Royals Rumblings - News for November 14, 2024

Have you figured out where you’ll put your ballpark?

Sam McDowell weighs in on the Royals’ reported interest in a Johnson County ballpark site:

While we could dig into the pros and cons of that, it’s hard to overlook the obvious: A Kansas location is a rather untidy fit to the vision the Royals described on the opening night of that tour. You know, downtown baseball. This ain’t that. But is that still alive?

“I think it would be incorrect for anybody to say that downtown has been (eliminated), unless the city, the state and the Royals have just been wasting a lot of time as recently as last week,” Lucas said in a brief interview, adding, “I think Kansas City and the state of Missouri are in an active position. We’re going through extensive work. “The Royals need to find a way to get us all moved beyond this first-date scenario that we’re in consistently — and start making real plans.”

Preston Farr at Farm to Fountains speculates on Nick Pratto’s future with the organization. ($)

A plan for broadcasting Royals games in 2025 should be announced in the coming days.

Single game tickets for 2025 are set to go on sale this weekend.

Here is your weekly offseason Royals update:

• Jac Caglianone started four games at first base, going 1-14 with a homer, two walks, and a HBP. He also started at first base in the Fall Stars game, going 1-1 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base. He is hitting .226/.295/.405 across 95 plate appearances.

• Carter Jensen two games behind the plate and one at DH, going 4-7 with a double, six walks, and a stolen base. He also appeared in the Fall Stars game, playing catcher and going 0-2. He is hitting .425/.574/.800 across 54 plate appearances. I still have no idea why he hasn’t had more playing time.
• Brett Squires started three games in left field and one in right, going 3-15 with a homer. He is hitting .235/.276/.321 across 87 plate appearances.

• Daniel Vázquez started one game each at shortstop and second base, going 2-8 with a couple doubles. He is hitting .262/.360/.333 across 50 plate appearances.
• Luinder Avila made just one appearance, which came in the Fall Stars game. He struggled, walking three batters and surrendering three runs in an inning. He has a 3.07 ERA with 17 strikeouts and eight walks in 14.2 innings.
• Brandon Johnson pitched just once, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out two in his only inning. He has a 9.35 ERA in 8.2 innings with 11 strikeouts and four walks.
• Chazz Martinez made two appearances, retiring both all six batters he faced with a strikeout. He has a 10.50 ERA in 6.0 innings with six strikeouts and six walks.
• Shane Panzini made a start, allowing three runs on six hits in 3.2 innings while striking out four. He has a 5.74 ERA with seven walks and 15 strikeouts across 15.2 innings.
• Anthony Simonelli pitched a couple more scoreless innings this week with a strikeout. He’s struck out eight batters and allowed ten baserunners across six scoreless innings. Simonelli is one of six AFL pitchers that has made at least five appearances without surrendering an earned run.

Moving over to LIDOM:

• Tyler Tolbert appeared thrice off the bench and started one game at shortstop, going 1-4 with a double. He is hitting .212/.278/.303 in 36 plate appearances.
• Andrew Hoffmann faced one batter and punched him out. He’s allowed three runs in 5.2 innings with five strikeouts and two walks.
• Diego Hernández, Evan Sisk, and Beck Way all have not played since October and will be left off future entries unless they reappear.

There seems to be a real dearth of Royals playing winter ball. A few lower level prospects will appear in the ABL section, which begins this weekend, but that might be it.

Buster Olney evaluates potential trade fits for Garrett Crochet. ($)

MLB Pipeline breaks down Roki Sasaki.

Sabermetrics have changed the MVP conversation.

Eno Sarris evaluates some relievers that could make the switch to starting. ($)

Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 ball is now on public display in Taipei.

Halfway through the NFL season, Aaron Rodgers’s relationship with the Jets is anything but straightforward.

Caitlin Clark drew a crowd at an LPGA Pro-Am.

Amazon is shutting down Freevee.

Foreigner is upset about not being allowed to perform at the Rock Hall of Fame.

Why have hydraulic press videos gotten so popular?

Your song of the day is Bridged By A Lightwave by deadmau5 and Kiesza.