Yes, same for Collins and Coleman.

Max explains some of this at the link.

Dammit, you got me before I can edit it! :cuss::D

Well, boo.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Padres plan to give Ian Kennedy a qualifying offer, I hear</p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/662684257517748224">November 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Is Chris Young still a possibility? Seems like Volquez's, Ventura, Duffy, Medlen, Young, and Zimmer is at least as good as what we started with last year. Seems like it would be affordable enough to keep both Gordon and Zobrist as well.

I submitted a question to McCullough's Royals chat at noon today. Something along the lines of,
"Alex Gordon has been the perfect Kansas City Royal. He has been referred to as the captain of this team. He is, right or wrong, viewed as this generation's Geroge Brett. With the Royals most likely failing to sign Gordon to a contract, what message does it send to our current roster of "homegrown" players that we are not willing to pay market value or anything close to market value for our talent? Why would any current player have any confidence in GMDM in terms of being offered a contract that isn't insulting? How do Salvy's teammates view his joke of a contract?"


Again, with all of this money coming off of the books this off-season, in addition to the ~$50 million made during the postseason, how the **** are we supposed to believe that this team can't afford to pay players such as Gordon or Zobrist?

Gordon does not look to be a candidate for rapid regression. The guy is in fantastic shape and has showed no signs of slowing down, other than, arguably, coming back early from a (freak) groin injury. I would think that the Royals could potentially count on moving Gordon and Perez both to DH/1b duties, or even possibly move Gordon to RF in the future if need be. If the Royals wanted Gordon to exclusively DH and work solely on power, I imagine he could add more strength to his frame and could focus solely on hitting.

The same Ian Kennedy that put up a higher ERA than Duffy did this year (who everyone was extremely down on)... and he did that in the NL.

Is way overrated by this board, imo.

It sends the message that we'd rather try to sign them when the time comes, instead of tying up so much money with the baseball elderly.

How is he seen as this generation's George Brett? He's nothing close to that.

And how was a 31 year old tearing a groin while chatting down a ball in the outfield a freak injury? It's a perfectly typical injury.

Gordon isn't Brett but losing him is a big PR blow, no doubt. Good organizations will find ways to fill those gaps. Just like how we lost Butler and found Morales.

I don't think it has to set a bad example. Almost everyone else in our core group will be younger than Gordon when they hit FA. Paying a 28 year old Hosmer $20/M year makes more sense than eventually paying that to a 34-35 year old Gordon, if that is what comes to pass.
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Anyone interested in watching Starling with MLB Network can catch him at 1:30.

I think. Hopefully he's in the Surprise lineup today.

We paid him for 10 years, stuck with him when he looked like a bust, won him a ring, and turned him into a superstar. I think that sends a pretty good message to our players.

We're not in the business of winning by outspending everyone. Gordon is no longer a good value for the money. I'd much rather see Dayton find two or three Kendrys Morales/Chris Young type bargains for the same kind of money.

So the Royals' pen will lose Madson, Morales, Duffy (who most likely will be given another chance to start), and Chris Young (spot starter/long reliever) which is a good/bad thing depending on one's perspective. They will still have Hoch, Herrera, and Davis at the backend, which is good. I would suspect that GMDM will find some arms in the middle relievers to bridge to Hoch/Herrera/Davis back end or extra innings. We also have to consider the likelihood of injuries that happens every year, that the Royals still have plenty of depth to absorb the injuries.

So, what are the viable good internal or external candidates that had a down year/injured year that would be good for a 1 or 2 year with mutual options to fill in those spots?

Scott Alexander
Almonte

Brian Flynn, Louis Coleman, and Tim Collins will all be considered as internal options.

You also could see Zimmer piggybacked out of the pen to protect his arm but get him work vs. MLB hitters. Miguel Almonte also could be in play.

I figure Coleman would get something, but I don't feel exactly "confident" with him for some reason. And Collins is still somewhat recovering from TJS, so he's an unknown at this point.

I could see Zimmer and Almonte getting some work in to get some MLB experience to protect their arms and get some work against MLB hitters with the goal of both of them being starters at the end of 2016 and/or start of 2017 season?

At the pace Salvy is setting-could rank in the top 5 for games caught. Possibly retire with 300 plus homers, 2500 hits, 1500 Rbi and 10 Gold gloves.

A World Series MVP trophy helps as well.

Coleman is really good vs. RHPs but his arm angle/mix lets lefties see him really well. Still, he's not a bad piece to have as the 4th or 5th best reliever out of your pen.

I don't know what they do with Collins/if they bring him back, but he's again not bad at the bottom end of a pen. Not sure he's worth the $1.5 million.

Flynn is an exiting guy to me, as a big lefty who could be very much like Will Smith was in being converted to the pen (dynamite vs. lefties and good enough vs. righties to pitch full innings).

As for guys "out there," Dillon Gee is someone who pops to mind as a potential bullpen conversion who could be really excellent. Chad Billingsley and Brandon Morrow are a few more guys who might work that way.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Don&#39;t miss the 64-page special <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash">#Royals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldSeries?src=hash">#WorldSeries</a> section coming in Sunday&#39;s Star - and yes, we&#39;re printing extras <a href="https://t.co/44CXFoEEpE">pic.twitter.com/44CXFoEEpE</a></p>&mdash; The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/KCStar/status/662689040433610752">November 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash">#Royals</a> select OF Jose Martinez from Omaha (AAA), adding him to the 40-man roster. He won the PCL batting title with a .384 avg in 2015.</p>&mdash; Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/662741472114929665">November 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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I think we just signed our LF'er for next season.

He's intriguing for sure. Dude is 6'7", but not a power hitter. He had a OBP of .461 and OPS'd at 1.024. He can play RF for sure, but he's not very impressive at this point. He also played 1B. I just don't know how his offense will translate at the MLB level

Woah, Zobrist named his daughter Blaise Royal Zobrist.

Now THAT is awesome.

Wow...that's interesting.

Them being religious people I'm sure Royal can be seen in other directions as well. Still cool though.

Nice work, Zobrist Family. Very nice.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Top to bottom best, most relentless lineup I&#39;ve covered in the 20 years I&#39;ve done it.They had no bottom of the order <a href="https://t.co/HfCjBE05h9">https://t.co/HfCjBE05h9</a></p>&mdash; Joe Buck (@Buck) <a href="https://twitter.com/Buck/status/662704748919787520">November 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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**** you Joe Buck. :rolleyes:

One of the great Royal plays of all time!! This and Cain scoring from first. Oh and the Gordon homer... oh and Wade closing games out...oh and... Jeez this team was awesome!!

Hosmer's next deal will pay him that money at that age as well.

I am pretty confident we will sign Young. We gave Chen a two year $9 million dollar deal a few years back after a one year contract he had with us. We will likely do the same with Young who is better and probably wouldn't even cost that much.

Well, if nothing else, he and CY can have dunking contests. :)

Can someone start a new thread telling the rest of the board to post Royals news in here and to stop starting new threads for every tidbit. LMAO

Yeah but you might have to sign Hosmer to a 9 or 10 year deal to reach that mark. And you'd at least be paying for his 28-32 seasons in the process. And maybe most importantly, we'll have a new TV deal for the most of that contract.

It's a world series championship, you can't tell me you didn't see an influx of Royals threads coming...

And prefer Royals threads over bidet threads any day

Now we're talking shit LMAO

I finally read through McCullough's chat. He seems skeptical about Gordon and Zobrist, but that's no surprise.

He did say he thought the payroll would be $130-140 million next year. I thought the most interesting tidbit was that LoCain wants to see what Upton and Heyward get before even talking about an extension with the Royals. That can't be a good sign.

One starting pitcher I would be interested to see that could have a good bounce back is Mat Latos.

Yes, I know, he sucked after he was traded from Miami. Why not entice him with a bounce-back one year deal, and with Kauffman and the Royals defense, where if he pitches well, he can get himself a big contract?

Plus, with Eiland as the pitching coach can help.

These guys just won a World Series. I'm not surprised that they want to cash in. Can't blame them.

*** Official 2016 Royals Offseason Repository ***
 

Ranking the free agents:

http://mweb.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on...power-rankings

5. Cueto
8. Gordon
10. Zobrist
45. Young
48. Madson

I would be all for this with his skillset except that he is known to be absolutely toxic in a locker room. I'd hate to risk our fantastic clubhouse chemistry with a known albatross like Latos.

Good point, I was not aware of his attitude in the locker room. If that is the case of his shitty/toxic attitude, then I don't want any part of him.

I would think it is the first time in history someone tore a groin while chatting with a ball.

*** Official 2016 Royals Offseason Repository ***
 

Another ranking:

http://baseball-players.pointafter.c...6-Zack-Greinke

5. Gordon
6. Cueto
8. Zobrist
38. Young

Thoughts on Kazmir? Seems like he wouldnt likely break the bank. Maybe Santana type money?

GMDM won't sign him or guys that have that potential to be negative

Would be a solid mid-range signing, but his late season fades the past few years are concerning. Not sure he helps increase the innings total of the rotation.

You know who's available in free agency that Dayton could bring in to help if we lose Gordon?

Nori Aoki

http://static.mmzstatic.com/wp-conte...lface-meme.jpg

Has he recovered from his broken femur or whatever he did? Knowing our luck if he'd have been healthy those douchebags would have won the series again.

2015-16 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions

Good list, thanks for posting.

I would think 4 or 5 for $80M would be the cap for the Royals with Gordon, and that may even be pushing it.

Seems like a Zobrist and Parra combo for the same money (and fewer years) as Gordon by himself may be a better long term fit.

Don't love Happ, but whatever. Pelphrey at that cost for back of the rotation would be ok.

WTF? So we pass on a 3 year deal to Zobrist at $17mm per, but we sign Gordon to a 5 year deal at $21mm per? No

I think I'd rather have Zobrist than Gordon. Fortunately, Moore is making those decisions and not me.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">KC is open to trades, but they really don&#39;t have much to deal. Hard to see them moving core guys, and the prospect pool is depleted.</p>&mdash; Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/McCulloughStar/status/663839430801682432">November 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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If we were in a similar position like we were this summer, where some rentals could really make a difference in us going all the way or sputtering in the playoffs, what would we have available? Anything?

Any reports on the young pitchers we just drafted from Indiana?

So here's a question relating to the MLB trade rumors article: If the Royals are willing to pay Gordon a deal for 5/105, why on earth wouldn't they go 10/200 on 26 year-old Heyward with a mid-contract option? Heyward is exactly a DM type guy, too. Plus plus defense, puts the ball in play, plus base-running, hard-working and high character.

Far, far too many years. Taking the risk of injury or decline with a lot of money past 4 or 5 years would be insane for a team like the Royals.

Though it is just the opinion of mlbtraderumors, it's a far cry from the people that thought he could be had at 5/$80-$85MM. I don't think he is taking $20-$25MM less to stay with the Royals.

While it is a long contract, you can mitigate injury risk with insurance and your decline risk is probably even lower than the Gordon deal given that Heyward is 26 and Gordon is 31. Furthermore, the back-end of the deal will be offset by greater revenues from the new TV contract and inflation.

26 year old outfielders aren't injury risks. Even if he sucks the last few years, that would be a bargain. $20mm per year 8 years from now will be league average for a starter.

Let's just exist in fantasy land for a minute:

If you can get Glass to bump the payroll to 155, you could even look at adding Heyward, Gordon, Zobrist and a #5 SP type. (155M payroll shouldn't even be a stretch after considering the revenue the last two years has brought and the earnings potential going forward. Additionally, the increased value of the TV contract if he keeps the fan-base engaged with a winning team will have a substantial impact on the franchise's value.)

As an additional idea, you could even look at dealing a Jarrod Dyson/Omar Infante package to provide some payroll relief in this scenario. Talk about a monster of a lineup, though:

1) Heyward
2) Zobrist
3) Cain
4) Hosmer
5) Morales
6) Moose
7) Perez
8) Gordon
9) Escobar

You have improved every aspect of your line-up here. Plus you give Holland a Medlen-like deal that gives him a chance to rehab, perform and re-enter free agency. (2/5.5/10[M])

This team is going to be rebuilding after 2017. We may never see a core group of guys like this again in our lifetimes. Why not sellout to keep Gordon and Zobrist, enter 2016 and likely 2017 as WS favorites, and who cares if that screws us for a few years after 2017?

Opportunities for a 4-year WS run basically never come along for a team like the Royals. We have to go for this.

I don't know that we have to. We should be huge favorites to win the division this year. If we need to add expensive players, we can find it at the deadline.

I agree we should sell out to win now, as you must strike while the iron is hot. But I wouldn't write off our long-term prospects either. We have excellent deals in place with Ventura and Perez that provide some cost control. Additionally, we have some high ceiling prospects that can supplement the organization in the near-term and replace some of the outflow in 2018.

Swap Escobar and Heyward and you have a deal :D

I'm not a huge fan of Cain hitting third. He has a tendency to swing out of his shoes. I'd like to see him batting second or sixth.

I wonder what the insurance premiums would be on that contract.

Insurance premiums can be as much as 10% of the contract's annual value.
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/D...er-Injury.aspx

They would be much higher on a 10 year deal than on a typical contract.

Thanks. Not too bad. You might be paying 22mil a year then.

There are a ton of things you can do to the policy to modify the premium levels.

I would assume pitchers would be higher than an OFer also.

Of course, but anything that reduces the premiums is going to involve assuming more of the risk. I don't think the policy would be necessary.

Much higher. How many outfielders sustain major injuries?

Just a lot of broke dicks.

Insurance use should generally be limited. For example, insuring the early years may be preferable as you could potentially get a lower rate (I would assume a younger player would be at less risk for injury in an actuary's mind). Later years will be less important to insure because you have increased payroll flexibility, inflation, etc.

For those same reasons, I don't see the point of insuring a position player who isn't a catcher at all. Take that money and invest it in payroll. I don't give a shit if David Glass loses a few bucks on a bad contract, but I don't want him taking $10,000,000 a year that could otherwise be spent on talent going to protecting his investments.

Uh oh, Twins looking to add some pop

Win the rights to bargain with Korean slugger Byrug Ho Park


http://mweb.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on...-byung-ho-park

If the Twins could add some pitching, they'll be a good team next year.