KC Royals Midweek Musings: Kevin McCarthy gone

Among today’s Midweek Musings: A former Kansas City pitcher has a new home, a front office door closes, and a Hall of Fame ballot shutout for the KC Royals.

Some KC Royals Midweek Musings while wondering if Wade Davis or Kelvin Herrera have told their agents to call Dayton Moore:

Kevin McCarthy moves on.  It’s been almost three weeks since pitchers Mike Montgomery and Kevin McCarthy opted for free agency after the Royals outrighted them to Triple A Omaha and they opted instead for free agency. (We’d previously suggested that the club part ways with both hurlers). McCarthy already has a new home: according to veteran major league baseball writer Bob Nightengale, he signed a minor league deal with Boston:

The team’s website confirms the transaction occurred as of Monday. McCarthy appeared in 169 games for the Royals over the past few seasons, but the writing seemed to be on the wall in 2020 when the club used him only five times.

Players in the position in which McCarthy and Montgomery found themselves frequently return to the club that cut them loose, but McCarthy’s deal with the Red Sox means he won’t be coming back to the Royals. There’s no word yet on where Montgomery might land.

No West Coast job for Kansas City execs. Our Shawn Bauman recently wrote about the three KC Royals’ front office hands—J.J. Picollo, Gene Watson and Scott Sharp—who’d discussed the Angels’ general manager vacancy with the American League West Division club. News came late last week that Los Angeles hired Perry Minasian for the job. Minasian, like Kansas City GM Dayton Moore, is an alum of Atlanta’s front office.

Picollo is rumored to be in line for the Phillies’ GM position, which Philadelphia is taking its time filling.

No Royals on Hall of Fame ballot.  The Baseball Hall of Fame recently released the candidates for its 2021 class; no Royals are on the ballot. The now annual debate about whether Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds should be inducted will undoubtedly start soon.

The absence of any Kansas City players will also spark discussion about Frank White never being inducted into Cooperstown. He hasn’t been on the ballot for many years but could conceivably make it via the Hall’s various other paths to a plaque.

Free agents to consider?  If you’re wondering about free agency, check out all the installments of our continuing series analyzing each big league club’s free agents. In addition, David Scharff recently wondered whether the KC Royals should pursue pitcher Matt Shoemaker and pondered the wisdom of going after outfielder Robbie Grossman.

Is baseball preparing for 2021?  While there is hope, there are no guarantees that the 2021 major league season won’t be a repeat of 2020. No one knows whether the pandemic will dissipate, worsen, or stay the same; the clubs and the Major League Baseball Players Association need to be talking now and hammering out plans for a season that may not be shortened, but may again present significant health risks and revenue losses.

With a couple of obvious exceptions, the 2020 health and safety protocols appeared to have worked well, but can likely stand improvement. Let’s hope the relationship between the clubs and players can improve long enough to facilitate meaningful preparations for next season, whatever it may bring.

That’s all for now. We’ll be back next week with more KC Royals Midweek Musings. Until then, stay safe and healthy.