap price sounds good for 2017.
Re: Cuthbert playing 2B, they were getting pretty desperate for an answer there and were going to give it a go before the Moustakas injury, which changed the game.
I think he could MAYBE get by for a year or two, while he's young. He's got quick feet and a great arm and could play deep to compensate for what I'm assuming will be below-average range (not unlike Jon Schoop of Baltimore).
But with the way Merrifield has played (both with the bat and the glove), that door may have closed.