Archive for December, 2011

Tonight at midnight eastern time marks the deadline for teams to tender contracts to unsigned players. Technically, the only players officially under contract with the Royals and on the 40 man roster at the start of the offseason were Joakim Soria, Jeff Francoeur, Aaron Crow, Cuban prospect Noel Arguelles and Billy Butler. The signings of Bruce Chen and Jonathan Broxton added two more and everyone else were still under team control. After trading Yamaico Navarro for two low-level minor leaguers and trading Rule 5 selection Cesar Cabral for cash, the Royals roster sat at 39. They’ve also announced that they [...]

The Royals didn’t make a big splash at the Winter Meetings,  but there were plenty of rumors, all of which made for interesting conversation. To help us with that, Nathaniel Stoltz from FanSided’s SeedlingsToStars.com talked with us about various topics, but primarily about the value of prospects to an organization and within trades (such as Wil Myers), as well as the impact of the CBA and how teams will build farm systems going forward. We also discussed the big headlines of the week as well as the potential of signing Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon and others to long-term extensions, especially in [...]

The baseball off-season is amazing. I’m constantly trying to stay tuned in to everything happening  and watching who goes where. This is a result of several things. 1) It’s one of the few off-seasons in recent memory where I’ve felt as if the Royals actually might be able land some decent free agents if they so desired. It’s not as if I had anyone I was absolutely in love with, but the Royals have money to spend so I figured they might make some interesting moves. Especially in regards to our rotation. 2) I’m looking for different things to write [...]

After a couple of weeks with Troy Olsen out and about, we have a full house again in the Royalman Report studio. Joining myself, Troy, Chris Kamler and Jeff Herr will be Nathaniel Stoltz from FanSided‘s minor league baseball site Seedlings to Stars. Nathaniel has been doing a top 100 prospects countdown, and many of them have been from the Royals organization. Check out his reports below: #90: John Lamb #84: Mike Montgomery #68: Cheslor Cuthbert #57: Yordano Ventura #52: Bubba Starling #32: Jake Odorizzi We’ll also cover the winter meetings, trade rumors and other Royals news. As always, we’ll have our chat room [...]

With the recent news of Frank White being let go by the Royals and Fox Sports, I was trying to think about who might make a fitting replacement. Ryan Lefevbre’s last two broadcast partners have been Royal favorites. While the job of play-by-pay analyst is typically for the trained professional, the color commentator is best suited as a former player. This is an important hire, because there are a lot of people in Kansas City who are unhappy about Frank’s departure. The Royals have made a couple of good offseason moves this year. This one won’t affect the win-loss record, [...]

After four days of swirling rumors, offers, discussions and headlines, the Winter Meetings have drawn to a close. Some teams, like the Angels and Marlins, had their team in nearly every players’ updates and both teams added impact hitters and southpaw starters. The Marlins almost signed half the free agent class, it seems. The Royals had a much quieter week. They weren’t completely uninvolved. On Wednesday night, they traded Yamaico Navarro for a pair of minor leaguers. Thursday morning they selected Cesar Cabral – then traded him to the Yankees for cash. Now, they have an open spot on their [...]

On Sunday we promised some additional content for you during the week, and here it is. Fake Ned Yost talked with Aaron Crow at the U.S. Toy signing event last Saturday and picked his brain about the potential of moving to the rotation, his second-half struggles and what 2012 holds. Then, there’s an interview from I-70 Baseball Radio, generously shared by Bill Ivie. Afterwards, he and Troy Olsen discuss Cain’s role on the 2012 roster. Click the embedded player below to listen to this week’s show or you can download the mp3. If you want your business featured during breaks [...]

Most pundits felt the Royals would go after left-handed pitching in the Rule 5 draft, and they did. The Royals selected LHP Cesar Cabral, who was unprotected by the Boston Red Sox. However, the Royals immediately traded Cabral to the New York Yankees for cash. Deals for cash or ‘cash consideration’ are always humorous to me. So to say the move of selecting then simultaneously trading Cabral was strange, would be an understatement. Apparently Cabral is used to this sort of quick-exchange rate when it comes to his services. Our funny tweet to support this statement comes from Royals’ Director [...]

It’s a well-known fact that the Royals are chasing trade opportunities for starting pitchers this offseason. Well, chasing may be a strong word. Let’s say ‘exploring’ instead. They’ve made it clear that they aren’t looking to dive into any free agent bidding wars, so trade rumors, speculation, ideas, hypotheses, and crackpot theories have been flying around in the interwebs as we all try to figure out what they’ll do next. Of course, this isn’t always simple. So, avoiding the however improbable chance that the Royals are playing us (once again) and do sign a free agent starter, who could they [...]

Earlier Wednesday evening, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweeted that the Royals were shopping 24-year-old infielder Yamaico Navarro to teams so they could clear a spot on the 40 man roster in preparation for Thursday’s Rule 5 draft. Navarro, acquired last July for Mike Aviles, appeared in six games with Kansas City in September after joining the organization and hit .272/.317/.391/.708 in 101 plate appearances for Omaha. Kevin Goldstein ranked him within his top 20 Royals prospects last month. In return the Royals receive a pair of 21-year-old minor leaguers.

At this point, it seems that the Royals are going to remain quiet at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. Rumors from the past few days that the Royals were going after Gio Gonzalez were knocked down by Billy Beane. The Royals were also rumored to be after Trevor Cahill from Oakland. It appears the starting asking price of Wil Myers was too much for Dayton Moore (and the A’s reportedly wanted 2-3 more prospects). A utility infielder was a goal heading into the meetings, and the Royals have met with Edgar Renteria‘s agent, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Renteria has [...]

It’s a bit busier it seems down in Dallas for the Winter Meetings as contracts are being offered and signed, trade rumors are flying. The Royals may not be in the thick of everything, but they’re still being discussed. Yesterday, there were a lot of rumors of the A’s shopping Gio Gonzalez and targeting Wil Myers. Buster Olney mentioned that Trevor Cahill could be another option from Oakland. I’m still not sold … Myers is mentioned in a potential deal for James Shields from Tampa as well. They may also want Joakim Soria and Christian Colon along with Myers. Dayton [...]