Royals Links: Billy Butler, Luke Hochevar, Prospects, & More

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

With the holidays approaching, I’m not expecting as many moves to be made as they have earlier in this whirlwind of an offseason. After officially signing Omar Infante and trading for Danny Valencia last week, the Royals may not see a ton of action this week. However, despite there not being as many transactions to cover, there are still plenty of rumors and news stories around the web from this past weekend.

– In wake of the Royals’ acquisition of Valencia, on the SweetSpot blog at ESPN.com, David Schoenfield broke down the trend of platooning players around the league. He suggests that teams are looking to gain every possible advantage, and using a platoon is another way to do just that. Schoenfield also mentions that teams could help their platooning possibilities by going to an 11-man pitching staff, which is an idea some other blogger suggested for the Royals just last week.

– Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote that a decision on Masahiro Tanaka’s posting status could be made early this week. The top pitcher on the market, if he’s posted, will certainly command a hefty contract once the new, lower posting bid is met. The rest of the free agent pitching market has been in a bit of a holding pattern due to questions about Tanaka’s status, so guys like Ervin Santana should start receiving a few more phone calls this week. If Tanaka is not posted, Santana may be in line for an even larger pay day.

– Royals Review’s Clark Fosler discussed the potential for Luke Hochevar to return to the rotation in 2014, as the organization has indicated would be a possibility. After a successful stint in the bullpen, some may feel Hochevar can step back into a starting role in the same way Zack Greinke did several years ago, despite there being significant differences in the two cases.

– Billy Butler was in Kansas City this weekend, and during a short session with the media, he said how excited he was about the acquisitions Dayton Moore has made this offseason. Butler also shrugged off the trade rumors that have been circulating around him for the last several months, insisting he was never concerned about being traded away.

– At Grading on the Curve, Jason Mast (with the help of our own David Hill) posted his list of the top 15 prospects in the Royals’ organization.

– Adam Chesier of KC Kingdom graded the Royals’ offseason to this point in all three aspects of the game. While the upgrades to the offense have been substantial, Chesier argues that the team still needs one more starting pitcher to give them a real shot at contention.