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]
Just talked to Salvador Perez. MRI this morning revealed a grade one groin strain. He says there’s no pain. Just a little tightness/pinch. He hopes to play tomorrow. He went straight to Matt Quatraro’s office when he arrived and lobbied to play tonight. He lost that battle.
Just talked to Salvador Perez. MRI this morning revealed a grade one groin strain. He says there’s no pain. Just a little tightness/pinch. He hopes to play tomorrow. He went straight to Matt Quatraro’s office when he arrived and lobbied to play tonight. He lost that battle.
Originally Posted by :
Betancourt, 42, is alleged to have been part of a four-person scheme that staged a car crash and faked injuries to defraud Kemper Insurance. The state's investigation found that "after the accident report date, all four individuals purportedly sought treatment and physical therapy for injuries they never sustained regarding the accident," according to a press release.
Boy, Boston shit the bed late against the Tribe, and are now on their way to an ugly loss, while Cleveland just keeps winning. Stuck for at least another day in second place. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
The trades the Royals pulled off in 2023 have worked out pretty spectacularly in the Royals favor.
McArthur, Ragans, Velazquez...
I don't understand how McArthur became good. I mean he's never been good at any level.
That's less about a fantastic trade and more about really good player development I guess. And of course good ol' reliever volatility - we'll see how long he can keep this up.
It's not like he's Mason Miller out there throwing fire on the black with hellish breaking stuff. He just...throws. And they get out. There's nothing amazing that I see and that usually yields regression over any meaningful timeline. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I don't understand how McArthur became good. I mean he's never been good at any level.
That's less about a fantastic trade and more about really good player development I guess. And of course good ol' reliever volatility - we'll see how long he can keep this up.
It's not like he's Mason Miller out there throwing fire on the black with hellish breaking stuff. He just...throws. And they get out. There's nothing amazing that I see and that usually yields regression over any meaningful timeline.
It's either random variance, or the Royals made some tweaks to his pitch usage/mechanics when he was brought in that helped him out.
His MLB walk rate has been miniscule, which seems to be the main difference. He also just doesn't throw his four-seamer or cutter at the MLB level (though they have been sprinkled in enough to show up on his Fangraphs page).
He's huge (6-7) and has a pair of pretty good breakers to go with a good sinker. I'm not sure he's a closer long-term, but that's a good bullpen arsenal. [Reply]
I am absolutely 100% not implying anything, but Gavin Cross, Drew Waters, and Michael Massey were all pulled from their respective games this evening. That is at least mildly curious and/or concerning at a number of levels.