This offseason was already a solid 10 on the crazy meter. On Thursday, it surged all the way to 11. Mike Moustakas’ deal has a $5.5M salary in 2018 with $2.2 million in performance bonuses. There is a mutual option for $15 million in 2019 with a $1 million buyout. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March […]
Author: Craig Brown
The Royals are tanking at tanking
They lost three of their top four bats. They have a pair of bloated contracts on the books for at least two more years. Their once vaunted bullpen carries more questions than answers. In baseball 2018, this is justification for a rebuild. Or, if you prefer a cruder word, a tank. Bless Dayton Moore’s baseball […]
Royals add some left-handed thunder
It had to be done. In a lineup that is so heavy on the right side, it received an invitation to speak at CPAC, the Royals finally added a left-handed stick to solidify the batting order. Welcome to Kansas City, Lucas Duda. Of course you remember Duda’s role in Royals lore. The throw to home […]
Finding balance
It’s folly to read anything specific into a spring training lineup. Especially when the calendar still reads February. Still, it’s not difficult to notice a trend on Ned Yost’s lineup cards through just four games into the Cactus League season. This is the card from the opener. Today’s lineup pic.twitter.com/03xlex3i94 — Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) February 24, […]
Thank You, Hoz
The Clutch Gene exists. It’s most definitely real. As a practicing sabermetrician, I’m not supposed to admit this. It’s not in the party platform. Several of my comrades from other websites will scoff at my lead. Nonsense! It’s a fallacy! I can already hear the jeers. Yet the Clutch Gene is real. And spectacular. Long-time […]
Projecting the Curve with Nate Karns
PECOTA loves Nate Karns. Well, as much as PECOTA can love a pitcher on the Royals staff. It’s with good reason. Karns, of all the Royals starting pitchers, seems to have the most untapped potential. It seems odd to be dropping an “untapped potential” into a profile of a 30-year old, but Karns’s road to […]
PECOTA takes offense at the Royals
PECOTA couldn’t stay mad at the Royals forever. Yes, it’s PECOTA day. That annual exercise at Baseball Prospectus where a computer spits out a win-loss record and ends up disrespecting an entire franchise and fanbase. Except this year, the computer seems to have made up with the Royals. The projections can’t be dismissed as being […]
The Moose Market
We’ve traveled from declaring this offseason market to being “weird” a couple months ago to “collusion!” today. I’m not certain I’ve packed my bags for that trip, but there’s certainly something afoot. The latest, the Mets signing Todd Frazier for two years at a total of $17 million, is the first hint of desperation. Not […]
Player Profile: Alcides Escobar
You can look at any major league roster and find mistakes. Errors in judgment are a hazard of working in a front office. Poor drafts, bad contracts, misguided trades…all can be on display. The hope is always that the good outweighs the bad. The positive moves override the mistakes. Alcides Escobar returning to the Royals […]
Shedding Salary At A Cost
Those chairs keep shuffling around on the deck. In another trade, on Monday night the Royals shipped Brandon Moss and Ryan Buchter to the East Bay in exchange for Jesse Hahn and Heath Fillmyer. The Royals are also sending $3.25 million in cash to offset some of the $8.25 million due to Moss this year […]