Royals Sign Minor Leaguers, Wade Davis Speculation, & Other Links

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

After what appeared to be a slow start to this offseason, things have really started to pick up across the league, with a few big-name players being taken off the board. While the Royals weren’t linked to Brian McCann, Jhonny Peralta, or Dan Haren, there are now fewer players on the market, meaning demand could be high for the remaining free agents, so instead of getting into a bidding war with other teams, the Royals may turn to the trade market to add remaining pieces. Obviously having such incredible bullpen depth could lead to a trade of Greg Holland or Luke Hochevar, either of which would offer the benefit of giving the organization more payroll flexibility in case Moore does wish to pursue a player with a higher price tag.

Here are some other links from around the Royals universe from this past weekend.

• The Royals signed 6 free agents to minor league contracts on Saturday. Paulo Orlando, Gorkys Hernandez, and Edinson Rincon all returned to the organization, while P.J. Walters, Brandon Laird, and Wilking Rodriguez will be assigned to various minor league affiliates.
• Twins beat writer Mike Berardino believes that Wade Davis appears to be on the outside of the rotation after the acquisition of Jason Vargas, and thinks he may be worth pursuing in a trade. Berardino had previously written about trading for Davis earlier in the month.
• Royals Review broke down the Royals’ payroll commitments after signing Vargas.
• According to Bob Dutton, the Royals’ decision to designate George Kottaras for assignment may be financially motivated, citing his projected $1.3 million salary and the Royals front office’s claims that they are near their payroll limit for 2014 already.
• Peter Gammons made the argument that signing Vargas was a move to give the starting rotation the depth it needs to give Danny Duffy, Yordano Ventura, and Kyle Zimmer enough time to develop into the pitchers the Royals hope they can be.
• Despite Billy Butler’s name being thrown around as a potential trade chip, Dutton relayed that the Royals have not had any discussions about a Butler trade with other teams.

With the non-tender deadline a week away, and the Winter Meetings just a week after that, I would expect the hot stove to heat up even more. Even though the Royals may not make any other major moves, the rumors will still surely be flying as the offseason rolls on.