Zero to Hero - A Scotsman in MLB

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The Royals achieved their 100-win season goal for the 3rd year in a row, and 5th in the last 6 years, splitting games against the Nationals in what would be the missing win for Washington to reach the playoffs and then sweeping the Marlins to match their NL-leading 102-60 record for the season.



The Wildcard drama was reserved for the National League as the Nationals 6-4 record over the last 10 games wasn’t quite enough to unseat the incumbents while the Brewers went 4-6, including finishing 0-3, to miss out by one game to the Pirates who won on the last day of the season.



Bobby Nickelberry has surely locked up the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League as he secured the AL Batting Title, only the fifth Royal to do so, and third in the Colin Stewart era (Bobby Witt Jr. 2030, Jeremy Rogerson 2033).



J.J Tjepkema became the first Triple Crown winner in this universe, and therefore the first since Shane Bieber in 2020 and first full season winner since Justin Verlander in 2011.

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The Royals earn the second seed in the American League and will face the winner of the Avalanche-Orioles Wildcard Series. A 4th postseason match up with the AL West 3rd placed Avalanche, and first since they moved from Oakland, or a leading 7th series against the AL East Champion Orioles will provide a stern test as the Royals, despite reaching 100 wins, enter the postseason with more questions than potentially in any other year with the injuries sustained over the year and the memories of getting swept by the Astros in 2041.

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It is the Avalanches who come through the Wildcard series to face the Royals, the only team to require all three games. After a 3-0 victory, followed by a 1-0 loss, the Avalanche bats turned up, winning the decider 12-3. So, a third postseason match up of all time, and the first since 2014 when the Royals beat the A’s 1-0 in the Wildcard round on their way to the World Series.

The Avalanche rode the best defence in the AL alongside great starting pitching (2nd SP ERA) to the playoffs. Al Kramer, Josh Carpenter, and Caleb Kuhlman all had ERA under 3.50, and, alongside Jeff Wulf, offer an even split of left and right handed pitching. The bullpen was led by Closer Chris Blalock, who combined a 2.96 ERA with 34 saves at an almost 90% success rate.

CF Sergio Rivera comfortably led the team in batting average (.281) as well as RBIs (89) while lead off LF Luis Moreno stole 53 bases. 3B Tim Martin has some pop in his bat, having hit 25 HRs to lead the team while they are without their elite SS Juan Batres, who is out for 4 weeks injured, which will weaken their infield defense.

The Royals won the regular season series 4-3.

Game 1 in Kansas City: Ben Lane vs Jeff Wulf (2035 2nd Round)
• Kansas City wins 4-2
• Lane (W): 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R
• Wulf (L): 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R
• Tsuguo Abe (SV): 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R
• Kansas City HRs: Bob Crimi (2nd), Edgar Mir (5th, 2R)
• San Antonio HRs: Danny Lindsay (7th)
• 1-0 Kansas City

Game 2 in Kansas City: Ethan Chafin vs Caleb Kuhlman (2042 Trade DET)
• Kansas City wins 5-1
• Chafin (W): 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R
• Kuhlman: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R
• Mike Allen (L): 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R
• Kansas City HRs: Chris Albright (4th), Bobby Nickelberry (7th, 3R)
• 2-0 Kansas City

Game 3 in San Antonio: Dan Carrig vs Josh Carpenter (2039 Trade CWS)
• Kansas City wins 6-3
• Carrig (W): 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R
• Carpenter (L): 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R
• Nate Avis (SV): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
• San Antonio HRs: Sergio Rivera (5th, 2R)
• 3-0 KANSAS CITY WINS

Series MVP: Bob Crimi (KC) .625 1 HR 4 R

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The reward for the Royals sweep of the Avalanche is a rematch of last year’s League Championship Series against the Houston Astros. The Astros (109-53) won the AL East and are looking to win back-to-back World Series after ending the Dodgers reign last year. The Royals will be looking to gain revenge for getting swept at this stage last year, but did lose the regular season series 4-3.

Over in the National League, the Marlins will take on the Reds with the Dodgers not in the League Championship Series for the first time since 2037.

The Astros and the Royals are without doubt the two best from the AL, sitting one and two in the runs scored and runs against standings – with the Royals hitting more runs but the Astros giving up the least runs.

Gwang-woo Kim led the Astros in ERA, 2.83, but Jon Elfstrom is the ace – 207 Ks, 16 W, 3.19 ERA. Kim will be the only left hander in the starting rotation. They will be missing their big offseason acquisition Robbie Austin, who is still 4-5 weeks away from recovering from a partially torn labrum. The bullpen features three pitchers with ERAs below 3.00, including LHP Sergio Ojeda with a 1.66 ERA, and the two 16-save arms, SU LHP Juan Llamas, and Closer RHP Daniel Coria.

Former Royal 3B Mike Campney led the Astros with a .282 batting average, although it was another former Royal LF Mike Thomas that was the centre of the team, hitting .277 with 32 HRs and 106 RBIs. They have power throughout their line up with every starting position player, with the exception of a third former Royal, RF Mike Connolly, reaching double figures in HRs.

The Astros enter the series as strong favourites to make it back to back trips to the World Series.

Game 1 in Houston: Ben Lane vs Juan Silva (2038 Scouting Discovery)
• Houston wins 5-0
• Silva (W): 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R
• Lane (L): 6.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R
• Houston HRs: Juan Moreno (4th), Mike Thomas (5th, GS)
• 1-0 Houston

Game 2 in Houston: Ethan Chafin vs Jon Elfstrom (2040 Free Agent)
• Houston wins 8-6
• Elfstrom: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R
• Chafin: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R
• Daniel Coria (W): 2.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R
• Tsuguo Abe (L)(BS): 1.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R
• Houston HRs: Mike Campney (7th)
• Kansas City HRs: Bob Crimi (2nd)
• POTG: Mike Campney (HOU) 3-4, 3 RBI
• 2-0 Houston

Game 3 in Kansas City: Dan Carrig vs Bobby McPhee (2040 Trade MIL)
• Houston wins 5-1
• Carrig (L): 6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R
• McPhee (W): 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R
• Houston HRs: Thomas (4th), Wilfredo Terrazas (6th, 3R)
• 3-0 Houston

Game 4 in Kansas City: Eddie Baquerizo vs Gwan-woo Kim (2039 Free Agent)
• Kansas City wins 7-4
• Baquerizo: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R
• Kim (L): 4.0 IP, 3 H, 5 R
• Abe (SV): 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R
• Houston HRs: Terrazas (4th, 2R)
• 3-1 Houston

Game 5 in Kansas City: Lane vs Silva
• Kansas City wins 5-4
• Lane: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R INJURED 5 WEEKS
• Silva: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R
• Art Putney (W): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R
• Coria (L): 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R
• Houston HRs: Luis Rojas (8th)
• POTG: Zach Herr (KC) 4-4, RBI
• 3-2 Houston

Game 6 in Houston: Chafin vs Elfstrom
• Houston wins 7-2
• Elfstrom (W): 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R
• Chafin (L): 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R
• Houston HRs: Thomas (6th, 3R)
• Kansas City HRs: Edgar Mir (1st), Bobby Nickelberry (3rd)
• POTG: Mike Thomas (HOU) 3-5, HR, 4 RBI
• 4-2 HOUSTON WINS

Series MVP: Mike Thomas (HOU) .310 3 HRs, 11 RBIs

The Royals get closer than last year but the Astros move on to the World Series for the second year in a row, claiming their 8th AL pennant and earning the chance to go back-to-back as WS Champions.

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The Astros fail in their attempt to repeat as Champs, with the Cincinnati Reds claiming their 6th title, and first since 1990, 52 years ago. The Reds become the 13th different champion in the 19 years of the save, and by winning the NL Pennant left only nine teams who haven’t won a pennant since 2024.

Kansas City Postseason Stats



The Royals bats were good rather than great in the postseason with a couple of players struggling (Gilberto Matos, Estanislau Covete, Bob Morrison) more than expected but also a couple of strong performances (Bob Crimi, Jamie Edwards). There is no consistent profile of batter that struggled or succeeded so the postseason performance is unlikely to override any regular season performance when evaluating this roster in the offseason.



The Royals starters hit a wall against the Astros, giving up 37 runs in 6 games, including 8 HRs, a metric the Astros ‘won’ 8-3. The main struggles came from the starting rotation which had come under injury pressure all year and finally broke with a couple of two-time All Star Tsuguo Abe had a rough time, giving up 7 H in 6.1 IP, including a BS in game 2 of the LCS.

Owner Goal Review



Taking over midway through the season meant the new owner Jeremy Sherman eschewed the standard goal review for 2042, but Stewart would have received a mixed bag, reaching the playoffs as requested but posting a 4-9 record in extra-inning games.

Thank you for your years of service with the Kansas City Royals. Here's to another 16 years!
I will submit some new goals each year that I would like to see you accomplish.

Minor Leagues



Postseason

Omaha Storm Chasers [AAA] won the Championship.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals [AA] lost in the 1st Round of the Playoffs.
Quad Cities River Bandits [A+] missed the playoffs by 22 games.
Columbia Fireflies [A] missed the playoffs by 8 games.
Kansas City (ACL) Royals [R] missed the Playoffs by 1.5 games.
Kansas City (DSL) Royals Stewart [R] won the Championship.
Kansas City (DSL) Royals Glass [R] lost in the 1st Round of the Playoffs. 

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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:

Edgar Pacheco, 17 year-old RF out of Venezuela
Edgar Pacheco is a long, lean athletic right fielder who was born in Valera, Venezuela. Pitchers fear his size at the plate and they should. He has potential to be one of the best power hitters in the game. He has good agility with at least an above average arm which should help him grow into a right fielder role. He shows a good knack for barreling the ball with a compact, clean swing, helping him to spray the ball around the field. Pacheco has a considerable ceiling and can be a first division starter in the majors.

Frank Castorena, 16 year-old 3B out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Frank Castorena hails from Palmar de Ocoa, Dominican Republic. He shows tremendous raw power. He has a great feel for the strike zone and knows when to lay off a bad pitch. He has above average contact potential. Castorena has potential to unleash his obvious talent both on the field and at the plate.

It was a great practice and none of the invitees disappointed in showcasing their talent.

And other players that I was able to further assess were:
Luis Adame, 16 year-old RF out of Mexico
Jorge Morales, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Ismael Uribe, 16 year-old 1B out of Venezuela
Juan Varela, 16 year-old 2B out of Dominican Republic
Phillam Bagalso, 16 year-old 1B out of Philippines
Cornélio Canilliac, 16 year-old RF out of Brazil
Jorge Carrillo, 16 year-old 1B out of Venezuela
Luis Castro, 15 year-old RHP out of Dominican Republic

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A 100-win season is a success from any regular season and one which Royals fans enjoy. The bats were the best in the league by a comfortable margin with only two categories – HRs and SBs – not the best in the whole league. If there are any outlying statistics, they are the defense and HRs allowed. 6th and 7th in Efficiency and ZR provide potential routes to improvement while the 10th ranking in HRs playing half the matches in Kauffman with a .845 HR rate suggests a review of HR suppression might be useful.



Catcher

Neither Catcher’s bat moved the needle but Zach Herr’s first season in the Major Leagues was a success with 1.6 WAR and 3.9 FRM to show his 82 wRC+ is close to being playable and, with some development still projected by scouts, he has a role locked down for 2043. Mike Murphy (91 wRC+) had his worst season for the Royals and with a -4.0 FRM rating and an arbitration number of $4.2m a second catcher will be on the list for the Royals in this offseason.

Infield

Defensively, 1B was not a strong position for the Royals but the bat more than offset that as Gilberto Matos (161 wRC+) drove in 100 runs and was second on the team with 25 HRs, while Bob Crimi (104) also drive in 100 runs. Matos’ 129 runs was the 3rd highest total in a Royals season, only 7 behind Johnny Damon’s 2000 numbers and his 52 doubles only behind Hal McRae’s 54 in 1977. Matos signed a long term contract with the Royals during the season while Crimi is due almost $7m in arbitration which the Royals are likely to meet.

Edgar Mir (128 wRC+) might not have reached past heights but his elite defense and 25 HRs with 36 SBs were all strong bounceback numbers and added up to 6.1 WAR, and 4th on the all-time Royals list. Andres Raygoza (95 wRC+) played a mixture of 1B and 2B and didn’t let anyone down but stuck behind Edgar Mir it is hard to see his route to a starting role, but with some defensive improvement could lock up an infield bench place.

Estanislau Covete (99 wRC+) suffered a bit of a sophomore slump, with a drop in HRs from 33 to 18 reflecting his struggles. His below average defensive skills mean he is likely not the long terms solution for the Royals but on a minimum salary he is a more than adequate placeholder.

The shortstop is the bat hole in the Royals line up without a doubt as neither Bob Morrison (85 wRC+) nor Tony Thompson (59 wRC+) contributed over the course of the season. However, both gloves are better than league average which helped Morrison to 1.5 WAR while Thompson was league replacement level. As has been the case in previous years the Royals would be happy to have one of those two back in 2042 but would prefer not to have both.

Outfield

The outfield showed big improvement from previous years despite injuries leading to seven players playing in meaningful games. Andres Madrigal (76 wRC+) and Chase Standberry (47 wRC+) were disappointing although Standberry’s elite defense at least offered value to the team. Both have options left so could be back but the Royals will listen to offers.

Natalino Villa (123 wRC+) was great when he was fit, but he wasn’t fit. He only played in 32 games with several injuries and the Royals will be putting him back into an S&C programme over the close season to hope they can get the potentially elite CF on the park more often.

Jamie Edwards (186 wRC+) won the battle with Mike Connolly to be retained last offseason and the Royals are happy with that decision. An improvement to his defense saw him step up in CF where he was above league average to go with a .333 AVE and a ratings defying .598 SLG. An arbitration number of almost $5m is beginning to get high but would be incredible value if he could perform anywhere close to this in 2043. Equally, this might be the time to cash in for the Royals if there are any stats focused teams willing to trade.

Chris Albright (149 wRC+) made his debut and excelled with the bat while also confirming that he does not have the glove for CF. However, he is someone who has earned the right for a bigger role in 2042 and the Royals will have to work out the OF bats. As a right handed OF bat, though, he will have plenty of opportunities amongst the Royals leftie based corners.

Those lefties were both elite for the Royals as Billy Mumaugh (137 wRC+) earned another All Star nod and, while missing almost a third of the season, still contributed almost 100 runs. Meanwhile, Bobby Nickelberry will surely be in conversations come award season as the All-Star Rookie had a 159 wRC+ while putting up Royal top ten seasons in slugging (2nd), OPS (4th), WAR (9th), doubles (6th), total bases (3rd), and RBIs (2nd), only 6 behind Mike Sweeney’s 2000 record of 144.

Offseason / Early 2043 Overview

C Zach Herr
1B Gilberto Matos
2B Edgar Mir
3B Estanislau Covete
SS TBC

LF Billy Mumaugh
CF Natalino Villa
RF Bobby Nickelberry

DH Bob Crimi

C TBC
IF Bob Morrison / Tony Thompson
IF TBC
OF Jamie Edwards / Chris Albright



Starters

The Royals challenges this season can be easily tracked to how many players had to start a game – nine. Having traded away Bailey Pinsmail and Pete Bradford the Royals were left a little light, especially as their experienced pitchers aged over the course of the season.

Ben Lane (74 FIP-) was injured during the playoffs but was the star of the starting rotation, with 5.5 WAR from his 33 starts and a 0.9/2.6/10.7 HR/BB/K rate that led to earning all-time Royal top-10 seasons in Ks and K/9 (5th). He signed a long term contract at the beginning of the season so will be back to front the rotation in 2043.

Ethan Chafin returned at the end of the season and managed 1.6 WAR across his 8 starts with a 0.5/1.8/8.6 stat line. He is QO eligible but is also only looking for a three year contract so the 29-year old may be back, despite his wrecked status. Signing Chafin would be an nice nod to departed owner John Sherman’s wishes, despite that goal being removed when Jeremy took charge.

Dan Carrig also suffered injuries and returned to make 12 starts, during which he was average (101 FIP-), with a 1.3/2.7/7.6 line. The Royals will be betting that the 1.3 HR/9 rate is based on small sample size but his movement has dropped from 60 to 55.

Eddie Baquerizo was the only pitcher to survive the season without missing a start across regular and post season. His 1.1/2.4/8.5 shows the beginning of decline for the soon-to-be 34-year old although he still had a 90 FIP- to show he still offers better than league average pitching. An $8m Team Option is likely to be excised, even if it may foreshadow a move to a stopper role in 2043.

Curt Bogans missed the end of the season with injury, which left him with a 2.7 WAR total for the year, 1.6 behind Kevin Appier’s 44.9 all time Royals record. While his strikeout rate had decreased by 1.6 K/9, his HR and BB walk also decreased for an overall line of 0.8/1.9/7.0 which earned him an incredible record of 16-1 from 22 starts, tied for most wins in the AL. His Cy Young days are over but an $8m option will be picked up and Bogans should be a solid mid rotation option for the Royals in 2043.

Among the others to start games – B.J. Heaton, Jonathan DePalmer, Darryel Sabatino, Edgar Medina – Medina and Sabatino were the two to show enough to be considered lower rotation starters of the future for the Royals. Medina started 10 games and put up 1.3 WAR with a 0.9/2.2/8.5 line while Sabatino had 2.0 WAR from his 27 starts and a line of 1.6/2.7/9.4. Both players retain option years with Sabatino most likely to find a permanent place for the Royals as a reliever with his two plus pitches. B.J. Heaton is out for 8-9 months so is very unlikely to be offered arbitration.

Bullpen

The bullpen had to endure a heavier workload that in 2041 due to the attrition of the starting rotation and it showed as several players regressed from the previous year. However, the majority of the pen brought value with Joe Manly, Tsuguo Abe, Juan Anaya and Nate Avis all providing more than one WAR, as Avis was named to the All Star game again.
There are a lot of player heading into arbitration years so the Royals have a decision on whether to start the bullpen turnover or run it back for one more year.

Abe, Avis, Caneas, Im, Jones, Putney, and Zigay are all arbitration eligible with only Avis and Im in their first year.

Offseason / Early 2043 Overview

SP Ben Lane
SP Ethan Chafin
SP Dan Carrig
SP Curt Bogans
SP TBC

RP Nate Avis
RP Joe Manley
RP Moon-soo Im
RP Juan Anaya
RP TBC
RP TBC
RP TBC
RP TBC
RP TBC

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Owner Goals



Generally wise goals from new owner Jeremy Sherman although the Sherman obsession with a hometown player is somewhat baffling to Stewart. Free Agent shopping it will be!

Finances

The moment of truth for Stewart was the release of the new budget. A generous personality will mean little without an open wallet!

You will have $264,000,000 available for the total team expenses. Given your current spending on staff and other costs, this should allow you a team payroll of around $160,000,000.

A major increase in the budget as Sherman Jr. adds an extra $24m onto what was already the highest budget of the Stewart era. The Royals catapult from the 18th to the 13th highest budget, and could signal the chance to go out to the Free Agency market to secure that first World Series title.



Personnel

A new contract for Stewart is put on the table by owner Jeremy Sherman, highs for Stewart in length, at 4 years, and dollar amount, $2.6m, an extra $400k on his previous contract.

After careful consideration, I have decided to extend your contract with the Kansas City Royals. Your new contract is for 4 years and a value of $2,600,000 per year.

Two retirements from the Royals Minor League coaching tree:

AAA Hitting Coach Rene Capellan
AA Pitching Coach Dan Wright

Rookie (DSL) Manager Alexis Fonseca does not have his contract extended.

The Royals promote from within as usual:

AAA Hitting Coach Robert Word from AA
AA Hitting Coach Desmond Jennings from A
A Hitting Coach Diogenes Diaz from DSL Glass

AA Pitching Coach Jin-hyuk Kim from A+
A+ Pitching Coach Jason Hammel from DSL Stewart

Minor Leagues

Awards

Once again the Royals save their Awards for the top of the minor league system.

At AA, the Royals take take three of the four awards, as Robert Donovan win his third Manager Award in a row, 2041 Trade acquisition Chris Richter wins Outstanding Pitcher, and MiL Free Agent signing Juan Espinosa wins MVP.

At AAA, Peter O’Brien wins his third successive Manager of the Year Award while 2037 International Amateur signing Luis Aceves won the Most Valuable Player.

Retirements

The Royals saw four former draftees retire, although none of them from higher than the 10th round.

Prospect Review

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Personnel

Siranthony Dominguez joined the Royals organisation as a pitching coach for DSL Stewart with a Manager and a Hitting Coach at DSL level still to be appointed.

Awards

The big winner of the Awards season was Bobby Nickelberry. As predicted, he won the Rookie of the Year Award in unanimous fashion, to go with a Platinum Stick at RF, an honour achieved by 1B Gilberto Matos and 2B Edgar Mir (his 5th Platinum Stick). The bigger surprise was Nickelberry collecting 29 of 30 1st place votes to be the landslide AL MVP. Matos followed up his runner up in the 2041 Rookie of the Year Award with a runner up in the 2042 AL MVP race.

Bobby Nickelberry joins Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki as the only player to win the batting title, Rookie of the Year, and Most Valuable Player in the same season. The list of players to even get close is short, with the Royals feeling strong about the 10-year contract they gave Nickelberry at the start of the season.

American League

Rookie, MVP, Batting Title
Ichiro Suzuki SEA 2001
Bobby Nickelberry KC 2042

Rookie & Batting Title
Tony Oliva MIN 1964

Rookie & MVP
Steve Melendy PHI 2030

National League

Rookie & Batting Title
Juan Nieves WAS 2035
Joe Upmeyer MIL 2039

Nate Avis couldn’t repeat as AL Reliever of the Year as he came second to TB’s Pat Black. The Royals did have pitching success though when Ben Lane was named AL Cy Young Award winner, following in the footsteps of Curt Bogans to become the fifth Royal to win the Award.

Over in the NL, J.J. Tjepkema collected his second consecutive NL Cy Young after winning the Triple Crown to go with the two AL Cy Young’s he won with the Yankees. A free agent this off season his stock could not be higher. Also receiving votes was former Royal Pete Bradford, who was traded last offseason with the logjam of starting pitchers the Royals possessed.

AL Great Glove
NL Great Glove
AL Platinum Stick 1B Gilberto Matos | 2B Edgar Mir (5) | RF Bobby Nickelberry
NL Platinum Stick
AL Manager of the Year Euner Rodriguez (2) HOU
NL Manager of the Year Luis Nieves MIA
AL Reliever of the Year Pat Black (3) TB
NL Reliever of the Year Sean Faulk CIN
AL Rookie of the Year RF Bobby Nickelberry KC
NL Rookie of the Year LF Julio Cuevas COL
AL Cy Young Ben Lane KC
NL Cy Young J.J. Tjepkema (4) LAD
AL MVP RF Bobby Nickelberry KC
NL MVP SS Vince Elkins (2) LAD

Pre-Arbitration Extensions & Trades

Wednesday, November 5th , 2042
Executed the contract year option of SP Curt Bogans.
Executed the contract year option of SP Eddie Baquerizo.
Thursday, November 6th , 2042
Traded 29-year old C Mike Murphy to the Milwaukee Brewers, getting 20-year old minor league SS Josh Komnick and 17-year old minor league RHP David Salas in return.
Traded 27-year old LHP B.J. Heaton, 25-year old SS Bob Morrison, and 18-year old minor league SS Daniel Campos to the Philadelphia Phillies, getting 23-year old minor league RHP Edgar Gallegos and 21-year old minor league LHP Jeremy Stockhoff in return.
Sunday, November 9th , 2042
Signed 1B Bob Crimi to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $6,500,000.
Signed RP Art Putney to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $2,900,000.
Signed CF Jamie Edwards to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $4,700,000.
Signed RP Moon-soo Im to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,950,000.
Signed RP Nate Avis to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $3,000,000.
Tuesday, November 11th , 2042
Signed SP Ethan Chafin to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $48,000,000.
Wednesday, November 12th , 2042
Traded 26-year old RHP Eric Jones and 23-year old minor league CF Luis Aguilera to the Los Angeles Dodgers, getting 18-year old minor league 2B David Archuleta, 19-year old minor league RHP Jonathan Cecenas, and $20,000,000 in cash in return.
Sunday, November 16th , 2042
Signed CF Chase Standberry to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,550,000.
Tuesday, November 18th , 2042
Signed RP Tsuguo Abe to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $5,300,000.
Sunday, November 23rd , 2042
Signed RP Bernalldino Caneas to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $2,100,000.
Saturday, November 29th , 2042
Placed CF Chris Kern on the secondary (42-man) roster.

As predicted it was the end of the road for several Royals between the end of the season and arbitration. The first trade saw C Mike Murphy head to the Brewers for two prospects who have age on their side to development into legitimate MBL players.

The same day B.J. Heaton was traded to the Phillies. The trade was originally a one for one but the Royals saw the chance to pick up an intriguing RP Jeremy Stockoff, the cost of which was Bob Morrison and a piece of organisational depth.

The final trade was letting RP Eric Jones leave as his velocity had dropped by almost 5 MPH over the last season; the Royals getting some extra cash with a couple of prospect lottery tickets in return for adding organisational depth piece Aguilera to the deal.

The most surprising thing was that there were not more trades but with the bump in budget for 2043 the Royals were happy to pick up contracts and solve the roster crunch in December.

Arbitration & Qualifying Offers

Wednesday, November 26th , 2042
RP Asher Zigay was not offered arbitration, becomes a free agent.
LF Billy Mumaugh rejected the qualifying offer
Friday, November 28th , 2042
LF Billy Mumaugh becomes a free-agent.

The Royals were sad that Billy Mumaugh didn’t accept the QO; he will enter free agency looking for a four year, $20m contract as a 35-year old which is too rich for the Royals.

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:

Frank Castorena, 16 year-old 3B out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Frank Castorena hails from Palmar de Ocoa, Dominican Republic. He has elite raw power and can send a fastball a mile. His eye grades out as plus. He could be an above average contact hitter here with the potential to be a .270 hitter one day. Castorena has the dynamic tools needed to make an impact in the majors.

Jorge Morales, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Jorge Morales is a long, lean athletic center fielder who was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has a quick bat that handles most fastballs, but off-speed stuff can challenge him. He has quick hands and the potential to hit for above average power. He has shown promising pitch recognition skills. Morales projects to be an above average big league center fielder.

It was a great practice and none of the invitees disappointed in showcasing their talent.

And other players that I was able to further assess were:
Edgar Pacheco, 17 year-old RF out of Venezuela
Luis Adame, 16 year-old RF out of Mexico
Juan Varela, 16 year-old 2B out of Dominican Republic
Phillam Bagalso, 16 year-old 1B out of Philippines
Cornélio Canilliac, 16 year-old RF out of Brazil
Jorge Carrillo, 16 year-old 1B out of Venezuela
Luis Castro, 16 year-old RHP out of Dominican Republic
Ismael Uribe, 16 year-old 1B out of Venezuela

Around the League

Retirements

Wednesday, November 5th , 2042
Atlanta Braves: SP Brad LaPointe retired from professional baseball.
Minnesota Twins: 2B Steve Carter retired from professional baseball.
San Diego Padres: SS Tim Storer retired from professional baseball.
San Diego Padres: SS Sincere Latin retired from professional baseball.

Los Angeles Dodgers: C Omar Serna retired from professional baseball.
Washington Nationals: LF Evan Carter retired from professional baseball.
Pittsburgh Pirates: LF AJ Gracia retired from professional baseball.
Chicago Cubs: 1B Andres Mendoza retired from professional baseball.
Milwaukee Brewers: 1B Tim Doggett retired from professional baseball.
Texas Rangers: RP Jim Etienne retired from professional baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals: SP Raheem Whitthorne retired from professional baseball.
Texas Rangers: LF Dave Beirne retired from professional baseball.
Chicago White Sox: CL Amari Blakes retired from professional baseball.
San Francisco Giants: RP Ajani Okafor retired from professional baseball.
Seattle Mariners: RP Juan Tapia retired from professional baseball.
San Antonio Avalanche: 1B Gavin Grahovac retired from professional baseball.
Texas Rangers: SP Chris Mueller retired from professional baseball.

Baltimore Orioles: Retired #2 in honor of Gunnar Henderson.

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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:

Edgar Pacheco, 17 year-old RF out of Venezuela
Edgar Pacheco is a long, lean athletic right fielder who was born in Valera, Venezuela. He's a towering beast at the plate and has potential to be an elite power hitter. He has a good swing. He won't likely set records, but could hit for a .290 batting average. He provides above average defensive value. Pacheco profiles as a potential elite right fielder on a contending team.

Luis Adame, 16 year-old RF out of Mexico
Luis Adame is a long, lean athletic right fielder who was born in Tijuana, Mexico. He projects to be an elite hitter. He generates excellent raw power with his bat speed. He is a very sure-handed right fielder. Scouts project Adame to fill a key role for a contending team in the big leagues.

It was a great practice and none of the invitees disappointed in showcasing their talent.

And other players that I was able to further assess were:
Frank Castorena, 16 year-old 3B out of Dominican Republic
Jorge Morales, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Ismael Uribe, 16 year-old 1B out of Venezuela
Phillam Bagalso, 16 year-old 1B out of Philippines
Cornélio Canilliac, 16 year-old RF out of Brazil
Jorge Carrillo, 16 year-old 1B out of Venezuela
Luis Castro, 16 year-old RHP out of Dominican Republic
Juan Varela, 16 year-old 2B out of Dominican Republic

Development Lab

Gilberto Matos has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to improve his defense at first base.

Estanislau Covete has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to improve his defense at third base.

Edgar Mir has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to improve his defense at second base.

Jamie Edwards has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to improve his defense at center field.

• No noticeable changes.

Andres Raygoza has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working hard with staff to improve his defense at second base.

• Infield arm rating improves by 5
• Infield range rating improves by 5
• Infield error rating improves by <5
• Turn doubleplay rating improves by 5

Zach Herr has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working hard with staff to improve his defense at catcher.
• Catcher arm rating improves by <5
• Catcher ability rating improves by 5
• Catcher framing rating improves by <5

Chris Albright has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working hard with staff to improve his defense at center field.

• Outfield arm rating improves by 5
• Outfield range rating improves by 5
• Outfield error rating improves by 5

Rule 5 Draft Trades & 42-man Changes

Ahead of the annual Rule 5 draft, the Royals make multiple trades to either free up 42-man spaces, or move on Rule 5 eligible players without a route to the Majors.

The Royals had to make a decision at C, with Luis Rosario and Mike Woods both Rule 5 eligible and so needing protection or trading. Rosario offered the highest upside with some power potentially still to develop but Woods was the more rounded player and so the Royals moved on from the 2037 International Amateur, receiving an interesting potential CF in return along with some additional cash.

Erik Dexter was too far down the list of potential SS in the system and so the Royals got what they could in return – a defensively strong C, who is a long way from the Major Leagues.

In conversations about Rosario, the second best trade was with the Avalanche for elite RP Doug Campos. When looking to move on from two players with potential but no route to Kansas City, the Royals gave up 2B DeMario Soto and RHP Chris Richer in exchange for San Antonio retaining 50% of Campos’ salary.

Having expected to move on from either Bob Morrison or Tony Thompson, the Royals will have neither on their roster in 2043 as they package Thompson with OF Andres Madrigal, who has been overtaken in the order by younger players, along with some cash, for highly-rated 93rd prospect Andres Morales and a further along SP in Danny Hughes.

The final trade was a chance to move off a RP in Flossy Giordano, with below average Home Run Suppression for another RP, Julio Pesina, with lower stuff but better movement.

Those moves opened up five 42-man roster spots which the Royals used predominantly on bats.

On Draft Day, the Royals still lost four players with the two high profile being 2038 International Amateur class star SS Jorge Velasco and 2038 1st Round pick 2B Steve Bakke. Neither player looked like they were developing into more than supplemental stars and the Royals may well receive them back before the season is done.

Trades

Tuesday, December 2nd , 2042
Traded 33-year old minor league LF Dan Wente to the Toronto Blue Jays, getting 19-year old minor league LHP Jon Lewis in return.
Tuesday, December 9th , 2042
Traded 22-year old minor league C Luis Rosario to the Texas Rangers, getting 20-year old minor league CF Ernesto Pimentel and $5,000,000 in cash in return.
Traded 24-year old minor league SS Erik Dexter to the Toronto Blue Jays, getting 18-year old minor league C Juan Llanas in return.
Wednesday, December 10th , 2042
Traded 21-year old minor league 2B DeMario Soto and 25-year old minor league RHP Chris Richter to the San Antonio Avalanche, getting 27-year old RHP Doug Campos (retaining 50%) in return.
Placed RP Doug Campos on the active roster.
Traded 26-year old SS Tony Thompson, 23-year old LF Andres Madrigal, and $5,220,000 in cash to the Los Angeles Angels, getting 19-year old minor league 2B Andres Morales and 23-year old minor league RHP Danny Hughes in return.
Monday, December 15th , 2042
Traded 24-year old minor league RHP Flossy Giordano to the Chicago White Sox, getting 25-year old LHP Julio Pesina in return.
Placed RP Julio Pesina on the active roster.

42-man Roster Additions

Tuesday, December 9th , 2042
Placed SS Chris Ambrose on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed C Mike Woods on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Wednesday, December 10th , 2042
Placed CF Chris Morrow on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed CF Kevin McDaniel on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RP C.J. Frazee on the secondary (42-man) roster.

Rule 5 Draft Transactions

Wednesday, December 24th , 2042
Lost SS Jorge Velasco in the Rule 5 Draft to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Lost 2B Steve Bakke in the Rule 5 Draft to the Baltimore Orioles.
Lost SP Nelson Gallegos in the Rule 5 Draft to the San Diego Padres.
Lost SP Jesus Soto in the Rule 5 Draft to the San Francisco Giants.

Free Agent Signings

Saturday, December 13th , 2042
Signed free agent SS Kazunori Sakamoto to a minor league contract with a major league option.
Sunday, December 14th , 2042
Promoted SS Kazunori Sakamoto from Rookie League Kansas City (ACL) to Triple A Omaha.
Wednesday, December 24th , 2042
Philadelphia Phillies: Signed free agent LF Billy Mumaugh to a 3-year contract worth a total of $65,400,000.





Mumaugh’s third year is a vesting option which keeps the contract below $50m, and so the Royals only get a 2nd round supplemental pick for 2043.

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