Personnel
Tuesday, November 9th , 2049
Signed Scouting Director Dalfis Ortiz to a 5-year, $1,250,000 per year contract.
R(ACL) Manager Mike Matheson
R(ACL) Pitching Coach Brian McKenna
Awards
For once, some recognition in the write up for Manager Colin Stewart, who wins his 10th Manager of the Year Award, an impressive return for the unheralded appointment from 2026.
The Royals have several major award winners, with Luis Danys Rhodes earning his second Reliever of the Year Award while Mike Gronkiewicz follows Nelson Saiz in winning the Rookie of the Year Award, a unanimous decision for the LF, who also claimed a Platinum Bat. Cason Willard showed a 6-man rotation doesn’t have to hurt individual accolades as he claims the AL Cy Young Award.
While T.J. Jaeger took home the AL MVP, the Royals dominated the vote getting list, with Bobby Nickelberry 3rd, Gronkiewicz 3rd, and Willard 4th.
In the NL, J.J. Tjepkema breaks Roger Clemens record with his 8th Cy Young while Ernesto Buenrostro claims his 4th MVP Award in a row.
AL Great Glove LF Chris Albright BOS
NL Great Glove 3B Mike Schwind CHC | CF Sergio Ruiz ATL
AL Platinum Stick LF
Mike Gronkiewicz KC | CF
Jorge Corujo KC | DH
Bobby Nickelberry (3) KC
NL Platinum Stick DH Juan Minnelli SF
AL Manager of the Year Colin Stewart (10) KC
NL Manager of the Year Timothy Cox ARI
AL Reliever of the Year Luis Danys Rhodes (2) KC
NL Reliever of the Year Josh Saas (3) COL
AL Rookie of the Year LF
Mike Gronkiewicz KC
NL Rookie of the Year 1B Tadayoshi Okumura CHC
AL Cy Young Cason Willard KC
NL Cy Young J.J. Tjepkema (8) LAD
AL MVP T.J. Jaeger MIN
NL MVP CF Ernesto Buenrostro (4) SD
Pre-Arbitration Extensions & Trades
The Royals managed to negotiate a 2-year, $8m AAV, contract with Luis Danys Rhodes, with the second year a TO. A.J. Terry was offered arbitration, as was, somewhat surprisingly, Dusty Glick. That was only possible due to the strong financial position of Kansas City, meaning that a $15.6m advance chance at a long term contract was viable.
All of the expected Arbitration eligible players were offered, and accepted, contracts but there were five major departures from the club.
In a simple one for one exchange the Royals said goodbye to postseason hero Chad Johnston, whose annual cost was too high for a 7th SP role. In return the Royals acquired some MiL organisational depth in pitcher Roogan Acuffe.
There were two more trades on 11 November, both including more prominent members of the Royal franchise.
First up was the end of the road for Arturo Oramas, as the younger players, combined with Oramas’ fragility, meant that moving on from his $22m contract was the most obvious course of action. The Royals wanted to ensure they got a proper return for their star 2B though and starting pitching was the obvious need. SP Braden Montalbano is coming off a season for the Mariners where he led the league in IP, K, and W, and the 28-year old is signed through his age 32 season. The Mariners were willing to talk about a trade and the question quickly became how much of Montalbano’s $110m remaining salary the Mariners would retain. The answer was 85%, which came at the cost of solid RP (and potential SP for the Mariners) Joe Mays, as well as utility IF (now surplus to Royals requirements) 2042 3rd round pick Tonguar Zimmerman. The Royals, therefore, acquire an ace LHP for 4 years at less than $5m per year.
The second deal saw long-time RP Bob Capozziello ending his time with the Royals. With an ever increasing arbitration figure, and longer arms pushing for roles, the Royals cashed in, packaging Capozziello with several prospects (2042 International Amateur 2B Frank Tarazon, 2046 International Amateur 21-year old SS Jorge Arizmendi, and 2042 Trade Acquisition 24-year SS Luis Moreno) in return for the Rockies 1B plus-plus power potential prospect Jorge Rico.
Tuesday, November 9th , 2049
Signed RP Luis Danys Rhodes to a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $16,000,000.
Signed RP C.J. Binkle to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $2,200,000.
Signed SP Benton Geldart to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $4,600,000.
Signed RP Mike Krebs to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,450,000.
Signed RF A.J. Terry to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $3,400,000.
Signed CL Chris Curry to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $3,500,000.
Thursday, November 11th , 2049
Traded 26-year old minor league RHP Chad Johnston to the Milwaukee Brewers, getting 25-year old minor league RHP Roogan Acuffe and $500,000 in cash in return.
Traded 27-year old minor league 2B Arturo Oramas, 27-year old RHP Joe Mays, and 25-year old SS Tonguar Zimmerman to the Seattle Mariners, getting 28-year old LHP Braden Montalbano (retaining 85%) in return.
Traded 24-year old minor league 2B Frank Tarazon, 21-year old minor league SS Jorge Arizmendi, 28-year old RHP Bob Capozziello, and 24-year old minor league SS Luis Moreno to the Colorado Rockies, getting 21-year old minor league 1B Jorge Rico in return.
Monday, November 15th , 2049
Signed SP Dusty Glick to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $15,600,000.
Arbitration & Qualifying Offers
Both Luis Aceves and Cason Willard rejected their Qualifying Offers and will test free agency, with the Royals expecting two supplemental 1st round picks to be coming their way as a result.
Friday, November 26th , 2049
1B Luis Aceves rejected the qualifying offer
SP Cason Willard rejected the qualifying offer
Sunday, November 28th , 2049
1B Luis Aceves becomes a free-agent.
SP Cason Willard becomes a free-agent.
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:
Jorge Minaya, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Jorge Minaya hails from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has plus power potential. He projects to be an above average contact hitter. He has shown promising pitch recognition skills. Minaya has all the skills scouts look for in a center fielder.
Luis Romero, 16 year-old SS out of Venezuela
Lean and athletic, Luis Romero hails from Caracas, Venezuela. He is a plus contact potential. He has plus power potential. At maturity he should have an above average eye. Romero has a high ceiling and projects well on the field and at the plate.
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:
Jorge Merlos, 16 year-old SS out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Jorge Merlos hails from Pedernales, Dominican Republic. He has a significant projection for very high contact. His pure speed grades out as plus. Scouts project Merlos to fill a key role for a contending team in the big leagues.
Alfredo Nava, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Alfredo Nava hails from Santiago, Dominican Republic. He has a quick bat that handles most fastballs, but off-speed stuff can challenge him. Expect a batting average around .270. He is a good slugging prospect who should have above average power. He projects to draw an average number of walks. Nava is a worthwhile development project for a future starting role as a center fielder.
And other players that I was able to further assess were:
Arturo Puga, 16 year-old RHP out of Mexico
David Sandoval, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Anbrosio Beato, 16 year-old 3B out of Venezuela
Julio Sosa, 16 year-old 1B out of Dominican Republic
Luis Barrera, 17 year-old 1B out of Dominican Republic
Domingo Arredondo, 16 year-old LHP out of Dominican Republic
Around the League
Retirements
Friday, November 5th , 2049
San Antonio Avalanche: SP Eddie Baquerizo retired from professional baseball.
Seattle Mariners: 1B Juan Moreno retired from professional baseball.
Milwaukee Brewers: RP Tim Wilson retired from professional baseball.
New York Mets: CF Luis Moreno retired from professional baseball.
Cincinnati Reds: LF Juan Nieves retired from professional baseball.
Washington Nationals: RF Ben Glaze retired from professional baseball.
Texas Rangers: SP Josh King retired from professional baseball.
New York Mets: 3B Johnny Powell retired from professional baseball.
Detroit Tigers: SP Cauy Maring retired from professional baseball.
Miami Marlins: RP Brad Biorn retired from professional baseball.
Houston Astros: SS Daniel Leos retired from professional baseball.
San Antonio Avalanche: RF Joe Upmeyer retired from professional baseball.
1B Jorge Zabala retired from professional baseball.
SS Juan Jaramillo retired from professional baseball.
Milwaukee Brewers: RF Jeremy Haskell (AA Biloxi) retired from professional baseball.
RP David Ojeda retired from professional baseball.
Los Angeles Angels: SP Sam Hamer retired from professional baseball.
2B Eurico Aguilera retired from professional baseball.
Atlanta Braves: SP Johnny Monahan retired from professional baseball.
SP Jamie Holmes retired from professional baseball.
SP Josh Carpenter retired from professional baseball.
SP Steve Mathews retired from professional baseball.
Philadelphia Phillies: CF Albert Barela (AA Reading) retired from professional baseball.
RF Jorge Mata retired from professional baseball.
SP Robbie Austin retired from professional baseball.
LF Colt Boyer retired from professional baseball.
Chicago Cubs: SP Sam Maldonado (AAA Iowa) retired from professional baseball.
SP Al Kramer retired from professional baseball.
1B Luis Alcantara retired from professional baseball.
SP Danny Tallerico retired from professional baseball.
SP Ernesto Figueroa retired from professional baseball.
RP Mike Long retired from professional baseball.
CF Pete McVeigh retired from professional baseball.
SP Mike Gorham retired from professional baseball.
SP Jake Warren retired from professional baseball.
RP Vygandas Giaquinto retired from professional baseball.
SS Ian McCaster retired from professional baseball.
SP Gredan DeGennaro retired from professional baseball.
LF Chris Sandoval retired from professional baseball.
RP Jamie Lieggi retired from professional baseball.
RP Joey Georg retired from professional baseball.
SP Doug Ficken retired from professional baseball.
RP Sergio Romero retired from professional baseball.
RP Rodolfo Coca retired from professional baseball.
RP Ben Schmidt retired from professional baseball.
CF David Salinas retired from professional baseball.
SP Phil Musser retired from professional baseball.
SP Beau Arnold retired from professional baseball.
SP Hesston Phoenix retired from professional baseball.
RP Luis Gallegos retired from professional baseball.
SP Jon Luke retired from professional baseball.
Atlanta Braves: RP Rodolfo Quintana (AA Mississippi) retired from professional baseball.
RP Alejandro Machado retired from professional baseball.
3B Levi Moritz retired from professional baseball.
Los Angeles Angels: LF Luis Avaloz (R Los Angeles A (ACL)) retired from professional baseball.
C Lupe Maduena retired from professional baseball.
RP Tokuei Okimura retired from professional baseball.
Cincinnati Reds: Retired #47 in honor of Juan Nieves.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Retired #10 in honor of Ben Glaze.