Clubhouse confusion!
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David Lesky writes about how Royals runners fare under Statcast’s new baserunning metric.
Back to overall baserunning runs, Gracia was third in baseball with eight while Witt was 13th with five and Blanco was 18th with five. I assume there’s some rounding there and there’s a rhyme and reason for the order fo the handful of tied players. Isbel proved to be very good on the bases as well with three runs in this metric and Melendez was surprisingly not as bad as I’d have guessed given the base stealing numbers. He was at -1, which is below average, but given that the base stealing brings him down, he was pretty solid when he wasn’t trying to rip a bag. Garrett Hampson also rated well. The metrics, in general, liked everything he did in 2024 other than with the bat.
Eric Treuden at Just Baseball writes how the Royals should get back to their approach that won them a World Series.
Seven of the nine projected position players for the Royals’ 2025 Opening Day lineup hit 14 or more home runs this past year, while six pulled it off on that championship-winning squad.
This side-by-side comparison is to show that the Royals already have an offense in place that’s better than it was 10 years ago. The 2015 club has always been looked back on as a light-hitting one that stole bases and had dominant relief pitching, but they still won it all. Funnily enough, only three players stole 10 or more bases on that team, while four did it for Kansas City this past year.
As currently assembled, the Royals have more power, speed, defense, and starting pitching than they did a decade ago when they got that ring. That really makes you wonder how good the current 26-man roster could be if they manage to shore up that bullpen just a little bit more. With all of the pieces remaining on the free-agent market, the sky feels like the limit if the front office is willing to write the checks.
The Angels sign former Royals catcher Sebastian Rivero.
The Phillies add outfielder Max Kepler on a one-year, $10 million deal.
Washington signs pitcher Michael Soroka to a one-year, $7 million deal.
The Athletics sign a one-year deal with Gio Urshela.
The Mets meet with free agent Roki Sasaki.
The Mariners are reportedly interested in Joshn Naylor.
How is Pete Alonso’s market shaping up?
How good is Seiya Suzuki?
Kiké Hernández says he nearly got suspended for dropping an f-bomb on live TV.
The White Sox have a new name for their ballpark – Rate Field.
Which team still has the most work to do this offseason?
Sammy Sosa appears to admit to PED use and the Cubs welcome him back to the fold.
Netflix signs a deal with FIFA to broadcast the women’s World Cup.
A court victory may make it easier for junior college players to transfer.
James Gunn’s Superman movie has a trailer.
Generative AI still needs to prove its usefulness.
Questlove is developing a documentary on musical performances on Saturday Night Live.
Your song of the day is Queen with It’s Late.