This week has been immensely difficult. When tragedies hit elsewhere, you always feel for the people impacted but you’re just never quite prepared for how you would feel if the tragedy directly impacted you. Unfortunately, we now know and I wish we didn’t. But at some point, the healing needs to begin. For some, it’s already underway. For others, it might be a week or two or more. And that’s okay. For me, I think it’s time to actually talk some baseball. If you’re not ready to do that, I understand. There’ll be plenty of other Friday Notes for you down the road. So I’m going to actually talk some baseball today because I think I need that.
- I see a lot of articles beginning to be published looking at the season ahead, and that makes sense. We’re a mere 18 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting and a little more than two months from Opening Day. One thing I keep noticing is that Raul Mondesi seems to be every national publication’s pick to be the second baseman for the Royals, but, man, I just don’t see it. I think the future is insanely bright for Mondesi, but I think if the Royals are trying to win, and they are, they can’t give him five starts a week or whatever it might be. He struck out 48 times in 149 plate appearances in 2016. He wasn’t close to ready, and that’s okay. He’s just 21 years old. It’s perfectly acceptable for him to not be ready. I want to see him spend two or three months at a minimum in Triple-A to work on his game. The talent is clearly there. He hit .304/.328/.536 in 14 games in Omaha in 2016. Do that for three months and then we’ll talk. I think Whit Merrifield is pretty clearly the second baseman, at least in my eyes. Of course, Mondesi is also exactly the type of talent who could go out and hit .450 in spring training with seven home runs and change the Royals minds, but I think he starts the year in Omaha and that’s a good decision.
- I’m not sure how many times I can talk about this, but the Royals still need a bat, and I think with the acquisition of Jorge Soler in December that the need has shifted from right-handed to left-handed. I heard a few people in the last couple weeks mention what a great fit Mike Napoli would be, and while I do think the clubhouse fit would be nice, I wonder what he has left. Keep in mind that while he did hit 34 homers and drove in 101 runs last year, he also still just had a TAv of .262, which was the worst mark of his career. He’s 35 years old. I’m not sure he’s worth the risk based on the deal he seems to still be seeking. Rather, one name I haven’t mentioned much who would make a great deal of sense is Logan Morrison. Morrison had a similar TAv (.260) to Napoli, but is a better fit in the lineup and probably in the budget. He also suffered from one of the worst starts to a season I’d ever seen, which brought his numbers down a great deal. In his first 14 games, he had two hits in 41 at bats. Both hits were singles. From that point forward, he hit .263/.345/.562 with a walk rate of 8.5 percent and a strikeout rate of 20.1 percent. Both sit firmly in the solid range. He can play a decent enough first base and isn’t a total zero in the outfield, though you’re better off not playing him there if you don’t have to. Plus, he was born in Kansas City. I think a two-year deal for Morrison makes a ton of sense. He provides first base insurance in 2018 and can help the lineup in 2017.
- As difficult a discussion as this is to have, the Royals likely need help in their starting rotation now, and there isn’t a great deal out there. Brett Anderson could have been an option, but he signed with the Cubs this week. That leaves a bevy of less than desirable candidates, but they do have some upside for the team. Jason Hammel makes probably the most sense. He’s coming off two straight seasons of 30+ starts. He went 15-10 with a 3.83 ERA last year for the Cubs. He has pretty decent control, gets a few strikeouts and limits base runners pretty well. He’ll never be confused with a number one starter, but he has a 3.68 ERA over the last three seasons. Yes, those are mostly in the NL, but I think he could give the Royals some quality innings. The cost is probably more than the Royals budget allows, but I wonder if they’ll make an exception given the circumstances. If you’re looking for other options, we see guys like Jorge De La Rosa, Doug Fister, Colby Lewis, Jon Niese or Jered Weaver. I could still see Kris Medlen back on a minor league deal too that could potentially pay off, I suppose.
- With Greg Holland off the board to the Rockies, the Royals need to get their search for a reliever in gear. I still think Luke Hochevar is a decent bet to be back in Kansas City, but I don’t think he’s even begun throwing yet, so he’s no guarantee. A couple of names stand out as fits. If the Royals don’t sign a starter, I wonder if they’d look to Yusmeiro Petit as sort of a swingman. He’s only started a game each the last two years, but he started 12 games in 2014 with the Giants. No, he’s not going to alter the franchise or anything, but he can give you some quality bullpen inning, a start here and there and you know you’re going to at least get some solid control. If not him, you’re looking at options like Joe Blanton, who would make a lot of sense, but his market is fairly robust, so I don’t know if he’ll fall in the Royals price range. David Hernandez, Tommy Hunter, Seth Maness, Sergio Romo, Joe Smith, Jerry Blevins and J.P. Howell seem like the rest of the decent fits. It’s not a great market, but the Royals could certainly find something here, I’d think.