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The Kansas City Royals and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. agreed Monday to the longest contract in franchise history, an 11-year pact that includes three years of team options that could keep the rising star with the ballclub through the 2037 season.
The Kansas City Royals lost 104 games in 2018 and 103 more in 2019. They lost 97 games in 2022 and 106 last year.
Their last winning season came in 2015, when they won the World Series to cap their magical campaign. Things have been bad for a while on the other side of the state.
But now they have superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. leading the charge and catcher Salvador Perez continuing to build his case for the Hall of Fame. Both players are headed to the All-Star Game, along with outstanding starting pitchers Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro was thrilled to salute those four for their All-Star selection during a team meeting Sunday.
“It was really cool,” Quatraro told reporters. “Truthfully, I get pretty emotional doing that. They’re not taking it for granted, but I also don’t take that opportunity to stand in front of that team and be able to present that for granted. It’s really special.”
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Kansas City’s rebuilt starting rotation also features yesteryear Cardinals hurler Michael Wacha, who has been in shutdown mode in his last eight starts.
The Royals roared to a 34-19 start and moved right into the thick of the playoff race. Fans poured back into Kauffman Stadium while franchise owner John Sherman continued his push for a new ballpark – perhaps on the Kansas side of the border, after the franchise failed to muster public support for a move downtown.
Alas, our friends from Missouri’s West Coast suffered a 6-9 downturn midway through the season. So there is more work to do.
Over at FanGraphs, Jake Mailhot noted Kansas City’s slippage:
The Royals lost both of their series last week and are now a game and a half back in the AL Wild Card race. They’ve got a huge series in Boston this weekend that could shape the course of the rest of their season. They’ve indicated they’re willing to buy at the deadline to help bolster their surprising run this year, but they’ve got plenty of players who would be enticing for other teams should they want to improve their long-term outlook. This final week before the All-Star break could push them one way or the other.
The Royals come into Busch Stadium on the heels of their refreshing 10-1 victory at Colorado Sunday. But they could use more offense, so they are one of the teams to watch ahead of the trade deadline.
Writing for ESPN, Jeff Passan noted that the Royals front office must feel urgency to make something of this long-awaited breakout.
No longer do the Royals hold one of the six AL playoff spots, and after at one point being 15 games over .500, they sport a 49-43 record and trail Boston by 1½ games for the final AL wild-card slot. The question for (GM J.J.) Picollo, then, is not whether the Royals are looking for upgrades -- they are -- but just how much talent they're willing to cede in an effort to make this postseason.
Kansas City's aggressiveness in the winter has paid off handsomely. Snapping up All-Star Seth Lugo on a three-year, $45 million deal was one of the coups of the offseason. Michael Wacha has been very good, too. The stability of Kansas City's rotation has offset a bullpen with the 25th-ranked ERA and an offense held back by an outfield group whose collective OPS, over 1,017 plate appearances, is .624, better than only the White Sox's.
Because the Royals operate on a relatively low budget, the balance between free agents and homegrown players dictates that they can't afford to deplete prospect capital via trades, which limits their options. A mediocre farm system doesn't help matters. Kansas City last made the postseason when it won the World Series in 2015, and Picollo reaching October in his second full season as GM would be a huge win.
The Royals aren't going to be in the (Garrett) Crochet or (Luis) Robert sweepstakes. They don't need to be. There are enough relievers available for Kansas City to elevate its leverage options. And seeing as they've booked nearly 1,000 plate appearances of negative production from outfielders, just about anything is an upgrade from what they have.
The Cardinals will have a glut of outfielders if Tommy Edman is able to resume his career, so maybe these teams should talk.
TALKIN’ BASEBALL
Here is what folks have been writing about Our National Pastime:
Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic: “(Cardinals president of baseball operations John) Mozeliak downplayed the urgency to add another starter, citing, in part, the presences of Gordon Graceffo and Michael McGreevy at Triple A . . . OK, but Mozeliak should have flexibility to maneuver. (Ivan) Herrera could be expendable with the emergence of Pedro Pages. Ditto for Dylan Carlson with the returns of (Lars) Nootbaar and Edman. And other combinations of players could be offered as well. The Cardinals entered Sunday ranked 24th in runs per game. They had played 29 one-run games, tied for second in the majors behind the Cubs’ 33. And their offensive problems threaten to unravel their pitching. Breaking more games open would help preserve the bullpen. So could the addition of another starter.”
R.J. Anderson, CBSSports.com: “It's easy to forget that Chicago's decision to put Crochet in their rotation this spring was met with skepticism; not because he lacked talent, but because he lacked precedent. He came into the year having thrown just 73 big-league innings since being drafted in 2020 because of various injuries. Though he's more than doubled that figure during the interim period, the question remains: how much can you rely on him the rest of the way -- this season, and from now until his winter 2026 date with free agency? No one can say for sure, leading to a wider than normal range of potential outcomes and returns. There's no reason to doubt a healthy Crochet's ability; he's introduced a cutter that works as a bridge pitch between his fastball and slider, giving him the kind of interplay that has transformed him into an above-average starter. All the stars in the sky will eventually burn out; Crochet will too. But first, if the heavens allow, the probable best starter moved this deadline could help determine who wins a pennant this October.”
Bob Nightengale, USA Today: “GMs are skeptical whether any team will meet their high price-tag for oft-injured center fielder Luis Robert Jr., of the White Sox, but believe the market will be robust for starter Erick Fedde (6-3, 3.13 ERA). The Cubs are telling teams they still remain undecided whether they will be sellers at the trade deadline, but are preparing for a potential sale, with Bellinger, Jameson Taillon and Nico Hoerner expected to draw interest. It’s hard to believe how things went south on the Northside after their 17-9 start. Miami Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo is on the injured list until at least Aug. 18 with a lumbar stress reaction (back), but it hasn’t stopped teams from inquiring about his availability, believing he’d still make an impact in the pennant stretch and postseason.”
Ben Verlander, FoxSports.com: “The Red Sox are making it hard to justify not buying at the trade deadline. They've been one of baseball's best teams since the start of June, winning 16 of their past 22 and taking two of three from the Yankees in The Bronx over the weekend. They snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat Friday before Rafael Devers hit two more home runs in a 3-0 win Sunday. Devers is hitting .316 with a 1.079 OPS and 11 homers in his past 30 games, helping him get an All-Star nod alongside teammates Tanner Houck and Jarren Duran.”
MEGAPHONE
“Obviously, I pay attention to it. I see it. I hear it all the time. But I’ve still got to perform. A wise person told me, ‘Every time you take the mound, you’re playing for every team in the league. That’s just the fact of the matter. You never know what can happen in this business. What I try and focus on is playing for my teammates and playing the game hard.”
White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet, on being a popular trade target.