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All Star Reserve
Join Date: Apr 2024
Posts: 876
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2028 Offseason
Development Lab
Round 1 Results
Bobby Witt Jr.- Worked on: Strength & Conditioning
- Result: Successful
- Impact: Fragile to Normal
Jorge Ruiz- Strength & Conditioning
- No Improvement
- No Impact
Gregory Barrios- Quality of Contact
- Successful
- Improved Batting Average
Matthew Etzel- Strength & Conditioning
- No Improvement
- No Impact
Juan Ramirez- Strength & Conditioning
- No Improvement
- No Impact
Isaac Morton- Secondary Pitch Improvement
- Outstanding
- Slider Improvement
Second Round – Defensive Ability
Lomavita C
Ruiz CF
Van Dyke Stealing
Petty 3B - Successful
- Improved all infield defence; +5 Range
Cunningham 3B
Zubia 3B
Awards
Once again, the Royals were shut out of the Awards although Mason Barnett did receive Cy Young votes for his stellar ERA leading season as did Chase Burns for Rookie of the Year.
AL Great Gloves
NL Great Gloves
AL Platinum Sticks
NL Platinum Sticks
AL Manager of the Year Brandon Hyde BAL
NL Manager of the Year Carlos Mendoza NYM
AL Reliever of the Year Woo-suk Go TEX
NL Reliever of the Year Nick Robertson STL
AL Rookie of the Year Joendry Vargas HOU
NL Rookie of the Year Jose Medina WAS
AL Cy Young Daniel Espino CLE
NL Cy Young Cade Horton CHC
AL MVP Jackson Holliday BAL
NL MVP Kou Okamoto STL
Pre-Arbitration Extensions & Trades
- Signed RP John McMillon to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $3,180,000.
- Signed 2B Nick Loftin to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $6,700,000.
- Signed SP Hayden Wesneski to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $2,450,000.
- Signed C Ivan Herrera to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $4,400,000.
- Signed RP Nick Margevicius to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $2,350,000.
- Signed RP Josiah Gray to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,300,000.
- Signed RP DJ Herz to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $2,500,000.
- Signed RP Julian Aguiar to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $2,350,000.
Wednesday, November 1st , 2028- Traded 32-year old minor league 2B Jose Caballero to the Boston Red Sox, getting 26-year old 3B Jake Gelof and $2,000,000 in cash in return.
Arbitration
Relievers Kevin Kelly and Cade Cavalli were not offered arbitration and free-agents.
Qualifying Offers
Neither Scott Effross nor Jose Ruiz were made a Qualifying Offer so both depart as free agents.
International Free Agents
Although there was interest in several IFAs, particularly in SP Federico Ramos 55/60/75 with 4 pitches and 45 stamina (who ended up at the Yankees), the Royals settled on free agent RP Yusuke Matsumura, securing him on a 3-year contract worth a total of $22,500,000.
Rule 5 Draft
The Royals policy of signing a slew of MiL players in early November means that Rule 5 day sees a lot of average AAAA players unable to be protected. There were no additions to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 where several players were nabbed for a big league shot.
- Lost CF Jake Fraley in the Rule 5 Draft to the Oakland Athletics.
- Lost 2B Jeremiah Jackson in the Rule 5 Draft to the Philadelphia Phillies.
- Lost CF Harrison Bader in the Rule 5 Draft to the Minnesota Twins.
- Lost CF Jarren Duran in the Rule 5 Draft to the Minnesota Twins.
- Lost RP David Hagaman in the Rule 5 Draft to the San Francisco Giants.
Both Bader and Hagaman were returned to the Royals ahead of opening day.
International Amateurs
The Royals International Amateur class was headlined by Domincan Republic SS Edgar Mir, out of signed with a $4,400,000. Although unlikely to stick at SS (50/55/55/45), Mir (high work ethic) displays potential for plus contact, a plus plus eye and 80 power which led the Royal scouting director to profile Mir as a potential elite shortstop on a contending team.
Three other players were signed from across the Americas:
- SP David Maciel out of Venezuela ($580,000). A 4-pitch starter with a plus plus change up has potential plus stuff and control giving him mid rotation potential if his high work ethic sees him develop.
- RP Nelson Vigil out of Dominican Republic ($120,000). 80 stuff with two plus plus pitches make Vigil an interesting proposition to be a dependable bullpen contributor.
- 1B Juan Puentes out of Cuba ($600,000). Weak defensibly but with high potential with a plus contact and power rating which should make him a regular starter with his high work ethic.
All four players will start in the International Complex but both Mir and Vigil could make their DSL debut during the season.
Offseason Trades & Free Agents
Tuesday, November 21st , 2028- Traded 26-year old LF Luisangel Acuna to the Los Angeles Angels, getting 25-year old RHP Aiden May and $1,000,000 in cash in return.
Acuna was always likely to be surplus to requirements with the Royals carrying 4 OFs and his range ruling him out of CF. May is a potential starter with three plus pitches to go with 60 stamina and average stuff, movement, and control.
Tuesday, January 9th, 2029
Signed free agent SP JT Brubaker to a 1-year contract worth a total of $4,040,000.
Brubaker has offered league average starting pitching for 8 years and, at $4m and a 1-year contract was a low risk pick up. He offers a 4-pitch combination with a plus fastball, with above average control.
Thursday, February 1st, 2029
Signed free agent RP Jose Quijada to a 2-year contract worth a total of $8,000,000.
Quijada was another low-risk arm pick up with the second year of his contract a Team Option at $4m. A plus plus fastball is the highlight of his 3-pitch arsenal, plus stuff paired with average movement and control.
Financial Situation
The lack of big money FA signings over the off season, coupled with lower than budgeted season ticket sales saw the Royals budget reduced by $6m in mid-January. This was expected to have little impact on Stewart’s plan with no changes to specific budget lines being mandated by owner Sherman.
Preseason & Spring Training
The Royals had a difficult spring on the field, going 9-17. However, the upside was an absence of injuries to any probable starters, with only Braylin Tavera missing significant time – a sprained ankle ruling him out for 4 weeks.
Around the League
Retirements
- LF Kyle Schwarber retired from professional baseball.
- SP Gerrit Cole retired from professional baseball.
- RP A.J. Minter retired from professional baseball.
- SS Brandon Crawford retired from professional baseball.
- C Gary Sánchez retired from professional baseball.
- SP Jameson Taillon retired from professional baseball.
- 1B Daniel Vogelbach retired from professional baseball.
- RP Corey Knebel retired from professional baseball.
- SS Paul DeJong retired from professional baseball.
- RP Dan Altavilla retired from professional baseball.
- 1B Freddie Freeman retired from professional baseball.
- LF Joc Pederson retired from professional baseball.
- LF Ben Gamel retired from professional baseball.
- SP Adrian Houser retired from professional baseball.
- RP Clay Holmes retired from professional baseball.
New York Yankees: Retired #45 in honor of Gerrit Cole.
Atlanta Braves: Retired #5 in honor of Freddie Freeman.
Extensions
- Baltimore Orioles: 1B Samuel Basallo 8 years $251,800,000.
- Baltimore Orioles: 3B Coby Mayo 1 year $21,200,000.
- Baltimore Orioles: RF Colton Cowser 5 years $78,800,000.
- Chicago Cubs: C Pablo Aliendo 5 years $31,660,000.
- Chicago Cubs: SP Cade Horton 1 year $22,200,000.
- Colorado Rockies: 1B Zac Veen 5 years $40,280,000.
- Detroit Tigers: SP Ty Madden 5 years $142,400,000.
- Houston Astros: CF Jacob Melton 5 years $63,200,000.
- Los Angeles Angels: SP Chase Silseth 3 years $97,800,000.
- Milwaukee Brewers: SP Carlos Rodriguez 4 years $90,400,000.
- Milwaukee Brewers: SP DL Hall 4 years $84,400,000.
- New York Mets: C Francisco Alvarez 5 years $90,800,000.
- New York Mets: SP Connor Phillips 1 year $24,200,000.
- New York Yankees: CF Jasson Dominguez 8 years $345,100,000.
- Philadelphia Phillies: SP Andrew Painter 4 years $170,900,000.
- Pittsburgh Pirates: SP Bubba Chandler 5 years $79,580,000.
- St. Louis Cardinals: SS Masyn Winn 1 year $21,600,000.
- Texas Rangers: 3B Elly De La Cruz 4 years $76,400,000.
- Washington Nationals: LF Dylan Crews 8 years $157,500,000.
Free Agent Signings
- Atlanta Braves: C Gabriel Moreno 6 years $117,600,000.
- Atlanta Braves: LF Yordan Alvarez 4 years $96,800,000.
- Boston Red Sox: SP Tarik Skubal 5 years $72,800,000.
- Detroit Tigers: CF Riley Greene 8 years $235,000,000.
- Houston Astros: RP James Karinchak 2 years $58,400,000.
- New York Yankees: SP Federico Ramos 6 years$148,800,000.
- Philadelphia Phillies: RP Matt Brash 1 year $20,400,000.
- San Francisco Giants: SP Shane McClanahan 6 years $201,000,000.
- Texas Rangers: RP Keynan Middleton 1 year $20,000,000.
Major Injuries
Pitchers
- Tanner Bibee MIA diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, will miss 12 months.
- Connor Mattison MIL diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, will miss 6 months.
- Richard Fitts BOS has suffered a setback in his recovery. He is not expected to recover for another 6-7 months.
- Hunter Harvey CHC diagnosed with bone chips in his elbow, will miss 6 months.
- Graham Ashcraft CIN diagnosed with a torn back muscle, will miss 4-5 months.
- Jose Cuas HOU diagnosed with radial nerve compression, will miss 6 months.
- Seranthony Dominguez MIA diagnosed with an elbow strain, will miss 3 months.
- Jorge Alcala NYM diagnosed with a torn back muscle, will miss 4 months.
- Art Burnett SEA diagnosed with a torn back muscle, will miss 4 months.
- Bryan Abreu SF diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, will miss 6-7 months.
- Corbin Burnes STL diagnosed with a forearm strain, will miss 3 months.
- Jake Woodford STL diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, will miss 4-5 months.
- Luis Frias TB diagnosed with a fractured elbow, will miss 6 months.
- Oliver Ortega TOR diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, will miss 7 months.
Hitters
- RF Colton Cowser BAL was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: mild hip strain. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last one week.
- 2B Luis Vazquez HOU diagnosed with a ruptured finger tendon, will miss 3-4 months.
- CF Luis Robert Jr. PHI has suffered a setback in his recovery. He is not expected to recover for another 9 months.
- 1B Marcus Semien TEX was injured. The Diagnosis: retiring. He's expected to miss about 12 months.
- 2B Ha-seong Kim TOR diagnosed with a concussion, will miss 4 months.
Hall of Fame
On January 17, four players were inducted into the Hall of Fame for the second year in the row. Catcher Yadier Molina appeared on 80.5% of ballots in his second year of eligibility and he was joined by first year candidates SP Zack Greinke (80.5%), SP Clayton Kershaw (87.9%), and 1B Miguel Cabrera (98.3%).
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