Royals Rumblings - News for July 8, 2025

Home runs are neat!

The Royals finally got the offense clicking, writes Jaylon Thompson.

It’s the first time that Witt, Pasquantino and Perez homered in the same game, and it propelled the Royals to a 9-3 victory over the Pirates.

“That’s who our team is and that’s who we are,” Witt said of multiple players contributing to the win. “And so it’s just everyone doing their part and doing their job. It’s great to see whenever it all clicks.”

David Lesky sees encouraging things from the offense.

They have a .637 SLG on pitches in the heart of the plate this month. That’s ninth in baseball. Their xSLG of .770 is actually best in baseball by about 50 points, so they’ve done well and are actually a good bit below where they “should” be. Their .327 average on pitches in the heart of the plate is ninth-best in baseball, but their .375 xBA is second-best. Their 95.7 MPH average exit velocity is second best as well. If you expand the numbers to include the whole zone, they’re 14th in batting average (7th in xBA), 11th in SLG (6th in xSLG) and second in average exit velocity. It’s just seven games and other than it being where the calendar cuts off, it’s a random date, but it’s still encouraging.

Vahe Gregorian writes how Kris Bubic went from “rock bottom” to an All-Star.

“From what I was the first couple years I was here to what I am now … I don’t consider myself the same person or same pitcher as I was then,” said Bubic, who has a 2.36 ERA (seventh best in Major League Baseball) and 7-6 record in 17 starts entering his next scheduled appearance on Wednesday against visiting Pittsburgh.

“So now it’s really cool to see … the validation of a lot of the hard work we’ve put in,” he said, “a lot of the long rehab days here.”

Bobby Witt Jr. tells Jaylon Thompson he won’t be in this year’s Home Run Derby.

“No,” Witt said Monday when asked whether he’d be participating again.

He said he wasn’t asked to enter his name in this year’s Home Run Derby. This year, he said, he is excited to watch the event up close, but only as a spectator.

“Something I always remember is just being ready to watch the Home Run Derby,” he said, “and being ready to watch the game whenever it was (on) in the summertime.”

Anne Rogers previews the draft with scouting director Brian Bridges.

What’s interesting is that the Royals still have a large bonus pool at $12.8 million. They could go so many different ways with those first two picks so close to each other, including paying over slot or under slot value for one of the picks.

“Having those two picks, you’d like to get the best two players you can right there,” Bridges said. “So distributing your dollars may take away from a later pick a little bit. It’s really about how we’re going to use it. Are we going to wait on the best available player and then just run the board out? Or are we going to try to spread this thing out a little bit where everybody’s happy once they all come sign in Surprise, [Ariz.]? We’ve got to figure out the balance with the money.”

JJ Picollo talked about how the team might approach the trade deadline.

Manny Machado reaches 2,000 career hits.

The Nationals name Miguel Cairo as interim manager.

Twins outfielder Byron Buxton joins the Home Run Derby.

Should the Orioles trade Adley Rutschman?

Since their title in 2019, the Washington Nationals have been left behind.

GMs tell their wildest trade deadline stories.

Joe Posnanski doesn’t understand how Jacob Wilson got an All-Star starting nod.

The Dodgers designate former Royals infielder CJ Alexander for assignment.

The Giants re-sign former Royals catcher Logan Porter.

The MLB draft will never compare to the NFL draft.

Which players that could be traded are increasing in value?

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton will miss all of next season with a torn right Achilles tendon.

NHL free agency winners and losers.

Someone used AI to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and contacted five foreign ministers.

A “Hot Wheels” movie is in the works.

How do airplane toilets work?

Your song of the day is Prince with Little Red Corvette.