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:
Ramiro Aguirre, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Ramiro Aguirre hails from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has the potential to be a .310 hitter. He generates excellent raw power with his bat speed. He should have a patient approach at the plate and will take a walk if he doesn't get a pitch he likes. Scouts project Aguirre to fill a key role for a contending team in the big leagues.
Marty Birley, 16 year-old SS out of Australia
Lean and athletic, Marty Birley hails from Canberra, Australia. He has a lot of talent, and grades out as a plus contact hitter. The power is more a projection right now, but he has above average power potential. As a shortstop he provides adequate defense. Birley is an above average, everyday big league player.
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:
Ignacio Dibene, 16 year-old CF out of Venezuela
Luis Flores, 16 year-old 2B out of Dominican Republic
Pamphile Molina, 16 year-old RHP out of Venezuela
Juan Aguayo, 16 year-old RHP out of Venezuela
Cooper Gallard, 16 year-old CF out of Australia
Armanno Muraro, 16 year-old SS out of Colombia
Jesus Celedon, 16 year-old RHP out of Mexico
Juan Soriano, 17 year-old 3B 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.
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.
Chris Albright has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to improve his defense at right field.
No noticeable changes.
Estanislau Covete 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 third 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
Chris Kern 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
Chris Morrow 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
It was a year of change for the Royals with 13 new names on the 42-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft.
To make room for these additions, the Royals made two trades before the draft and subsequently made one post-draft trade to balance out the roster.
The first trade was the expected departure of early trade acquisition Ed Cunningham. The Royals outfield is simply too crowded and he was packaged with 2042 14th round pick, organisational depth pitcher Jonathan Cone in exchange for a reliever slightly ahead of Cone and a potential starter with a profile not explored by Stewart before, low stuff with high movement and control.
The second trade was surely the blockbuster as the Royals moved on from two elite pitchers in RP Moon-soo Im and SP Dan Carrig, as well as high prospect RP Josh Saas and organisational piece SP Mike Ramos. The return was the 85th prospect in baseball, OF Juan Guerrero, who mixes plus corner defence with a plus eye and contact, with above average power potential and a young starter with potential plus stuff, above average control and home run suppression in Benton Geldart. This was, however, a bit of a salary dump as Carrigs loss of velocity along with a downtick in movement over the last 6 months had alarm bells ringing with 6 years left on the control.
Carrig leaves after four successful years in Kansas City, 666 Ks including a league (and Royals record) 262 in 2041.
The final trade, post Rule 5 Draft, saw the two likely odd men out of the batting corps depart after different careers. Jamie Edwards has had 5 solid years with the Royals, including his outlier 2042 where he batted over 1.000 OPS on his way to 4.7 WAR. He worked on his defense enough to be a strong CF back up but entering final year of arbitration this was a chance for the Royals to get a return for him. Andres Raygoza has a great contact, gap power profile that he has never managed to convert into MLB production and with several strong prospects the Royals choose to move on. The return is a quantity haul, maybe with the loss of quality. The centrepiece of the return is the 100 ranked prospect Tim Bixler, a potential 6-pitch SP with plus control to go with above average stuff and movement. The other three acquisitions all have interesting ceilings although are likely back ups, or just arms, rather than stars.
The Rule 5 Draft saw the Royals lose one player, 2038 International Amateur Class SP Edgar Valles. He has the ability to pitch at the back of the rotation but that didnt make him special in the Royals pitching farm and the Royals wish him well with the Angels.
Trades
Thursday, December 24th , 2043
Traded 24-year old LF Ed Cunningham and 20-year old minor league RHP Jonathan Cone to the Seattle Mariners, getting 17-year old minor league RHP Juan Oviedo and 20-year old minor league RHP Eric Burden in return.
Traded 26-year old RHP Moon-soo Im (retaining 90%), 27-year old LHP Dan Carrig, 21-year old minor league RHP Josh Saas, 24-year old minor league LHP Mike Ramos, and $13,000,000 in cash league LF Juan Guerrero in return.
Friday, December 25th , 2043
Traded 30-year old CF Jamie Edwards (retaining 100%), 25-year old 1B Andres Raygoza (retaining 100%), and $5,000,000 in cash to the Washington Nationals, getting 22-year old minor league RHP Tim Bixler, 20-year old minor league 3B Esteban Aguirre, 21-year old minor league RHP Beau Bennett, and 21-year old minor league RHP Yoichiro Curtsinger in return.
42-man Roster Additions
Friday, December 11th , 2043
Placed CL Naldo Lizcano on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed SS Arturo Oramas on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RP Jeremy Stockhoff on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RP Ernesto Soriano on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed 3B Luis Aguilar on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RP Bob Capozziello on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Sunday, December 13th , 2043
RP C.J. Frazee was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
2B Nelson Maldonado was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
Placed RP Zyhir Scollan on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed CF Chris Goldberg on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed C Greg Cloward on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Thursday, December 17th , 2043
RP Darryel Sabatino was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
Thursday, December 24th , 2043
Placed RP Davon Lamptey on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RP Edgar Gallegos on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RP Juan Armas on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RF Ernesto Pimentel on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Rule 5 Draft Transactions
Thursday, December 24th , 2043
Lost SP Edgar Valles in the Rule 5 Draft to the Los Angeles Angels.
Free Agent Signings
Fans were crushed when Royals legend Eddie Baquerizo signed with the Mets in a multi year deal that took his contract over $50m and therefore netted the Royals a supplementary 1st round pick in the 2044 draft.
Friday, December 18th , 2043
New York Mets: Signed free agent SP Eddie Baquerizo to a 4-year contract worth a total of $73,600,000.
The biggest acquisition of the month came when Luis Danys Rhodes agreed to a three-year $30m contract although only the first year is guaranteed. The 2032 8th round pick is a three time All Star who finished last season in Houston. He has plus plus stuff to go with plus movement and control and will be pencilled in for a stopper role in a Royals bullpen that is looking strong at the top end.
Saturday, December 26th , 2043
Signed free agent RP Luis Danys Rhodes to a 3-year contract worth a total of $30,000,000.
Placed RP Luis Danys Rhodes on the active roster.