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:
Arturo Puga, 16 year-old RHP out of Mexico
Lean and athletic, Arturo Puga hails from Mexico City, Mexico. He pairs an off the charts changeup with an off the charts curveball. His stuff should play well above average once he's finished developing. And he has great command of his pitches that he'll rarely give up a long-ball. Puga should rank among the best starting pitcher prospects in any organization.
Luis Barrera, 17 year-old 1B out of Dominican Republic
Luis Barrera is a big 6-foot-4, 205-pound first baseman from Pedro Brand, Dominican Republic. He shows tremendous raw power. He has above average contact potential. He can be as good with the bat as anyone out there at his level. He projects to be a patient hitter with good discipline. Barrera has a considerable ceiling and can be a first division starter in the majors.
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:
Jorge Merlos, 16 year-old SS out of Dominican Republic
Jorge Minaya, 17 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Alfredo Nava, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
David Sandoval, 16 year-old CF out of Dominican Republic
Domingo Arredondo, 16 year-old LHP out of Dominican Republic
Anbrosio Beato, 16 year-old 3B out of Venezuela
Luis Romero, 16 year-old SS out of Venezuela
Julio Sosa, 16 year-old 1B out of Dominican Republic
Rule 5 Draft Trades & 42-man Changes
There were nine new faces on the 42-man roster heading in the Rule 5 Draft as the Royals turned off the bottom of their Major League programme very effectively.
This came with four multi-player trades including a mix of Rule 5 Eligible players and 42-man roster players who had been usurped.
First in that second list was Dave Forester, the 2049 back up catcher. Forester’s bat had struggled in the back up role and, with several similarly profiled catchers in the Minor Leagues, the Royals chose to move on. Packaging him with AAAA MiL FA 30-year old RHP Rodolfo Arroyo, 2045 15th Round 23-year old minor league RHP Mike Rapp, and 2044 International Amateur 22-year old 1B Luis Flores, enabled the Royals to acquire the 88th ranked prospect in baseball, 2B Ignacio Pavon, who profiles potential plus contact and power to go with plus speed.
OF Ken Crome was the second casualty of the Royals logjam as, despite a better than league average career to date, Stewart couldn’t see a route to regular playing time. He joins the Mariners, along with 2049 Trade Acquisition 23-year old RH SP Ken Logan, 2045 6th Round 25-year old RH RP Zion Merkerson, and 2045 Trade Acquisition 23-year old LF Jorge Morales. In return, the Royals acquire two young prospects with power and contact upside in 20-year old 2B Mike Cerda and 19-year old LF Brad Zisman.
The final two deals saw Rule 5 eligible players traded for, slightly worse but younger prospects who the Royals hope their coaching staff will improve in the coming years.
Despite these clear out, the Royals still lost three players in the Rule 5 Draft as 2043 Scouting Discovery LF Allvaro Pisani, 2048 Trade Acquisition LF Sam Heath and 2042 15th Round C Joey Haigh were all taken. Haigh had the potential to provide defensive depth at C in 2050 but none of the three had expectations with the Royals in 2050 or beyond and can be replaced.
Trades
Monday, December 13th , 2049
Traded 30-year old minor league RHP Rodolfo Arroyo, 26-year old C Dave Forester, 23-year old minor league RHP Mike Rapp, and 22-year old 1B Luis Flores to the Atlanta Braves, getting 20-year old minor league 2B Ignacio Pavon in return.
Traded 25-year old LF Ken Crome, 23-year old minor league RHP Ken Logan, 25-year old minor league RHP Zion Merkerson, and 23-year old minor league LF Jorge Morales to the Seattle Mariners, getting 20-year old minor league 2B Mike Cerda and 19-year old minor league LF Brad Zisman in return.
Thursday, December 23rd , 2049
Traded 23-year old minor league RHP Eddy Martin and 20-year old minor league SS Maxwell Norlander to the New York Mets, getting 18-year old minor league SS Eloy Villarreal and 24-year old minor league LHP David Parrilla in return.
Friday, December 24th , 2049
Traded 25-year old minor league DH Franyerber Baesman to the Cleveland Guardians, getting 20-year old minor league SS Andres Delgado in return.
42-man Roster Additions
Monday, December 13th , 2049
Placed C Arturo Ruano on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed 1B Juan Soriano on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed CF Rodolfo Lara on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed CF David Rojo on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed LF Esmarly Roseberry on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed SP Danny Mueller on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed SP Dusty Bartosik on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed RP Eric Bustamante on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Tuesday, December 14th , 2049
Placed 1B Jorge Rico on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Rule 5 Draft Transactions
Friday, December 24th , 2049
Lost LF Allvaro Pisani in the Rule 5 Draft to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Lost LF Sam Heath in the Rule 5 Draft to the Washington Nationals.
Lost C Joey Haigh in the Rule 5 Draft to the San Francisco Giants.
Around the League
Thursday, December 23rd , 2049
New York Yankees: Signed free agent 1B Luis Aceves to a 4-year contract worth a total of $92,800,000.
