League officials have just announced that the secondary roster size limit has been increased to 42 players. Meanwhile, expanded roster size has been set to the same number of players.
Personnel
AAA Manager Kyle Synder
AA Hitting Coach Robert Wood promoted from A+
A+ Hitting Coach Luis Argumedes
A Pitching Coach Brendan Smith promoted from Rookie
Rookie Manager Matt Bouchard
Rookie Pitching Coach Garrett Sherrill
DSL Hitting Coach Yang Carlos Perez
Awards
AL Great Glove RF
Jimmy Goodman
NL Great Glove
AL Platinum Stick C
Sam Hart | 2B
Edgar Mir | DH
Michael Connelly
NL Platinum Stick
AL Manager of the Year Colin Stewart KC
NL Manager of the Year Jose Camilo LAD
AL Reliever of the Year Pat Black TB
NL Reliever of the Year Geoff Phillips SF
AL Rookie of the Year Eric Holstein TEX
NL Rookie of the Year Amari Alabre WAS
AL Cy Young Curt Bogans KC
NL Cy Young Mike Spence LAD
AL MVP Luis Moreno NYY
NL MVP Vince Elkins LAD
Pre-Arbitration Extensions & Trades
Sunday, November 7th , 2038
CF Drew Burress has executed his contract year option.
Executed the contract year option of RF Jimmy Goodman.
Executed the contract year option of 3B Jeremy Rogerson.
Traded 25-year old 1B Juan Moreno, 30-year old LHP Jeremy Sidener, 23-year old minor league CF Mike Thomas, and 23-year old minor league SS Stephon Vassor to the Houston Astros, getting 25-year old CF Jamie Edwards, 31-year old RHP Eric Cook (retaining 100%), 16-year old minor league SS Juan Medina, and $50,000,000 in cash in return.
Traded 24-year old minor league 1B Markas Huffman, 24-year old minor league C Andy Alexander, and 22-year old minor league RHP Jorge Castilloto the Colorado Rockies, getting 24-year old minor league 2B Jorge Mata and $55,000,000 in cash in return.
Thursday, November 11th , 2038
Signed 1B Bobby Witt Jr. to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,800,000.
Signed RP Jimmy Lininger to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $4,180,000.
Signed LF Enny Mijhail Van Dyke to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $9,500,000.
Signed CL Eric Cook to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $4,000,000.
Signed SP Brad Demarest to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,750,000.
Signed RP Chris Wagner to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $4,440,000.
Signed 1B Marquis Foggie to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,550,000.
The overhaul of the AL Champs started in earnest on November 7th as, following Drew Burress opting into his player option, the Royals followed up by executing both Jimmy Goodman and Jeremy Rogerson’s Team Options.
On the same day they moved on from budding superstar Juan Moreno, with two major knee injuries in three years the Royals cashed in while they could still get a high return. That they did in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros. The Royals added 79th ranked Mike Thomas (2033 1st Round Supplemental) with Moreno and received the 5th best prospect in CF Jamie Edwards. They added in 2036 2nd round pick Stephon Vassor, along with Jeremy Sidener’s two year $11m/year contract, receiving arbitration eligible former-Royal RP Eric Cook and prospect Juan Medina. The Astros also included $50m in cash that will help the Royals continue to balance the books!
The same day the Royals moved on from 2032 2nd round pick C Andy Alexander (clearing the path for Mike Murphy to back up Sam Hart in 2039. He was packaged with 2032 4th round pick 1B Markas Haffman, whose power would never earn him the confidence of ownership at 1B, along with organisational piece Jorge Castilloto in exchange for interesting plus contact and gap power, speedster 2B Jorge Mata plus $55m from the Rockies.
Amongst several arbitration avoiding one year deals on the 11th was a one year extension for Bobby Witt Jr who will return for one more year in his quest for a ring.
Arbitration & Qualifying Offers
Sunday, November 28th , 2038
2B TJ Pompey accepted a 1-year qualifying offer worth a total of $18,900,000.
RP Shawn Bass was not offered arbitration, becomes a free agent.
RP Jon Holtz was not offered arbitration, becomes a free agent.
CF Kevin Roberts Jr. was not offered arbitration, becomes a free agent.
The Royals were slightly disappointed when TJ Pompey accepted the qualifying offer and will return while three players were not offered arbitration, including 2037 All-Star Shawn Bass.
Free Agents
Tuesday, November 30th , 2038
CF Juan Soreni becomes a free-agent.
The Royals never got close to making an offer to Juan Soreni who was looking for $50m for four years.
Post Arbitration Transactions
Tuesday, November 30th , 2038
Traded 26-year old RHP Chris Wolff, 27-year old RHP Chris Wagner, 27-year old RHP Jimmy Lininger, and 26-year old LHP David Maciel to the New York Mets, getting 23-year old minor league LF Josh Hatfield, 19-year old minor league RHP Ben Lane, and $8,000,000 in cash in return.
Placed SP Joe Davis on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed SP Dan Carrig on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RP Eric Jones on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed CF Chase Standberry on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Traded 25-year old minor league RHP Brad McCourt, 25-year old minor league LF Kevin Davis, 25-year old minor league RHP Chris Arington, and 29-year old minor league RHP Zach Eckloff to the New York Yankees, getting 19-year old minor league 3B Jesus Medina, 19-year old minor league 3B Mike Schwind, and $20,000,000 in cash in return.
The expected clearing of the Royals bullpen started on November 30th as four of the 2038 pitching battery were traded in one fell swoop to the New York Mets. For the four pitchers (all of whom are primarily relief pitchers although Chris Wolff started for the Royals and David Maciel could start) the Royals received the 34th ranked prospect, starting pitcher Ben Lane (2037 4th Round), as well as AAAA outfielder Josh Hatfield and $8m in cash.
Despite the expanded 42-man roster the Royals have too many AAAA players and, having added some untouchables to the roster, packaged some of the remaining players together into a trade with the Yankees. For three borderline starting pitchers and a defensively-deficient outfielder the Royals received $20m in cash along with two defensively strong contact/power bats in advanced Jesus Medina and young Mike Schwind.
International Amateurs
We just completed our monthly private practice with many young international amateur free agents who we hope can aid our club in the coming years. It was great to meet the players in-person and get to know them better, and I was able to improve my scouting assessment on all invitees.
In fact some of the players impressed me, since they showcased a higher potential than I had previously expected from them:
Nelson Canjura, 16 year-old C out of Venezuela
Lean and athletic, Nelson Canjura hails from San Cristóbal, Venezuela. He has well above average contact potential. At maturity he should have an above average eye. His power potential grades out as average. Canjura has potential to unleash his obvious talent both on the field and at the plate.
Gilberto Castro, 16 year-old RF out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Gilberto Castro hails from Tamboril, Dominican Republic. He's skilled at going the other way and possesses a strong hit tool. The power is more a projection right now, but he has above average power potential. His defense as a right fielder is adequate. Castro profiles as an everyday right fielder who can make an impact on a top-tier team.
However, a few invitees left me disappointed as they did not appear to match my previous assessment, although they may still end up being future stars:
Nelson Salazar, 17 year-old RHP out of Dominican Republic
6' 3" Nelson Salazar is an intimidating presence on the mound. He should feature an elite slider as well as a decent fastball at his peak. His explosive stuff has scouts dreaming. Salazar has the potential to spend the next half-decade closing out games.
And other players that I was able to further assess were:
Juan Esquivel, 16 year-old C out of Dominican Republic
Alejandro Guerra, 16 year-old CF out of Colombia
Ernesto Pimentel, 16 year-old SS out of Dominican Republic
Arturo Oramas, 16 year-old SS out of Venezuela
Sergio Rulz, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Juan Sintos, 16 year-old 2B out of Cuba
Juan Usera, 16 year-old 2B out of Mexico
Around the League
Retirements
Colorado Rockies: SP Chase Silseth retired from professional baseball.
Chicago Cubs: SP Cade Horton retired from professional baseball.
Cleveland Guardians: SP Ty Madden retired from professional baseball.
Washington Nationals: 3B Royce Lewis retired from professional baseball.
Arizona Diamondbacks: RF Zac Veen retired from professional baseball.
Washington Nationals: SP Gavin Williams retired from professional baseball.
Atlanta Braves: CF Michael Harris II retired from professional baseball.
Miami Marlins: SP Jairo Iriarte retired from professional baseball.
Pittsburgh Pirates: CF Emmanuel Rodriguez retired from professional baseball.
Philadelphia Phillies: 2B Adael Amador retired from professional baseball.
Los Angeles Angels: SP Josh Hartle retired from professional baseball.
Boston Red Sox: SS Marcelo Mayer retired from professional baseball.
New York Yankees: SP Andrew Painter retired from professional baseball.
San Diego Padres: C Malcolm Moore retired from professional baseball.
Atlanta Braves: CL Mason Fluharty retired from professional baseball.
San Diego Padres: 2B Matt Shaw retired from professional baseball.
Miami Marlins: 2B Jett Williams retired from professional baseball.
Pittsburgh Pirates: SS Carson Williams retired from professional baseball.
Seattle Mariners: 1B Peyton Stovall retired from professional baseball.
New York Yankees: LF J.J. Wetherholt retired from professional baseball.
Toronto Blue Jays: RP Tyler Dean retired from professional baseball.
Arizona Diamondbacks: SP Yu-min Lin retired from professional baseball.
Tampa Bay Rays: SP Michael Prosecky retired from professional baseball.
Atlanta Braves: Retired #23 in honor of Michael Harris II.