Here are the latest happenings in Royals news from last week!
The biggest Farm to Fountains news of the week is that Cristian Martinez of KC: Chase the Pennant and our very own Preston Farr sat down with Royals top pitching prospect Chandler Champlain! You can catch the interview on YouTube and Spotify.
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Royals News
The Royals avoided arbitration with all of their players: “Ahead of Friday’s 1 pm arbitration deadline, the Kansas City Royals announced they have agreed with four players on 2024 salary numbers. Before the deadline, the team needed to agree to contracts with Brady Singer and Carlos Hernández. In addition, the newly acquired Nick Anderson and Kyle Wright are both eligible for arbitration and need to reach a contract agreement.”
The Royals announced their 2024 non-roster invitees: “Dan Altavilla, Sam Long, Tyler Duffey, and Luis Cessa were offseason signings, added on minor league contracts. Other in-house names, such as Chandler Champlain and Mason Barnett shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
The Kansas City Royals announced they prefer to build their stadium in place of the Kansas City Star’s former offices: “In the fall, the Kansas City Royals resurfaced a previously rejected site to build a downtown ballpark. That site now has become the team’s preference, local officials said.”
Jacob Milham sits down with Royals reliever John McMillon for a Q&A: “Man, the stadiums you get to play in. The competitive environment is pretty fun. It is just a lot of fun. You get to see all the guys competing every day, not knowing if you’re going to pitch that day or not. I just feel like we have great coaches; everyone is trying to put us in a position to compete and win. I mean, it is just fun, man”
Royals Analysis
Jared Perkins looks at possible spring non-roster invitees that could crack the Royals roster: “Duffey comes to the Royals on a minor-league deal as well and has the longest track record of success in the big leagues. He’s compiled a 4.57 ERA in 477 innings over nine years in the big leagues. If anyone has a shot to crack the opening-day roster after a strong spring, it’s him.”
With the Royals signing plenty of relievers this offseason, Preston Farr takes a look at who’s in and who’s out of the bullpen: “Before free agent signings, the team also acquired veteran reliever Nick Anderson in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. All of the moves have culminated in a lot of reliever depth and one underlying question as we look ahead to spring training – who’s going to make the cut on Opening Day?”
Kyle Jones discusses three Royals’ players who can build on their successful 2023 seasons: “For a team with the second-worst bullpen ERA in the league last season, McArthur being a reliable option in the late innings would be a huge plus going into 2024.”
Kevin O’Brien discusses why he is so high on reliever Steven Cruz: “The Royals have done it with McArthur. It’s possible that Cruz could be the next pitcher acquired from another organization in a trade to break out in 2024 if he’s given the opportunity.It’s just a matter of “what” kind of opportunity (i.e. “opener” or reliever role) Cruz will receive from Quatraro at this point.
Farm System
Sam Eades is joining the Royals as a minor league pitching coach: Eades joins the Kansas City Royals minor league team from Tread Athletics, where he was a Performance Psychologist. Another sign of the Royals’ continued push to embrace data and analytics.
Sean Hackett sat down with Quad Cities River Bandits broadcaster Kyle Kercheval: “Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is the work ethic. All of the guys who have gone from Quad Cities to Kauffman over the past three seasons worked extremely hard day in and day out. They put in the work to get there. The second common denominator is their character. Three of the best examples of this are Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey, and Nick Loftin.”
Preston Farr dives into the possibilities for the 2024 Omaha Storm Chasers: “Seeing Gentry on this list seems like a travesty, but it’s difficult to see where he fits in on Opening Day. Barring a major trade involving someone such as MJ Melendez, there simply isn’t a clear opening to start next season. Nelson Velazquez, Hunter Renfroe, MJ Melendez, and Drew Waters have the corners covered.”
Preston Farr projects the possible roster for the 2024 Columbia Fireflies: “The headliner here and perhaps for the entire Fireflies roster is the 2023 first-round pick, Blake Mitchell. Mitchell didn’t make much contact in Arizona last season, although in a very limited sample. He should get the chance to debut at Low-A to start next season and likely spend the full year with Columbia.”
Former Royals In The News
Former Royals Assistant GM Jin Wong joins the Chicago White Sox
LHP Sean Manaea signs a 2-year, $28 million deal with the New York Mets
MLB News
The Yankees sign Marcus Stroman to a 2-year, $37 million deal with a vesting option
The Cubs sign LHP Shota Imanaga to a 4-year, $53 million deal
The Dodgers sign OF Teoscar Hernandez to a 1-year, $23.5 million deal
Former Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is joining the Cardinals front office
The Marlins hired Rachel Balkovec as Director of Player Development
