*** Official 2016 Royals Offseason Repository ***

[duncan_idaho]

Well, folks, it has happened. The Royals stand triumphant, atop the heap of MLB.

In this thread, we'll track the action as Dayton Moore continues The Process and attempts to defend the long-awaited title.

Before we get to the meet of it, let's take a minute to reflect ... and say "I'm Sorry" to Dayton Moore.

We gave you hell. Many of us called for your head. But you were right. You got it done. Congratulations. Mea culpa.

Now, let's talk about the offseason:

LINK TO 2016-18 PAYROLL INFO COURTESY OF ROYALS REVIEW

The Royals will have a few priorities: Corner OF (x2) and 1 SP, IMO. The rest of the core is solid and will need little tweaking. Looking at the increase in ticket sales, merchandising, concessions, parking, etc., I think it's fair to assume the Royals GROSSED $100 million more this season, or close to it. That gives Glass and Dayton Moore much more flexibility on payroll for 2016 (hopefully).

First order of business will be gauging the Alex Gordon market. If he can be resigned for 4-5 years at around $75-80 million total, it would be hard for KC to pass on that. He's still an above-average corner OF bat, and the Royals will need to bring in at least one proven guy to play in a corner if Gordon walks... and the whole market looks a lot like Alex - guys in their early 30s looking for huge, final contracts.

Second order of business: Make a decision on Zobrist. It sounds like KC will pursue him aggressively. At 34, he's at risk of declining in a big way after a few years. If they could find someone to take on Omar Infante for eating 1/2 of his deal, that would be a great start to things.

If they decide not to spend on Zobrist, KC will need to cobble together some sort of plan for 2B/RF that involves some cheaper options like Orlando, Colon, Dyson, etc.

I could see them deciding his ability to provide great insurance at either 2B or in RF is worth the risk.

Third order of business: Add depth to the rotation with a FA SP. Duffy, Ventura, Volquez and Medlen are locks for 4 spots, it seems. Kyle Zimmer may finally be ready to make a MLB impact, but his innings will be limited. That means KC needs insurance. Will it kill two birds with one stone (and insure against Duffy/Ventura regression) by signing a more top-tier guy? Or does Moore look to Chris Young/someone like him for this depth?

Personally, I think Mike Leake would be a great fit with KC's defense and park, and I know Moore has long coveted him. He's still young - just 28 - and has succeeded in bandbox Cincinnati for years.

Ian Kennedy, Mat Latos, Marco Estrada, and Justin Masterson are some other names that may pique interest (a little further down the list).

Other than that, I don't think KC makes any major moves. Greg Holland will be interesting to observe, as they have one more year of control of him, and he will obviously miss all of that season. I wouldn't be surprised to see a pre-arbitration deal that pays him something like $15 million over the next two seasons, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him turned loose, period.

The bullpen will rest upon Wade Davis/Herrera/Hochevar, filling in pieces around them. Bringing Madson back wouldn't be a surprise, but he could get a big deal from another team that is willing to pay him as their top setup guy or even their closer.

I think the biggest prospects to watch in Spring Training will be:

1) Kyle Zimmer. The hype has built, died down, built again, etc. If he's healthy, he's filthy and a potential ToR arm. But what does he look like in ST, and how many innings can you reasonably expect from him if he does earn a rotation spot? It seems like 120-130 innings would be his limit unless they really stretch (or unless he has a lot of hidden innings from simulated games/extended spring training, which might push him to 150-160).

Having another cheap, home-grown pitcher would be a significant boon for this team as it tries to extend the competitive window (and potentially give KC a strong 1-2 to build its rotation around in Zimmer and Ventura)

2) Bubba Starling. I'm trying to remain skeptical, but I like what I hear about Bubba from this season, and the performance has picked up. If KC does not sign someone to fill the RF slot, I think that's a strong indication KC's front office believes Starling will be ready to contribute in 2016.

Dayton Moore has long said that when Starling's light flips on, it will happen quickly and burn brightly. Time will tell.

After his STRONG Arizona Fall League Performance, he shot up my prospect chart.

3) Miguel Almonte. His late-season stint out of the KC bullpen went poorly, but Almonte has a plus-plus changeup, a good fastball, and a decent curve ball. He may be the dark horse in the rotation competition, and unlike Zimmer, he's set up to pitch a full 180 inning season.

4) RA Mondesi. The only player to debut in the MLB World Series has incredible tools. He still needs to refine his game, but again... he may be KC's best cheap, plus alternative at a key position (2B). His defense would be a boon from Day 1, but he needs seasoning with the bat before he's asked to hold down 2B full time.

And, as always, here are the Prospects:

Duncan’s Top 20 for 2016:

Spoiler!

1. Raul Adalberto Mondesi, SS, BOTH: Tools, tools, tools. RA has tools galore. At his best, he’s an All-Star SS who plays elite D, hits 15-20 HR, swipes 40 bags, and is an ideal 1, 2 or 3 hitter. At his worst, I think he looks a lot like Alcides Escobar. Plate discipline is his biggest challenge at this point, but evaluators are confident that will come with time. Clear No. 1
2. Kyle Zimmer, RHP: He’s pitching again and staying healthy, which is nice. He’s pitcing out of the bullpen to build back his arm strength, which is less nice. But still has that high upside, just a lower floor now. Ideally, the team will use him as a bullpen weapon in September (because he has earned it) and then give him a chance to transition back to starting for 2016.
3. Bubba Starling, CF, RH: Starling has been up and down this year but put himself back on the map by greatly improving his K rate while also improving across the slash line as a hitter. His defense and baserunning are MLB ready; if Starling can work himself into a league average hitter, he can be a solid MLB regular who plays great D in CF while hitting 15 HR and swiping 20 bags.
4. Miguel Almonte, RHP: Still love the body, FB/CH combo. Results aren’t eye popping, but he’s still low enough and early enough in the development to prize those things over performance. Still a solid No. 3 starter upside, and just a year and some change away from potentially being ready to contribute at the MLB level.
5. Jorge Bonifacio, RF, RH: Emilio’s little brother got off to a horrible start in 2015 but has heated up as the season went on. He also is translating BP power to game power for the first time, with 15 HR just past the mid-way point of his season. Despite his disappointing 2014, he has a chance to build his way back into legit prospect status – and still is only 22. Next challenge for him should be Omaha, but that may wait for the start of the 2014 season.
6. Scott Blewett, RHP: Blewett has a nice two –pitch mix already and is off to a strong start. With his size (6-6) and a good fastball/curveball combo, Blewett could eventually turn into a good No. 3 starter, with a MLB-average changeup.
7. Nolan Watson, RHP: The Royals’ 2015 sandwich pick is a polished prep arm who is adding velocity and explosiveness to a good, polished base. Likely to move quickly.
8. Ashe Russell, RHP: The 2015 top pick probably needs more work than Watson, but the upside is really nice. Again, advanced two-pitch mix that will depend on him adding a changeup. Could be a very good NO. 2 if it all adds up.
9. Balbino Fuenmayor, 1B/DH, RH: The Balbino came out of basically nowhere in 2015 to earn a Futures Game spot. Big power and an improved two-strike approach have turned the late bloomer into a legit prospect. He’s blocked at the MLB level currently by Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales, but Fuenmayor’s combination of power hitting and good average/strike zone control makes him intriguing.
10. Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B, RH: Cheslor probably is not going to be the star KC was hoping for when signing him out of Nicaragua, but he does look like he can be a solid reserve for an MLB club. Good defense at 3B paired with a solid plate approach and some gap power plays fine off the bench. He becomes a lot more interesting if they think he can stick as a 2B, which they have experimented with.

Spoiler!

11. Chase Vallot, C/DH/1B: I really like Vallot’s power and plate discipline combo. His bat will probably force him from behind the plate, but he’s held his own despite being extremely young for every level he has faced.
12. Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado, OF, RH: Escalera-Maldonado earned a promotion to Wilmington at age 20, which is pretty advanced movement for that age. He’s an athletic outfielder who has shown some plate discipline at an early age, which is encouraging. Doesn’t sound like he can stick in CF long term for KC, but his bat has become one to watch.
13. Pedro Fernandez, RHP: I haven’t seen much of him, but like the reports I’ve heard on his fastball and general makeup. Could become the next Almonte/Mondesi, though he’s more likely to land in the pen than either of them.
14. Elier Hernandez, OF, RH: Elier Hernanez teamed with Escalera-Maldonado in breaking out at Low-A and earning a promotion to Wilmington. It’s still early for this guy – he is just 20 years old – but he doesn’t take walks and hasn’t developed the prodigious power many thought he had the potential for. Still worth watching.
15. Hunter Dozier, 3B, RH: Dozier is reworking his swing mid-season, which generally will cause production to do what his has done: Nose dive. The changes he made entering the season (seemingly geared towards increasing his power production) were a disaster, and now he’s trying to get back to what he used to be. Still looks great and checks most of the scouting boxes, but the performance hasn’t matched, and it almost knocked him out of the list.
16. Christian Binford, RHP: After a breakthrough 2014, Binford struggled mightily at AAA and suffered a demotion. His upside remains similar – a back-end starter who can eat innings – but Binford’s lack of velocity and reliance on command have caught up to him so far.
17. Marten Gasparini, OF, SH: Gasparini is intriguing because of his speed and athleticism. He’s a LOOOOONG ways from the majors and young for his level, but reports on his bat speed, swing, and speed remain positive enough to keep him on the bubble.
18. Eric Skoglund, LHP: Skoglund had a nice year at Wilmington. I'm skeptical because his K rate is lower than I like to see for a guy at A+ - just 7/9, and usually guys lose a strikeout or two/9 as they move up the chain from there - but he has excellent control, walking 1.17 batters/9. 6-7 lefties with great control who get lots of ground balls - like Skoglund - have a chance to overcome bad K rates.
19. Ryan O'Hearn, 1B/LF: A lefty stick with power, O'Hearn was a savings signing as an 8th round pick, but a change in his approach increased his power - while increasing his K rate. After Vallot, probably the best pure power prospect in the Royals system.
20. Josh Staumont, RHP: I was terrified of this guy's control problems, and he walked nearly a batter an inning in his pro debut (32 BB in 40 1/3 IP). Staumont's nasty, nasty stuff (plus-plus fastball, plus slider) could make him a very good late-inning reliever who strikes out more than a batter an inning, if he can develop average or slightly below-average control. If he really masters the control, you're talking about a potential Greg Holland type, but that's a TALL task.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

I am not excited about the Kennedy signing at all. $14 million a year for a guy who's been below average the last four years?

[Prison Bitch]

Plus a draft pick


I thought the deal with FA was: we had to overpay for years because we sucked. Now that we are good.....why don't we get to underpay?

[Chiefspants]

Two Pennants. One Championship.

This signing could turn into Neifi Perez 2.0 and I still wouldn't care.

Dayton Moore has defined the second half of his tenure by taking major gambles since the Davis trade. The crazy thing is that ALL of them have paid off with the exception of Infante. The dude's leash should be as long as Tom Coughlin's was after 2011.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

The Os just handed out 7/161M to Davis in what can only be considered to be the new version of the Ryan Howard contract. How long before they regret that one? Three years? Less?

Worse, Angelos said he was putting in "special $" only for Davis (not other FA) because he was underpaid for a while and what he does in the community.

Don't ever feel sorry for these tools when players turn into pumpkins

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by O.city

Duncan, why aren't you in any chiefs threads these days?

Two things:
1) Limited time. I don't work from home any more and don't have much free time to myself these days. Most of my posting is done one-handed on Tapatalk while feeding or holding a baby these days. I'm posting from my computer at the moment, and it's probably the first time I've done that in a month and a half. I'll occasionally pop on the app at work while in the bathroom or over lunch, but don't have much time there any more.

What time I do have to post, I tend to use on the Royals, who have always been my first/biggest love, and I think this is the best forum around for that.

2) Lack of emotional connection to the Chiefs. This is something that started happening a long time ago, probably around the start of the Herm Edwards era. They've become less and less important to me over time. I was glad they won last week and it's pretty cool that they won a playoff game for the first time since 1993, but it did not really have an emotional register for me.

I'm hoping they change that this week. If a big win against the defending Super Bowl champs can't make me care again, I don't think anything will.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

The Os just handed out 7/161M to Davis in what can only be considered to be the new version of the Ryan Howard contract. How long before they regret that one? Three years? Less?

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Worse, Angelos said he was putting in "special $" only for Davis (not other FA) because he was underpaid for a while and what he does in the community.

Don't ever feel sorry for these tools when players turn into pumpkins

What's so bad about that contract? $23m a year for 7 years seems reasonable. If the going rate is $8m per WAR, he was worth $42m last year and $52m the years ago.

Is he not going to be worth 29 WAR over the next 7 seasons? That's all he needs to provide even if you don't account for inflation. Realistically, if he provides an average of 3 per season, it's a fair deal.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

What's so bad about that contract? $23m a year for 7 years seems reasonable. If the going rate is $8m per WAR, he was worth $42m last year and $52m the years ago.

Is he not going to be worth 29 WAR over the next 7 seasons? That's all he needs to provide even if you don't account for inflation. Realistically, if he provides an average of 3 per season, it's a fair deal.

Don't disagree with your math. It's the market I question. Are we to believe some mystery team was really sitting at 155 on this cat?

[Fairplay]

Breaking News:

Royals sign Ian Kennedy

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Don't disagree with your math. It's the market. Are we to believe some mystery team was really sitting at 155 on this cat?

If it was a AL team with a open DH spot, yeah.

Playing devils advocate, if Boston's David Ortiz had retired last year instead of this year, Boston would most likely give him that much.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

What's so bad about that contract? $23m a year for 7 years seems reasonable. If the going rate is $8m per WAR, he was worth $42m last year and $52m the years ago.

And 5.8M in between those years. If you think he's the guy from 2013 and 2015 going forward, it will probably work out OK based on his production in the early years of the contract. But I'm not sure I buy him completely as that yet.

Also, who else was going to give him that contract? I'm not sure anybody else both needed a 1B and had that kind of money to spend.

[BeMyValentine]

Doesn't he lead the league in strikeouts

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

And 5.8M in between those years.

So the average for those three years is $33m per season. They're paying him $23m per season for 7 years in a sport that has an enormous rate of salary inflation.

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by Bufkin

Rany's 5 tweets on the signing combined:

"Don't be fooled: It's not a 5-year deal. It's a 2-year deal with a 3-year player option. If he's good, he's gone in 2018 like everyone else. But if he hurts his shoulder in the first two years, we're on the hook for 5 years. That's a LOT of risk for a pretty modest upside. As a general rule of thumb, when the player option is LONGER than the guaranteed portion of the contract, the risk exceeds the reward. For the money they've spent on Ian Kennedy and Joakim Soria, the Royals could have signed Jordan Zimmermann, and avoided the opt-out. Hmmm. I think Ian Kennedy is a better pitcher than he's shown the last 3 years. But over the last 3 years, he's been BELOW-REPLACEMENT LEVEL."

Who gives a shit what Rany has to say about Dayton Moore's moves?

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

So the average for those three years is $33m per season. They're paying him $23m per season for 7 years in a sport that has an enormous rate of salary inflation.

Is he a 33M player going forward, though? I'm not sure how anybody could be sure about that at all. That 2014 season was pretty awful.

As far as the projections go, ZIPS has him very close to being that 33M player (3.8 WAR in 2016) but Steamer (2.4 WAR in 2016) doesn't: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/with-...strikes-again/

The end of this deal is almost certainly going to be a disaster for the Orioles. The big question is whether the “end of the deal” represents the last three years of the deal, or the last six years of the deal if Davis struggles in 2016. For their sake, they better hope that this high-strikeout slugger figures out how to retain his skills better than all the others who came before him.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Is he a 33M player going forward, though? I'm not sure how anybody could be sure about that at all. That 2014 season was pretty awful.

He doesn't need to be. They're paying him $23m a year. Adjusted for inflation, it will be more like $18m. It may end up being a dog of a contract, but he could also hit 200 bombs during that time and be a bargain. Most likely, he outperforms it over the first half and under performs on the back end.