*** Official 2017 Royals Offseason Repository

[duncan_idaho]

The reign is over. Time to begin the quest for the next one.

Interesting offseason opens for the Royals. Will they go all in for one last shot with this crew? Will they re-tool for 2018 and beyond? Will Dayton Moore actually decrease payroll this time?

Trades, free agent signings, rumors, plans, proposals... dump 'em all here, for this is... the offseason repository!

Royals Top Prospects, 2017

This is a list that’s going to seem a little bleak initially, as Raul Mondesi got enough ABs to age out of the prospect rankings (just barely – at 135 ABs, he is not rookie eligible). But that said, I like the talent and feel like this is a system that will actually be underrated by the prospect services.

Spoiler!

Format: POS/Name/2017 Projected Final Level

1) 3B/OF Hunter Dozier, MLB. Dozier bounced back from a disastrous 2015 campaign that had many wondering, myself included, if he was wrecked. His strong offensive performance in 2016 saw Dozier recapture the mature approach that many liked coming up, while also starting to tap into his above-average raw power for the first time.

In addition to his success at the plate, Dozier also proved he could at least HANDLE an OF spot, which could put him in the conversation for 2017 playing time at the major leagues. If the Royals DO end up trading Cheslor Cuthbert, Dozier could find a decent amount of MLB playing time sliding between RF and 3B. With Moustakas recovering from knee surgery, he likely will need more regular breaks from the field. And the streaky Paulo Orlando is just not an intriguing short-side platoon partner for Jarrod Dyson.

2) LHP Matt Strahm, MLB. Strahm just barely skates under the rookie eligibility rules for a pitcher, so he can be included here. Royals fans already got a taste of the lefty’s abilities, as he used his above-average fastball and slurve to dominate out of the pen in 2016. For him to translate that dominance to the rotation, Strahm will need to maintain his velocity (92-94) and continue to improve a changeup that flashed average at times.

If the changeup becomes a weapon he can lean on against righties, Strahm could be a very solid mid-rotation starter and fringe ToR/No. 2 type (think Danny Duffy-lite).

3) RHP Josh Staumont, AAA. This one could blow up on me and look really silly by this time next year, but I’m encouraged by what we saw from Staumont late last year. He showed significantly improved control down the stretch for Northwest Arkansas, including some impressive playoff starts, while maintaining the big-time K ability. That trend continued in the Arizona Fall League.

If Staumont’s control holds, the Royals have a guy with a plus fastball, plus-plus curve, and average change (with a slider that could develop into a real weapon as he matures). He’ll start next season at AAA and could be an addition to the MLB bullpen or even the rotation before the season ends.

4) RF Jorge Bonifacio, AAA. Boni, like Dozier, had a bounceback season in 2016 with the bat, and also played 15-20 pounds lighter than the year before, which added some nice defensive utility according to reports I’ve gotten. He now looks like a guy could provide solid/average RF production in the major leagues… Average defense paired with potential to put up a .275/.335/.450 line. While that’s not all-star level, it IS playable. Especially at pre-arbitration dollars. He’ll get another year in Omaha to refine his approach, and likely be in the mix of a 2018 mini-youth movement… unless moved for MLB reinforcements.

5) C Meibrys Viloria, Low-A (Lexington). I haven’t seen him in person, but I like the pedigree. You’ve got a lefthanded hitting catcher with the defensive ability to stick behind the plate. He was a big-bonus guy out of Colombia (nearly $500k). And his offensive performance has been highly impressive early, with a good combination of power, plate discipline, and contact skills.

He’s forever away from the majors, just now clearing rookie ball, but Viloria is the most exciting prospect KC has had at Idaho Falls since someone on this board was gushing about a 16-year-old SS tearing it up.

6) 1B Ryan O’Hearn, AAA. O’Hearn is a guy who has never gotten a lot of hype from scouts, but he continues to be a strong producer. He’s someone who likely will strikeout about 25 percent of the time at the big-league level, but has the ability to be a .500+ SLG guy. That plays. He also has shown good patience at the plate, posting above-average OBPs at every level.

Bold prediction: I won’t be shocked if O’Hearn takes over at 1B for KC in 2018/2019 and provides similar offensive production to Hosmer out of the gate. He’s probably never going to be a consistent plus average (.290+) hitter, but .270 with 25 HR is something within reach for him. He’ll get his first shot at AAA in 2017.

7) RHP AJ Puckett, A+. Puckett is a high floor, low-ceiling guy who performed about as you’d expect in 2016 after being the Royals’ first pick in the 2016 Rule IV Draft. He’s not flashy, but Puckett does profile as a solid potential back-end starter. Good fastball command and an above-average changeup are his calling cards. If Puckett finds a reliable breaking ball to put batters away, this could tick up. Great athlete, very similar to Jake Odorizzi in that regard.

8) RF Khalil Lee, Low-A (Lexington). Lee was a two-way player in HS and many viewed him as a pitcher first as a pro, but the Royals drafted him as an OF and were reward with a strong debut campaign. Lee is not a big guy, but he produced solid power numbers despite that. He’s a dynamic athlete who could contribute with power and speed.

9) C Chase Vallot, High-A (Wilmington). Vallot has an intriguing bat, with plus raw power. Got off to a great start in 16 before being sidelined and then sidetracked by injury. RH bat may be good enough to push him out from behind the plate, where he has good tools but a long way to go.

10) RHP Jake Junis and RHP Alec Mills (AAA). I'm copping out here and including both at No. 10 because they're so similar. Like Puckett, they each project as a serviceable back of rotation starter. Similar stuff and profiles, though Junis has shown a little better strikeout ability and may have a smidge more upside as a result.

Others of note:

SS/CF Marten Gasparini. Production has been bad for this toolsy player, but Gasparini has speed and pop that jump out at you. At only 19, need to be patient with him... this European signee was even less polished when signing at 16 than the typical Latin America prospect.

OF Seuly Matias. Loud, loud tools. Matias profiles as a classic RF... big-time power potential. He's a long ways from the majors but is one of the Royals' biggest bonus babies from LA.

RHP Ashe Russell. 2014 1st rounder saw his velocity disappear last year and was quickly shut down. He's intriguing one way or the other, even if he ends up as another notch in the belt of the TINSTAAPP saying.

2B Corey Toups. O'Hearn's HS teammate has been an above-average producer for an up-the-middle player. His small stature hides a surprising amount of pop. Could turn into a Mark Grudzielanek type of offensive second baseman at his peak - solid average, lots of 2Bs.

RHP Scott Blewett, LHP Foster Griffin, RHP Nolan Watson - all three have underwhelmed as pros but were drafted in the supplemental round. Stuff and projectability for each is a positive. Wouldn't be surprised to see one of them take a Cody Reed-like step forward this season and crack the 50-75 range on prospect lists. They all have the natural ability.

SS/2B Ricky Aracena - Jose Altuve-sized Aracena is a switch hitting middle infielder who can flat out run. Switch hitter with a good approach.

RHP Pedro Fernandez - I'm still a believer in his stuff, even if he is destined for the pen. Was having a nice 2016 start until injuries derailed him right after his promotion to AA.

Sirs not Appearing in this Prospect List:

RHP Kyle Zimmer. Same story, different year. The Royals are hopeful they FINALLY found the cause of Zimmer's achy shoulder. If they really did, and he can stay healthy, the talent/potential is exciting.

OF Bubba Starling. Never trust a guy named Derek.

[C3HIEF3S]

Duffy if there's been ongoing talks w/ the Royals: "Absolutely. We just have to figure everything out.I can't fathom wearing another jersey"

— 610 Sports Radio- KC (@610SportsKC) January 12, 2017

Duffy on the trust he has in the organization: "I've never met someone more genuine in my life than Dayton Moore." #Royals

— 610 Sports Radio- KC (@610SportsKC) January 12, 2017

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

Duffy if there's been ongoing talks w/ the Royals: "Absolutely. We just have to figure everything out.I can't fathom wearing another jersey"

— 610 Sports Radio- KC (@610SportsKC) January 12, 2017

Duffy on the trust he has in the organization: "I've never met someone more genuine in my life than Dayton Moore." #Royals

— 610 Sports Radio- KC (@610SportsKC) January 12, 2017

I want to have Dayton Moore's offspring.

[SCTrojan]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

If bad pitching was a video game Albie Lopez would be the final boss.

Bad team C. Jason Kendell 1st. Ross gload 2nd. Mark Teahen SS Tony Pena JR 3rd Alex Gordon RF. Willie Bloomquist Center: David Dejesus LF: Billy butler

I say Chris Getz was worse at 2b. And Aaron Guiel has to be in that outfield somewhere.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by lewdog

I want to have Dayton Moore's offspring.

Every single pro athlete in history has expressed interest in staying with his current team. Just another bidder. Who wouldn't want that?

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Every single pro athlete in history has expressed interest in staying with his current team. Just another bidder. Who wouldn't want that?

I just love Dayton outside of this Duffy quote anyway.

I think people genuinely like him.

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by lewdog

I just love Dayton outside of this Duffy quote anyway.

I think people genuinely like him.

While it was looked upon as unnecessary by many, things like giving Salvy the extra cash when he was already under a team-friendly deal is just one example of why the front office has the reputation it has with its players. It goes the extra mile to keep the core happy. If there is one guy that I would bet stays here from the 2017 free agents, Danny Duffy has to be far and away the most likely to stay. He has always been publicly adamant about wanting to stay in KC.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

While it was looked upon as unnecessary by many, things like giving Salvy the extra cash when he was already under a team-friendly deal is just one example of why the front office has the reputation it has with its players. It goes the extra mile to keep the core happy. If there is one guy that I would bet stays here from the 2017 free agents, Danny Duffy has to be far and away the most likely to stay. He has always been publicly adamant about wanting to stay in KC.

Prison Bitch says Duffy is a robot and a pawn.

[duncan_idaho]

Listened to the Duffy interview. Hope they can get a deal done. Especially since it could free up some crucial cash for this year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DeepSouth]

Royals / Hosmer avoid arbitration. Agree to one year deal.

http://m.royals.mlb.com/news/article...n-1-year-deal/

The Royals and first baseman Eric Hosmer have agreed on a one-year deal, thus avoiding arbitration, the club announced.

A source told MLB.com the deal is worth $12.25 million. Hosmer made $8.25 million in 2016.

[Prison Bitch]

Would've been nice to see them take him to arb and argue about how bad his 2016 was, but DM doesn't do that

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Every single pro athlete in history has expressed interest in staying with his current team. Just another bidder. Who wouldn't want that?

Not Zach Greinke.

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Every single pro athlete in history has expressed interest in staying with his current team. Just another bidder. Who wouldn't want that?

You sure about that?

Ever hear of Zack Greinke? How about Kirk Gibson?

YOUTH TAKES COMMAND: KIRK GIBSON
By GEORGE VECSEY

As the curtain goes up on the baseball season, there they are: Today's most recognizable young stars excelling at bat and on the mound and in the field, and everybody shouting their names. But to win, the contending teams know that certain other stars must supply an added dimension, the extra ingredient to carry their teams to the World Series. The Cincinnati Reds, on the rise with Pete Rose, need Mario Soto to rebound from his only losing season.The Detroit Tigers need Kirk Gibson to blossom and to forget that he spent the winter trying to become a free agent but heard no calls. The Mets need Darryl Strawberry to fulfill his potential as a power player (Page C11). Last year, he was injured for seven weeks, and they had a losing record in that time. And the Yankees need virtuoso performances from Dave Righetti (Page C11), the no-hit pithcer who was converted to the stopper of the bullpen. Here are several who must provide the extra ingredent:

IN DETROIT, where the car models change every year, there is no telling how the 1983 model of Kirk Gibson would have handled a sudden blowout to his salary expectations. Torn up a clubhouse? Torn up himself? Let the insult run his career off the road? Nobody will ever know.

The 1986 model of Kirk Gibson, with his peaceful ''self-concept'' gained from visiting a Left Coast awareness center more than two years ago, was able to hold the road and start the Tigers' new season with a positive attitude.

On a day late in spring training, Gibson was talking about his new three-year, $4 million contract, which fell far below the curve of recent contracts for players of his ability. The sun was shining on his palomino-colored hair, and the darker, ominous scraggly beard had been shaven, as befitting a newlywed, a businessman, a man of peace.

''I feel privileged to do this for a job,'' Gibson said, shaking his locks in the direction of the playing field, where grown men batted and caught baseballs in the midday sun. ''I get to meet good people. I have the opportunity to secure my future. I feel blessed that the Lord chose me to be one of these people, and I don't take it for granted.''

These words, offered freely, were in contrast to the often crude and angry way he carried himself through the 1983 season. He is still one of the most aggressive players in the American League, and the most rambunctious man in the Tiger clubhouse - where somebody has placed a ''Do Not Torment'' sign from a nature preserve over his locker - but he has discovered his reflective side, too.

Ever since his agent, Doug Baldwin, arranged for him to visit the Pacific Institute, near Seattle, after the 1983 season, Gibson has been able to control himself better, to let the ability come through.

''I wasn't at peace with myself, but the Pacific Institute taught me how to be goal-oriented,'' said Gibson, almost 29, who came out of his session at the center to bat .282 with 27 homers and 91 runs batted in and help the Tigers tear up Kansas City and San Diego in postseason play in 1984.

Last year, he raised his production in all three categories, batting .287 with 29 homers and 97 r.b.i.'s, but after seeing long-term, $2-million-per-year contracts go to free agents in recent years, Gibson did not receive a serious offer to change teams when his contract ran out last winter.

For legal reasons, the owners must avoid action that could be construed as collusion. They insisted that they had made personal decisions not to sign Gibson, often bringing up his 23 errors in two seasons, his never having made an all-star team or won a major batting title. Still, players with less ability than Gibson had received larger contracts.

''George Steinbrenner? Ted Turner?'' Gibson said, evoking the chief money-flingers of the past. ''You think George Steinbrenner wouldn't want an outfield of Gibson, Henderson and Winfield? They must have gotten to these owners, though. The rules of the game were changed within the game. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.''

At one point, Gibson said he would vomit if he accepted the Tigers' offer, but after marrying his longtime companion, JoAnn Sklarski, and going on a honeymoon, he came back and signed on the dotted line with no signs of illness, physical or emotional.

''I can honestly say I wasn't happy,'' Gibson said the other day. ''But I'm man enough to say 'Business is business.' You have to get your priorities in line. You've got to learn to get something out of it. I would have liked the negotiations to go better but I think I'll make it on what I got.''

Part of his calmness stems from his own business decisions. For all his bristling energy, Gibson enjoys working on his holdings from behind a desk at his home.

''Hey, I just bought a house the other day,'' Gibson said. ''Made a hell of a deal. They were the right circumstances for me, just as it was the right circumstances for the club owners. I never had a chance to go anywhere else. You can't tell me I'm not good enough to get an offer. But I wasn't about to take a lower offer, just to leave this club. I like it here. They're nice people. I'm not as happy as I can be, but I'm content.''

Sparky Anderson, the Tigers' manager, said: ''I think he handled himself well all the way through it. Sure, he said some things, but let me tell you something, that's business. If it would have been me, I would have been more nasty than he was. Kirk's a bright boy. He knows it was getting out of hand. Besides, they're not going to have to throw any benefits for Kirk. The great players are still going to make money, and he knows it.''

In the 1983 season, Gibson seemed out of control, waging war with the press, fans and himself. He recalled: ''I wasn't happy with myself but I didn't know how to change. The fans would yell, 'Gibson, you stink,' and I'd yell back at them, 'Yeah, you're right, I stink.' I was being controlled by other people's images. I used to say, 'Geez, that's not me,' but I didn't know how to change.

''The only thing that saved me that year were my dog, Nick, and my horse, Rusty. I'd get home and my dog was wagging his tail, and I'd go riding on top of a hill, my face into the wind, and I realized life wasn't so bad.''

Nick and Rusty were not enough to save him from a .227 season, and the possibility that his career was going the opposite direction from ''the next Mickey Mantle'' tag that Anderson, to his unending regret, had put on Gibson. A former star wide receiver for Michigan State, Gibson had reached the age of 26 without becoming a regular or having a feel for the daily flow of baseball.

However, after spending a few days at the Pacific Institute after the 1983 season, Gibson said: ''I learned to set my goals way out there somewhere. You have to set them and reset them. We hold certain pictures. If you're holding a negative image, you will perform accordingly.''

He once talked about mental images, seeing the other team physically destroyed, but he now almost totally downplays the destruction part of it.

''My best friend can be the shortstop, but I've got to break up a double play,'' he said. ''I've got size and speed and they'd better get out of my way. I'm not out on the field to make friends. I don't play dirty, but I play hard.''

His techniques improved after long sessions with Al Kaline, the Tigers' Hall of Fame right fielder, now a broadcaster. Gibson still makes errors, but he has become the Tigers' main force, the man who must produce if they are to regain first place.

''Last year we just didn't execute,'' Gibson said. ''It was a disaster. This year we have to make a big effort to do better. We've got great talent but we have to do a lot of things better.''

Anderson said he had seen no sign of bitterness in Gibson this spring: ''I've never seen him more professional. He comes to work every day.''

Gibson amended his manager's statement: ''I don't like to use the word 'work.' The only reason you go on the field is to win, not just to work. I come to win every day.''

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/07/sp...pagewanted=all

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Would've been nice to see them take him to arb and argue about how bad his 2016 was, but DM doesn't do that

Meh, there's a considerable difference between Duffy's interview and Hosmer/Moose's glib comments of "yeah sure it'd be cool to stay but we gotta see where the market is at."

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

Meh, there's a considerable difference between Duffy's interview and Hosmer/Moose's glib comments of "yeah sure it'd be cool to stay but we gotta see where the market is at."

We will revisit that one later this season. I'll bet you DJ's Left Nut they both excitedly welcome a KC offer

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

We will revisit that one later this season. I'll bet you DJ's Left Nut they both excitedly welcome a KC offer

Fair enough. I am holding out hope that they can lock Moose up. He has the best long term potential out of the core 4 we have on offense.