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 Al Bundy:
Probably more than what I would have given up for Harvey, but whatever.
I'm fine with giving up a no power third baseman. We draft way too many guys like that and I'm sure we can find more. The draft pick definitely hurts as it could be anyone, so they must be gambling it's not a strong draft. It's a pretty interesting deal relatively speaking and an early insight into the new regimes thinking. [Reply]
Harvey is a nice add and a 1.5 season acquisition.
I don’t mind moving Wallace. That’s a fungible asset/skillset.
The pick hurts the slot pool, but their second round pick is just 2-3 picks behind that. I don’t think it makes a noticeable difference for KC. [Reply]
Originally Posted by dlphg9:
The guy we DFAd for had much less strikeouts, more walks, and a much higher WHIP than the guy we traded for. ERA can be deceiving.
Exactly, his exterior (outside of the ERA) metrics are much better. [Reply]
If we really get Harvey for 1.5 years and not just 0.5 years its a reasonable move. I think Cross is better than Wallace so glad it was Wallace but we don't have much on the farm. [Reply]
He was a highly regarded pitching prospect with the Orioles but could never stay healthy, forcing the move to the bullpen.
During spring training, there was a lot of optimism about Harvey coming into 2024. Many felt he would push Kyle Finnegan out of the closer's role because he had the better reliever profile. [Reply]
6. Royals
Callis: Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida (No. 3)
Before this weekend, it didn't appear that Caglianone could get to the Royals. If he doesn't, it's no secret that they love California prep shortstop Bryce Rainer and also would consider Smith.
Mayo: Bryce Rainer, SS, Harvard-Westlake, Studio City, Calif. (No. 10)
This could come down to a choice between Caglianone and Rainer, with Hagen Smith a possibility as well. But Kansas City has always liked Rainer’s left-handed swing. [Reply]