Kansas City Royals: Full Hot Stove overview for 2018 offseason

The Kansas City Royals have made a plenty of noise this offseason. Here’s a look back at our Hot Stove coverage, so far, from rumors to coaching changes.

Not all offseasons are built the same. The Kansas City Royals manufactured a hectic one last winter with a pair of trades. This year the franchise didn’t have much of a choice. Everyone knew it would be a wild offseason as soon as the trade deadline passed. With a host of pending free agents on the roster, the Kansas City Royals would be one of the most talked about teams during the offseason.

However, most people didn’t anticipate the amount of coaching news to come out of the organization. From the coaching moves made right after the season ended, to the in-house promotions, to Ned Yost breaking his pelvis, the coaching stories have pushed the free agents to the back-burner more than a few times.

That said, we’ve decided to aggregate our offseason coverage to this point in one handy place. It’s possible you missed something along the way, or you might just want to review some of the news and rumors to come out of an already wild offseason. We’ll start with an overview of the many free agents.

Free agents

Three of the consensus top 10 free agents in the game came from the club’s World Series-winning core. Eric Hosmer has been mentioned alongside J.D. Martinez as the top free agent hitter on the market. It makes sense given Hosmer won a Gold Glove (alongside Alex Gordon) and a Silver Slugger award for his 2017 campaign. Despite his age, Lorenzo Cain has the makings of the most complete outfielder available. Thanks to his power surge in 2017, Mike Moustakas has plenty of suitors after winning Comeback Player of the Year.

The team has several other free agents with varying degrees of appeal. Mike Minor would seem to be in high-demand, and Jason Vargas looks set for a solid payday. Alcides Escobar and Melky Cabrera should find work in an offseason with few good options at their positions. Meanwhile, Trevor Cahill and Peter Moylan can expect to be pitching for some rebuilding teams in 2018.

Here’s a breakdown of our articles related to each free agent and teams discussed as possible destinations. (Note: Several articles include rumors about multiple Royals, thus the same article will be linked to under different players.)

Eric Hosmer

Mike Moustakas

Lorenzo Cain

New York Mets

Toronto Blue Jays

San Francisco Giants

Mike Minor

Jason Vargas

Baltimore Orioles

Alcides Escobar

San Diego Padres

Kansas City Royals

Peter Moylan

Braves and Orioles

Outside free agents

There are other outside free agents that the Kansas City Royals have been mentioned with in one way or another. Those include Logan Morrison, Cameron Maybin, Carlos Gomez and Jaime Garcia. After being mentioned by us as a possible target, Morrison himself threw his hat into the ring as a possible replacement for Hosmer. Maybin was mentioned as a center field target with Cain looking increasingly likely to leave.

Gomez and Garcia, meanwhile, garnered attention after MLB Trade Rumors predicted they would sign with the Royals this offseason. Ironically enough, Garcia had previously been mentioned among realistic free agent pitching targets. For what it’s worth, Gomez also made an appearance on our list of players the team should avoid signing.

Free agent predictions

With all the free agent craziness sure to unfold, we’ve taken a few different approaches to looking at what to expect.

Where Royals free agents will sign

Landing spots if Royals rebuild

Contract terms

Coaching news

The Kansas City Royals made several coaching moves the day after a disappointing finish to the season. It included the departure of pitching coach Dave Eiland and bench coach Don Wakamatsu — two of the most experienced members of Yost’s staff. The two have since found work in the same positions with the Mets and Rangers, respectively.

The Royals decided to move Dale Sveum from hitting coach to bench coach. But that just opened up a different high-profile position on the staff. The team eventually filled all the openings with internal candidates. That wasn’t the end of the coaching news, though. Early in November, Yost suffered a horrible fall from a tree, leading to a broken pelvis. He is currently recovering and should be healthy by spring training.

The question remains what kind of team will meet him there. Will it be a rebuilding team or one made to stay competitive in 2018?

2018 outlook

The Kings of Kauffman team has made a few early looks ahead to the 2018 season. Below are some of the articles our writers have put together with an eye towards the future.

Look ahead to 2018 schedule

Predicting Opening Day roster

Assessing how the payroll will look

Predicting starting rotation

Ranking closer options

Internal replacements for free agents

Players set to progress or regress

Bold offseason predictions

Objectives for successful 2018

As you can see, there is no shortage of intriguing topics when it comes to the Kansas City Royals. There will be plenty more where these came from. But hopefully, this gives you a chance to catch up on anything you may have missed.

Next: Royals 2017 award winners

What do you think has been the biggest development of the offseason? Has it been the coaching changes? What about the possibility of the Royals re-signing Hosmer and Moustakas? Let us know your thoughts.

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