Games » Texas Rangers
Aug5The Royals make a move
Lee Judge
The Kansas City Star
“Twenty-five guys with one goal.” According to manager Ned Yost, that is the culture the Royals need if they ever are going to turn things around. Yuniesky Betancourt had expressed the desire to play more, and Ned said the Royals were going to give him that chance — elsewhere.
Complaining about playing time when things are going badly and you’re hitting .228 is generally not considered a wise move. Betancourt has been designated for assignment, and Tony Abreu is being brought up to fill his spot.
Game notes
First inning: There’s a sacrifice bunt in the scorebook, but Yost has said he doesn’t call for those in the first inning of a game. That means Alcides Escobar was bunting for a hit with Jarrod Dyson on first base. There are two ways to look at this. 1.) Esky bunts for a hit, and if it doesn’t work out, the Royals at least have a runner in scoring position 2.) Bunting on the first pitch with a base-stealing threat like Dyson on first is not a good move.
(Some hitters like to do it because it’s a chance for a hit, and if it doesn’t work out, there’s no penalty. It’s a sac bunt in the scorebook, and your average doesn’t drop.)
The Rangers walked Lorenzo Cain, and then Dyson stole third and Cain stole second. They did it on a curveball, which is probably no coincidence. The Royals keep track of the percentage a pitch is used in each count, and if an opposing pitcher shows a pronounced tendency to throw a certain pitch at a certain time, the Royals can use that information to their advantage.
Second inning: Adrian Beltre doubled, and Nelson Cruz was trying to move him to third by hitting the ball to the right side. Royals starter Luke Hochevar was trying to prevent that by forcing Cruz to pull the ball. Cruz tried to take an inside fastball the other way and popped it up to Chris Getz. That meant David Murphy’s fly ball to center field was just an F8, not a sacrifice fly. In a game that goes extra innings, even a pop-up in the fourth has meaning.
Fourth inning: Josh Hamilton doubled, but after the game, Jeff Francoeur admitted it probably should have been a single and an error. Frenchy was there, and the ball got under his glove. In the bottom of the inning, Jeff homered.
Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer has been trying to get Francoeur to lay off the inside pitch and wait for something out over the plate. Pitchers have been coming inside early, letting Frenchy swing and miss or pull it foul and then going away. Sometimes it’s not what you swing at that matters as much as what you leave alone. If Jeff doesn’t get his timing jacked up by chasing inside, he can be effective on the pitches out over the plate. Hitting a home run to right-center is a good sign that he’s adjusting his pitch selection.
Seventh inning: A leadoff walk by reliever Aaron Crow eventually allowed the Rangers to tie the game. Walks are bad. Leadoff walks are worse (the opposition has all their outs available to move the run around the bases). The Royals’ leadoff walk in the seventh made them play extra innings. The Rangers’ leadoff walk in the 10th cost them the game.
Guthrie’s goal
I asked pitcher Jeremy Guthrie whether he was satisfied with Friday night’s quality start. (Bad question. Good athletes are never satisfied.) Among other goals, Jeremy wants to go deeper into games. Fifteen pitches per inning are about average. On Friday, Guthrie’s first inning required 25 pitches. Ten pitches too many in the first inning can mean coming out early in the seventh.
Watch Guthrie’s next start to see how he does in keeping that first-inning pitch count down, and you may have some idea what will happen five or six innings later.
Stacking lefties
Saturday night, Yost made out a lineup that stacked four lefthanders in a row: Eric Hosmer hitting seventh, Getz hitting eighth, Dyson hitting ninth and Alex Gordon hitting first. This would seem like an ideal spot for the opposition to bring in a left-handed reliever … but Ned confirmed that when he stacks three or more lefthanders, he will make sure he has a right-handed alternative for the guys in the middle.
If Texas manager Ron Washington decided to bring in one of his left-handed relievers, Yost could counter with Betancourt for Getz or Francoeur for Dyson. Any time we see three or more lefties stacked, there probably will be a right-handed pinch-hitting alternative available for the guys in the middle.
(And it only took me two years to notice Ned was doing it this way.)
Not naming names
I asked Everett Teaford about umpires who work slowly and what it does to a pitcher. As it turns out, having to wait for a call is disruptive to a pitcher’s rhythm. It also toys with his emotions. Is that a ball or a strike? (I could figure out the first problem on my own, but didn’t think about the second one until Teaford mentioned it.) Just when a guy is trying to get into a pattern — staying calm and working quickly — the man behind the man behind the plate can make that difficult.
Making his mark
Also from Saturday night: Time was called and Lorenzo Cain was on first base. Lorenzo walked out on the base path and made a mark in the dirt with his foot. Lorenzo confirmed Sunday morning that he was making the mark to tell him how far he should lead off.
Lorenzo can’t do it every time he’s on base. Time needs to be called. But when he gets a chance, he’ll do it.
Pena
Cain
Francoeur
Dan Holmes
9 months, 3 weeks agoGuthrie seems like a stand up guy who can at least eat some innings and give some relief to a bullpen who desperately needs it. What are your impressions of him so far as a person?
Aaron Cooper
9 months, 3 weeks agoSo…to recap the Yuni signing.
He’s an absolutely awful hitter. Everybody in the league knows this.
He’s an absolutely horrid defender. Everybody in the league knows this.
He’s chunky and out of shape (for a major league middle infielder..not for a regular person). Everybody in the league knows this.
He has a bad attitude and a poor work ethic. Everybody in the league knows this.
The Royals have witnessed all of these things in their own clubhouse and got rid of him once.
The Royals decided to bring him back as a backup, despite their OWN RESERVATIONS about whether Yuni would accept being a backup.
Yuni proceeds to suck really hard in every single area of the game, all the while showing off his lack of effort.
Good job Dayton. No, keep it up. I mean, the rest of the league is in the 21st century, but you just keep sticking to your 20th century methods. I’m sure being behind the rest of the league when it comes to evaluating major league players won’t hurt you in the long run. I mean, it’s not like you’re working on your 6th straight season and still have the worst team in the AL…oh wait.
Kinda makes you think, doesn’t it?
Luke Healy
9 months, 3 weeks agoi guess the main question is why anyone in the royals organization thought yuni would be part of the right 25 in the first place. did it really take till august to figure this out?
i guess the royals thought maybe they could trade him for something maybe? the initial signing (the 2nd time for the royals) was puzzling enough, and not only a waste of 2 million, but a hindrance in the possible development of gio or falu or abreu or whoever could have gained some mlb experience so the royals would know what we have.
i know you generally avoid conversations about gm moves and such, but any idea on why abreu gets the call up as opposed to falu or gio?
Jim Fetterolf
9 months, 3 weeks agoWhen Yuni was signed, word had it that the coaches thought they could fix a couple of his problems. It was also thought that he would be used rarely to give Moose and Esky a break. Gio’s challenges and Getz’ injuries changed that to some extent.
On Abreu, he is an SS, he has been hitting well in Omaha, and there might be thoughts of him getting reps at 2nd and 3rd. They already know what they have with Irving Falu, so an opportunity to see if Abreu can play in the bigs.
Giavotelli wasn’t a factor at the moment as he can’t play short. I would have preferred Irving Falu for his versatility, can play six positions, but the middle infield is getting a little crowded at Omaha and I expect Christian Colon to be brought up by the ‘Chasers soon, so taking a look at Tony is something I,ve suggested for the last few months.
Brent Morgan
9 months, 3 weeks agoFirst, great point, Aaron. It was a stroke of genius how we got rid of Yuni the first time, and we were promised Yuni as a backup this go ‘round.
And Lee, glad to see you address hitters swinging at pitches outside of the zone (cough, Frenchy, cough). I’m pleased you hold pitchers to the fire for their walks, but we need to equally demand our own hitters walk as well, which has been a major weak point of this organization.
So, maybe deduct a point for any out made on a 3-0 or 3-1 pitch by a hitter not named Billy Butler?
Maybe that’s too extreme? Ok, how about deducting a point for every swing at a pitch in the dirt (or otherwise ridiculously outside the zone)? Frenchy’s usually good for 2 or 3 a game.
Our pitchers have occasional issues throwing strikes, it’s true. But many of our hitters can’t lay off bad pitches, and I think that’s actually the bigger issue.
cheers,
-B
Lee Judge
9 months, 3 weeks agoDan: So far so good. Guthrie seems like an intelligent, funny guy, who’s not afraid to admit when he could’ve done some thing better.
But when a new player comes into the clubhouse it takes a while to develop a relationship.
Players are often wary of the media until they figure out what you’re after. Tim Bogar told me to always make my first encounter with a player positive. Then, when I have to ask about something negative, they’d understand I’m writing both sides of the story—not trying to do a hachet job or make them look bad.
Today’s encounter with Francoeur was a great example: he hit the ball hard Saturday night, homered and singled Sunday and was in a good mood after a win and playing well.
After we talked about that, I asked, “What happened on Hamilton’s double?” Frenchy immediately admitted it should have been scored an error. If someone he didn’t know asked the same thing, he might be more defensive.
Knowing that I’m just trying to understand what we see on the field helps our relationship. I assume I’ll get to the same place with Guthrie—if we’re both around long enough.
Jim Wilson
9 months, 3 weeks agoDespite some statements to the contrary by management, it doesn’t sound like Yuni ever signed off on the pure utility (limited use) role. And that role was the only role that possibly made any sense.
Jim F. says “I would have preferred Irving Falu” AND “taking a look at Tony is something I’ve suggested for the last few months” in the same (run-on) “sentence.” No wonder “conversations” with are so tortuous.
Jeff Frost
9 months, 3 weeks agoWe are getting closer to the true nucleus that we really should be looking for in 2013 and 2014. Two down, two to go. (Sanchez and Yuni gone, Frenchy and Chen next- maybe even Getz, all he can do is play 2nd)
I agree- I think Falu should have been called up. Versatile, and hit when he was up. I think Gio should be up and playing everyday the rest of the year at 2nd- hence, Getz should go.
Myers and Odorizzi will be September call-ups, after Omaha is done.
We had/have excess baggage that is/was expandable- Frenchy, Yuni, Getz, Sanchez, and Chen. You don’t build for the future with these guys.
Jim Wilson
9 months, 3 weeks agoPaying Yuni to sit at home for seven weeks on his contract is one thing but a year plus for Frenchy and Chen is unlikely.
Jeff Frost
9 months, 3 weeks agoI’m hoping waiver-wire trades, with the Royals eating some salary.
At what point does Glass ask DM, what’s up with these signings if we end up eating salaries?
Ned takes a ton of heat, and at times, deservedly so, but ultimately, this team is Dayton’s and he is the one that has ultimate accountability.
Lee Judge
9 months, 3 weeks agoLuke: My reluctance to play GM is based on the fact that I don’t feel I have enough information to offer worthwhile opinions. Much of what goes into putting together a roster isn’t readily available to the public and rather than offer ill-informed opinions, I try to keep my mouth shut (doesn’t always work).
If the Royals say their policy is to one-hop throws from the outfield and Frenchy airmails one, I feel more qualified to point that out.
But I can tell you what I’ve been told by people in the organization about this situation:
Last season the Royals felt like they got lucky that Escobar never got hurt. After Mike Aviles left, they had no true shorstop on the bench. That’s why they tried Getz over there.
Clearly, they didn’t feel like they had a utility man within the organization ready to fill that role. In the off-season they looked at Yuni and some others. The others were apparently older and more expensive.
They knew Betancourt had range issues, but thought they knew how to fix that and felt getting the starting shortstop from a playoff team with 13 home runs and 68 RBIs to be a bench player, give guys a day off or fill in when someone got hurt, was an OK deal.
The expectation seemed to be that Giavotella would be the second baseman, Yuni would be the utility man and Getz would be out of luck. Gio played worse than expected in spring training and Getz played better.
Yuni got injured, then Getz got injured and the plan started changing. Betancourt got hot and was driving in runs for an offense that was struggling in that area. Getz got better, Yuni cooled off and they went back to the original plan.
I don’t know when Betancourt expressed unhappiness with his reduced playing time (after all, he was in the lineup today), but worrying about your playing time when the team is struggling is generally considered bad behavior. When Getz was benched in favor of Gio, he never complained (at least to me or to any other reporter that I know of).
Dumping Yuni sends a message to the other players: don’t be selfish. The team comes first, you come second.
Jim has got it right: they need someone who can play 3rd, short and second and Abreu probably got the nod because he has a bit more power than Falu (I haven’t looked at the numbers, but that’s what Ned said). The Royals want to drive the ball more and apparently Falu is a better fit when that’s the goal.
Lee Judge
9 months, 3 weeks agoBrendan: Some of the pitches Seitzer wants Francoeur to spit on are strikes. Hitters often think of the plate in thirds: control the middle and outer OR inner third, but not both.
Trying to jerk the ball on the inner third in order to hit a home run, opens Francoeur up in the middle and outer thirds. Jeff said today that when he’s struggling he misses those pitches, when he’s on, he hammers them.
If you want to know why Seitzer does not believe all swings and misses are bad ones, there’s a video explaining that on the site. (Depends on the situtation and the count.)
And in my opinion, it’s not as simple as “demanding” that hitters walk. It takes two to tango, or issue a base on balls.
If pitchers don’t feel threatened by the long ball, they tend to be very aggressive. If you’re playing in Kauffman and you have a singles hitter at the plate, why walk him? (A man in scoring position can change that attitude.)
I’ve got a better understanding of why Royals hitters don’t walk in Kauffman than why Royals pitchers would offer one to the other team.
Thayne Griffin
9 months, 3 weeks agoWhen I saw Abreu about a month ago playing for Omaha, he looked like one of our better AAA guys (granted this was only one game). Seemed to have good range at SS and a pretty strong arm. I’m assuming he gives Esky a day off almost immediately. He’s also listed as a 2b on their roster so I would assume he can play 2b when Getz needs a day off. It will be interesting to see if he can play third for Moose.
Overall, I was really impressed by Abreu in AAA on that one night. Hopefully he can make an impression for the big league club.
Thayne Griffin
9 months, 3 weeks agoAlso, how bad was Murphy in LF for Texas this series? Glad we have A1 patrolling out there.
Jim Fetterolf
9 months, 3 weeks agoThayne, appreciate the observations. I watch the box-scores and brief commentary from a couple of sights, but there’s no replacement for a pair of eyeballs. I keep meaning to do a road trip to Omaha just to pretend to be a journalist and get an idea of what we have, but too durn hot.
Matthew Tiemeyer
9 months, 3 weeks agoLee, what’s that understanding of why the Royals hitters don’t walk in Kauffman (or elsewhere, for that matter)? It does take two, but some hitters are a lot better than others.
Blair Bieser
9 months, 3 weeks agoI’m interested in people’s thoughts about possibly bringing in Moustakas for Betancourt and Gordon for Francoeur (with Cain moving over to right) in the top of the 7th. The Royals had just taken a one-run lead in the bottom of the 6th on Pena’s home run. The Rangers were warming up a right-hander (Oswalt) for the bottom of the 7th. Why not bring in 2/3 of your defensive “A” team to protect the lead and have two left-handers in the 5th and 6th spots due up against Oswalt? As it turned out, in the top of the 7th, Betancourt’s lack of range to his left cost the Royals a double play on Andrus’ ground ball, plus, maybe Cain would have run down Young’s fly ball. And in the bottom of the 8th, Francouer struck out and Betancourt popped out against Oswalt. Also, does anybody else find it a little silly for the Royals to have a big walk-off-win celebration when Francouer hits a tailor-made double play ball and the Rangers’ third baseman throws the ball into the outfield?
Larry Tindle
9 months, 3 weeks agoInteresting that Washington brought in a lefty in the 10th to pitch to 4 right hand batters. Did he not have a righty left in the pen?
Jim Fetterolf
9 months, 3 weeks agoIn the case of Moose, his knee has been bothering him. In the case of the celebration, the kids probably figured that a win is a win and maybe even that it was poetic justice that they won on a couple of errors after their own errors allowed four unearned runs and ruined a good start by Hochevar. They haven’t had that much to celebrate lately.
Curtis Ruder
9 months, 3 weeks agoI don’t mind them celebrating any walk-off win, no matter how silly the ending. It is tough to win a game in the major leagues, and after battling for it for three and a half hours in the August sun, go for it.
According to the Star, Moose has been nursing a sore knee for a week or so, so it is not surprising that he got the day off. It defeats the purpose to have him play the end of the game.
The Betancourt signings both rank among the worst of the Moore era, and they were both utterly predictable failures on the day they were consumated. The surprise is not Yuni; he has played exactly how he has always played - a little pop, but no average, no walks, no range and no clubhouse presence. It does mean I will spend a little more time watching each game; I have just fast-forwarded through his at-bats for years.
Terry Payne
9 months, 3 weeks ago“All he can do is play 2nd”
I might remind this smartass that apparently all Frank White could do was play 2b.
And I’d rather have a guy like Getzie on my team any day, rather than a pathetic excuse for a major Leaguer like Yuniesky Betancourt.
Michael Cost
9 months, 3 weeks agoWould like to just get Gio up everyday now and let him get a couple more ML months on his belt as the everyday starter.
Chris Campbell
9 months, 3 weeks agoI got to Colorado for the weekend, only to find out that the Royals scapegoated Doug Sisson, and FINALLY got rid of Yuni (whom they should have NEVER resigned). So when is the man that’s responsible (Dayton Moore) going to get HIS pink slip?
Jay Hall
9 months, 3 weeks agoThe Royals finally did the right thing with Betancourt. They paid him 4 times what they needed to pay a backup and then ended up with a guy that wanted to get a starters usage. Big surprise. That’s why you don’t pay backups big money. You’re way better off going cheap (close to the league minimum) than paying a couple million and hoping the guy is content in that role.
I have no problem with the Royals bringing up Tony Abreu for the utility position. Falu had his audition earlier this year and was solid. Abreu deserves his shot, too. If he does well also the Royals have some options for the utility position and can avoid foolishly spending money on bench players in the offseason.
This offseason will be a real test of GMDM’s ability to construct a roster at the major league level. His first task is to determine what to do with Giavotella. If Gio isn’t the 2B of the future, he should be packaged in a trade because eventually he’s just going to end up blocking other players in the pipeline if he’s not going to get his shot. Since both he and Getz are only 2B, one of them needs to be moved this offseason.
He has to get at least two starters as has been discussed on this board and every board that talks about the Royals at great length.
He also has to figure out what to do with Jeff Francoeur. Francoeur wants to start and play everyday. Unfortunately, his production this year would make him a backup. However, since he’s only a RF, isn’t particularly fast and has poor platoon splits against RHP, his usefulness off the bench is limited. Oh, and he’s owed almost $7M for next season. And Wil Myers is the best hitting prospect in the organization. Jarrod Dyson is a better weapon off the bench because of his speed.
Choose between Abreu and Falu for the big league utility job.
Clear out some of the back of rotation clutter. We have Chen, Hochevar, Smith, Teaford, and Mendoza. Ideally next year both Chen and Hochevar are at the back of someone else’s rotation because they are the most expensive and we can get close to the same results from the others (why spend close to $10M on Chen and Hoch when you can spend a shade over $1.5M on Smith, Mendoza and Teaford), Teaford is the long man and Smith and Mendoza are the 4 and 5 here behind 3 new starting pitching acquisitions (or 2 new guys and Jake Odorizzi). Either way, all five of those guys SHOULD NOT be in Kansas City next April. In a way that will be the best gauge for how Moore does this offseason. If Hochevar, Chen, Mendoza, Smith and Teaford all start next April in Kansas City, GMDM should not have a job by tax time.
Jim Wilson
9 months, 3 weeks agoLee, The Royal best at drawing walks — Alex Gordon — has not been much of a home run threat.
I continue to be amazed by the number of GM’s that populate this site. Let’s talk about the great catch Esky made yesterday to save the game or the gutsy job Holland did (even though he did bring back Broxton-lke nightmares for at least one game).
Although some of the suggestions for possible player moves make some sense, the fans seem to forget that you cannot just go out and make these moves without the willingness of other teams or players to take part. Just because it is good for the Royals doesn’t mean others are willing to participate. It is easy to say we should go out and sign two #1 starters (who would disagree with that); however, what do we have and are willing to give up in order to do this and what would the long-term impact on the team be if we did it?
Jim Fetterolf
9 months, 3 weeks agoAlex draws walks because he’s willing to take a called 3rd strike, as well as being a fairly dangerous hitter. Matt Treanor did that a lot last year, without the dangerous hitter part. Big Bill walks quite a bit because pitchers work around him.
Sam Miles
9 months, 3 weeks agoThat players are penalized double for called 3rd strikes is one of the things that bugs me the most about Polk Points. Take Gordon and Frenchy, for example:
Gordon: 18 K’s looking (-36pts), 70 K’s swinging (-70 pts) Frenchy: 13 k’S looking (-26pts), 63 k’S swinging (-63 pts)
I realize that it’s been discussed as to why you would rather have a guy swinging, but I think the fact that pitchers are likely to have to expend more pitches AND allow more walks to a guy who is willing to take the 3rd strike.
For one, called third strikes aren’t always in the zone - human error - while K’s out of the zone (in Frenchy’s case) are WELL out of the zone. Even if the ball is put in play, you’re apt to get weak contact. While that may result in a bloop, it also might lead to a double play.
Anyway, end rant.
Sam Miles
9 months, 3 weeks agoIn my last paragraph, I of course meant “K’s swinging can be out of the zone (or in Frenchy’s case, often well out of the zone).
While you can obviously miss an actual strike, it seems more likely we’re crediting guys with poor idea’s of the strike zone than we should.
Jim Wilson
9 months, 3 weeks agoI will take Alex’s BB/KK ratio all day long. We need a lot more of that. Treanor is completely off topic. Billy has always had a good walk rate, even his first year in the minors. His rate this year is down versus 2010 and 2011.
Jim Fetterolf
9 months, 3 weeks agoTreanor is very much on topic, had a very high walk percentage last year as well as K%. That’s because he took a lot of pitches. Alex worked on it in the off-season to bring his K% down by expanding the zone and shortening the swing with two-strikes.
“His rate this year is down versus 2010 and 2011.”
Rate started dropping half way through last year for a couple of reasons, not least of which was that pitchers weren’t interested in working around him to get to the hot Hosmer. When Bill was getting walked earlier in the year it was to get to Treanor.
Sam, what’s the BABIP on Ks? Taking a 3rd strike is even worse because you give yourself no chance of even wasting a good pitch, much less doing something positive with it.
Sam Miles
9 months, 3 weeks agoJim F. -
The BABIP on K’s would be the same swinging or looking, of course, but you’re not seeing my point.
On a K swinging, you may be missing your pitch, missing or trying to foul off a good one, getting fooled, or hacking at crap.
On a K looking, you’re either fooled or you think it’s a ball.
I’m just pointing out that I think both types of strikeouts may have their own virtues and deficiencies, but that I don’t believe one should be considered (or is, in any other system) twice as bad as another.
While there is no value in taking a third strike, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about taking a borderline pitch.
Sam Miles
9 months, 3 weeks agoI mean, look at it this way…
You’ve got two players who you otherwise know nothing about…
Player A strikes out 50 times looking, none swinging. Player B strikes out 99 times swinging, none looking.
The Polk system values Player B higher, and that won’t work. It’s just a silly hypothetical but, then, it’s a silly argument.
William Wolfe
9 months, 3 weeks agoPlease tell me the folks on this blog will be discussing Mijares’ waiver claim to the Giants…for nothing. I don’t want to hear any of this “this blog is only for game discussion” crap, the front office (or the owner) is literally losing its mind and I need to know if this is finally the issue that unites statheads and eyeballers.
Sam Miles
9 months, 3 weeks agoPrediction: The arguments supporting Moore’s decision will be that over 20 teams passed on claiming Mijares before the Giants did, that he has a bad attitude, and that the Twins also released him.
Do those things warrant giving away a club controlled reliever who has pitched excellently for nothing?
Unlikely. Moore’s coming apart at the seams.
Lee Judge
9 months, 3 weeks agoHere’s what Bob Dutton’s story said:
“The decision to dump Mijares appears to stem from a combination of finances and roster issues. He is still owed roughly $310,000 on a one-year deal for $925,000, which he signed last December as a free agent.
While Mijares remained under club control through 2014, club estimates suggest it would likely cost about $2.5 million to retain him next season through arbitration. That amount was deemed too high when weighed against the alternatives.”
Jim Fetterolf
9 months, 3 weeks agoOn Mijares, a surprising one, maybe they just thought that Bueno and Joseph were better and needed some room to look at them.
Sam, I know that knocking the Polk system is a fad among the so-called advanced statisticians. The two main knocks on the system are statistically insignificant, but there’ll be discussion in the off-season.
William Wolfe
9 months, 3 weeks agoI totally get that he doesn’t factor into the plan next year with Joseph in the fold and his salary would be a waste (a Yuni-like waste). But the reports seem to be that we got NOTHING for him. If that’s true, how does this make any sense? Why not just try and trade him over the off-season for ANYTHING? I just don’t get it. This feels like Glass making edicts: “Fire the 1B coach! DFA Yuni! Save $300k!”. Well, I agree with one of them, but still. Lunacy.
Thayne Griffin
9 months, 3 weeks agoMy lord. Mijares for nothing?
Yep. That pretty much sums up all that needs to be said.
In regards to Yuni, I would take any deal where we only pay 99.9% of what we owe him still. I would accept that over what we got for Mijares as well.
William, I don’t always agree with you, but in this case, I couldn’t agree more.
Sam Miles
9 months, 3 weeks agoJim F -
I’m not sure that pointing out value in taking borderline pitches constituted knocking the system. We’re above discussion now?
Jim Fetterolf
9 months, 3 weeks agoWhen taking borderline pitches I remember Alex watching Justin Verlander’s 131st pitch catch the corner for strike three with the bases loaded in the 9th inning of a one-run game. Value probably gets down to context, sometimes it’s too risky to think that a batter is smarter than the ump. That’s something Alex discussed last winter. Sorry I was short.
Jeff Frost
9 months, 3 weeks agoWhat does Sabean have on DM??? First Melky for Sanchez and now Mijares for nothing. Even if we do owe him $$$ and nobody wanted him, if used correctly, Yost, he should be a one to two out specialist against lefthanded batters, not pitching an inning.
If we are willing to do with Yuni, Sanchez, and now Mijares, let’s expedite Frenchy, Getz and Chen. Get Myers up here after Omaha’s season, bring up Adcock for Chen and Odorizzi after Omaha’s run, and put Gio in at 2nd and let him know he is playing second the last 60 games no matter what- get a true sample size on what this kid can do at the MLB level. Is he a Kila- a AAAA player, or the legit Dirt Bag that Yost loved last year! Just thoughts moving forward towards 2013 and 2014 when we could contend. Lastly, why not Falu over Abreu??? Falu was fun and earned his shot!
John Miller
9 months, 3 weeks agoGotta say I was surprised both at Sisson’s firing and Mijares’ being waived. Obviously not at Yuni’s DFA, though was surprised to hear that Yuni was complaining about playing time.
Does anyone know which players are included on the Royals’ payroll numbers? For example, if the Royals spend $70m/year on players, is that just the 25-man roster? 40-man roster? 40-man roster and draft picks? In reference to Mijares, it might make sense to pay him $2.5 million per year if that’s the average salary on the 25-man roster and he’s pitching well. But if the payroll includes everyone on the 40-man roster, plus draft picks, $2.5m is on the high side for a situational reliever.
Ok—done playing GM for a day. Let’s go Royals!
John Miller
9 months, 3 weeks agoPlease ignore—testing out blog formatting.
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John Miller
9 months, 3 weeks agoOk—so if you’re curious on the blog formatting, it looks like framing your word with either underscores or asterisks italicizes it, and an asterisk followed by a space indicates a list item. Not going to try to figure out font sizing (Internet shouting’s no fun), but I know people have indicated some interest in creating lists here.
Curtis Ruder
9 months, 2 weeks agoWe save money, and we get a roster spot for both the 25 man and 40 man rosters. I haven’t looked too carefully at who needs to be added to the 40-man roster in order to be protected from the rule 5 draft, but if the team had already decided to decline arbitration in the fall, and if they determined he had no trade value - and frankly, I am not sure what baseball asset you might expect to acquire for a mediocre LOOGY - the front office had two options.
Option 1 is to pull him back from waivers. The disadvantage is that we have to pay his salary. The advantage is that we get more time to determine if he has any trade value.
Option 2 is to let him go and save the salary and open the roster spot immediately. I will call out a dumb move when I see it, but this one seems just fine to me.