Year Two of the Matt Quatraro tenure. Time to take a step up this year. Active in free agency and trades this offseason. A new look pitching rotation and bullpen. Will the young players take the leap up offensively? Bobby Witt extension? New stadium? Will Vinny recover from injury? Salvy taking aim at the Royals record book? Will Cole Ragans turn into the best Royals starting pitcher since Greinke 1.0?
Free Agents/Trades Acquisitions
Seth Lugo, SP
Michael Wacha, SP
Kyle Wright, SP
Hunter Renfroe, OF/DH
Will Smith, RP
Chris Stratton, RP
Nick Anderson, RP
Adam Frazier, 2B
Garrett Hampson, INF/OF
Matt Sauer, RP [Reply]
Originally Posted by cmh6476:
Why? MacArthur as a rookie hasn't been terrible, and after these moves it would appear to me erceg, Harvey and marsh are better options than zerpa..
I disagree, this season McArthur ranks 19th in saves, 25th in save percentage, 25th in WHIP, 29th in K per 9, 27th in blown saves, and 29th in ERA. [Reply]
Quatraro on Marsh: "It was not an easy decision for us. We really believe he's going to help us win games the rest of the year and in the future. ... What we think is the best thing for him is maybe to back off his innings a little bit." #Royals
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) July 31, 2024
Lucas Erceg on what it means to be with the #Royals: "It means everything. I always like to talk about just having a little bit of perspective. Not fully knowing what tomorrow's going to bring, but I know ... if you have a positive mindset, good things are going to happen." pic.twitter.com/idUQq7Smvd
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) July 31, 2024
Originally Posted by SithCeNtZ:
I'd give them a B- for the trade deadline, assuming we are done.
Pros: Added three bullpen arms(or a fifth starter and a new arm in Marsh) and we didn't just get a bunch of rentals. Makes us better next year too. We didn't lose much, with the biggest loss being a comp round pick. The one bat we got is at least better than Frazier/Hampson and probably better than Garcia.
Cons: For a team that could trade for nearly any position and get an upgrade on offense, we got the smallest upgrade possible and didn't address the outfield at all. No leadoff guy either. While there weren't a ton of big names out there, even league average would be a huge upgrade and we didn't get anyone. That's a missed opportunity.
Overall we are better, but obviously not tremendously so, and I think the B- seems fair for that.
maybe they still believe this guy is part of the future plans :-)
Originally Posted by BWillie:
Ryan Ohearn .801 OPS
Brent Rooker .965 OPS
I guess the baseball stat nerds were right
I'm confident Ryan O'hearn was not going to achieve that OPS while playing for Kansas City. I'm happy for him that he found an organization he could have success with. I'm also grateful that his time spent underperforming in KC led to widespread changes in the KC front office and coaching staff. I'll consider it a win win for all. [Reply]
ETA: are they on a 5-man rotation? If so, I would think his next opportunity to start would be the stormchasers next home game, next Tuesday against the Iowa Cubs. If that's the case, he's going to have a decent amount of friends and family making the trip from his hometown 2 hours away. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RollChiefsRoll:
Jesus, the schedule in August is gonna be BRUTAL.
They do get the Angels again in a few weeks, so that's something, right?
Yeah, this month, and really the rest of the way is definitely gonna be a test. Probably not a lot of 5+ game winning streaks to be had going forward.
Think I read we have the 2nd or 3rd most difficult schedule in the AL going forward, so I'd be surprised if we make any gains. Though we will have several opportunities with Minnesota and Cleveland, though it could be a wash for everyone based on all the other teams we all have to play.
53 games left. What's the magic number? We've been a .500 team against everyone outside of the White Sox. Say we take 3 of 4 this weekend against Detroit, and play .500 the rest of the way. That would put us at 87 or 88 wins. Is that enough? [Reply]
Originally Posted by GabyKeepsMeWarm:
They do get the Angels again in a few weeks, so that's something, right?
Yeah, this month, and really the rest of the way is definitely gonna be a test. Probably not a lot of 5+ game winning streaks to be had going forward.
Think I read we have the 2nd or 3rd most difficult schedule in the AL going forward, so I'd be surprised if we make any gains. Though we will have several opportunities with Minnesota and Cleveland, though it could be a wash for everyone based on all the other teams we all have to play.
53 games left. What's the magic number? We've been a .500 team against everyone outside of the White Sox. Say we take 3 of 4 this weekend against Detroit, and play .500 the rest of the way. That would put us at 87 or 88 wins. Is that enough?
At one point in a few weeks we play 20 straight against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. If we go 10-10 over that stretch (big if) we are making the tournament. [Reply]
