The Royals lost their fifth game last night for the fifth straight game, beating the Rays 4-0. They are now 38-43, fourth in the AL Central behind the Twins Club, which has also been working hard for the past few weeks. After playing baseball in April and May, the Royals were 7-15 in June, largely due to the ongoing effort to run the run. They were turned away in a row and won two consecutive victories.
Like most clubs in the league, it seems like the royals won’t be playing the punt this season soon. General Manager JJ Picollo told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers earlier this week that as long as the team is in the “amazing distance” of the playoffs – Kansas City can now return to four games compared to wild card berths – meaningless for panic and thinking the season is over. “…[T]This is a lot of games left this season. ” Picolo said.
If anything, the Royals’ head of baseball action would give a tone of someone who wants to join the club, forbidding mass collapse. Picollo used phrases like “trying to build something really positive last year” and mentioned the importance of repeating playoff appearances. MLBTR readers are encouraged to view Rogers’ entire interview as it contains several quotes from Royals’ GM, his mentality and team’s situation and deadlines begin to appear on the horizon. It is worth noting that Picollo hinted that if he was to acquire a player with years of club control (presumably a resilient Royal Crime Offense) he might be more willing to be separated from talent:
“If you have many years of control, some people may not want to trade, but prefer to do so, because you have had a Major League Baseball player for years,” Picollo said. GM went on to add that owner John Sherman has committed to supporting any direction Picollo suggested.
If you want to add royals, the middle of the lineup will be a clear starting point. Kansas City’s 263 runs ranked last in Major League Baseball this season. Royals batsmen ranked 26th on Thursday with a 0.244 average hit rate with a 0.298 0.298 hit rate and 26th on 0.366 hit rate with a 0.298 0.298 0.298. Only the Pirates (55) have 56 home runs from Kansas City. Major League Home Run Leader Cal Raleigh Royals-wide home run output equals 57%.
Entering Thursday, according to WRC+ metrics, the Royals have only three league average or better batsmen (not including Luke Maile and his 10 sets of appearances). Vinnie PasquantinoAverage of .266/.325/.405 hit line (100 wrc+) after weighting at Royal Home Park. Bobby Witt Jr. Excellent performance, but not as good as last year’s MVP caliber season, reaching .282/.338/.484 (121 WRC+). Michael GarciaMeanwhile, the .310/.369/.484 diagonal line broke out, 37% better than the average.
Not only are the only three batsmen producing an average of or higher speeds—not even close to others. Jonathan India Being acquired throughout the winter, hopefully providing some necessary basic help at the top of the lineup. His batting .236/.313/.330 (80 WRC+). El Salvador Perez It has been the rock at the center of the Kauffman Stadium lineup for more than a decade, but if the 35-year-old .232/.273/.387 series (77 wrc+), the age and Ironman workload behind the plate may catch up with him. Top prospects Jac Caglianone Replaced the release plate with his first 75 set appearance and has been working hard to reach .186/.240/.314 output Hunter Renfroe. Outfielder Drew Waters and Kyle Isbel Received regular playing time but failed to hit both times.
From second basemen (.215/.295/.293, 29th), left fielder (.225/.295/.314, 27th) and designated batsmen (.205/.269/.329/.329, 27th, 27th), the Royals rank the lowest four points in the league among all major league teams. This leaves plenty of room to explore the upgrade, especially since Garcia can find controllable solutions at the hot corner in Kansas City, theoretically sliding from third base to second base. Garcia is primarily a third baseman in his career, but he has played in just 500 innings in the second base, including the 339 season in Kansas City in the past three major league seasons.
Royals opened this season, about 17mm from the franchise record $143mm payroll. Admittedly, the high water level was established under the late David Glass, who sold the team to Sherman in November 2019. However, Picollo’s comment said Sherman promised to be “open to anything I bring to me” in the trade deadline world. There are certainly limitations – doubtful Kansas City will get around 250mm Rafael DeversFor example, contracts – but adding mid-range contracts seems to be feasible.
This is especially true if it extends beyond this season, as royals only have 50mm of margin in next year’s books. They filed arbitration that was owed to Pasquantino Kris Bubic,,,,, Daniel Lynch IV and Lucas Erceg (among others).
