Take off! Merrifield shipped to Toronto at the deadline

Whit Merrifield and Cam Gallagher are on the move and bring an interesting return. Plus, thoughts on the passing of Vin Scully.

Trades generate different reactions. Sometimes you’re happy that your team unloaded a particular player. Or maybe you’re pleased with the return. I would imagine that’s Padre fans today. Other times, you can be angry, upset that your club dealt away a favorite or just unhappy with the return when your valuation differed from those in the game.

Rarely do trades elicit laughter on a pure comedic level. Yet that was my reaction upon hearing Whit Merrifield was traded at the deadline to Toronto. The city he could not play in last month because he was prohibited from entering Canada.

Somehow I doubt Merrifield is appreciating what is a delicious plot twist. He should.

As the deadline inched closer, I was fearful the Royals wouldn’t make a trade. They issued a starting lineup for Tuesday’s game in Chicago about an hour before the deadline, with Merrifield in the middle of the order. Maybe that should’ve been a clue. (It’s fun to go back in retrospect to see if you can figure out the Royals’ thinking on some of their trades.) Merrifield relinquished his hold on the leadoff spot back in April when he got off to a brutal start. He regained it of late, although twice in the series against Tampa he was dropped to sixth. Still, we know the Royals don’t like to rethink a lineup so close to first pitch. Indeed, Nick Pratto slotted right into that sixth spot on Tuesday once Merrifield departed.

After Merrifield made it clear what he thought about the Royals, the front office and his teammates, this was a move the Royals absolutely had to make. A little refresher for you. This was Merrifield talking to reporters after the game on July 13 when it was revealed he would not be making the trip to Canada with his team.

“It’s what, based on the experiences and conversations and what I’ve seen, this is the conclusion I’ve come to. Right or wrong. I didn’t do it on a whim. It’s been a long thought process because again, I understand what Canada has in place right now. That’s the only reason I would think about getting it at this point. To go to Canada. That might change down the road. If something happens, and I happen to get on a team that has a chance to go play in Canada in the postseason, maybe that changes. But, as we sit here right now, I’m comfortable with my decision.”

Yep, he pretty much disrespected everyone at One Royal Way with those comments. You can’t do represent like that and stay. Not without further fracturing what was already a broken clubhouse and making the front office look even worse than normal. It was a challenge. Practically a dare to move him. The comments came a few days after he begged out of a game with an injury and saw his consecutive game streak end. That move reeked of theater. In those days in July, the so-called leader had his true character revealed.

The fact that Toronto was Merrifield’s destination is absolutely hilarious. I’m certain J.J. Picollo and Dayton Moore will deny this, but it’s impossible for them not to be aware of the comedy they wrote with this deal.

Oh, there’s a baseball component to this…

Merrfield wrapped up a strong July at the plate, his best month of 2022 by far. Overall, his numbers are still down and continue to represent what has been a steady decline.

He’s seen his OPS+ drop from 120 in 2018 to its current 81 in 2022, the fourth consecutive year that number has declined. He’s gone from an above average offensive performer who garnered some MVP votes to one who’s below average. True, an abysmal April really torpedoed those numbers this year, but they still count.

It’s fun to see the black ink on Merrifield’s Baseball Reference page. He was an important player on some bad Royals teams. Three times, he led the league in at bats. Twice he topped the charts in hits, achieving a career-high 206 in 2019. He set the pace in steals three times. Once, in separate seasons, he led the league in doubles and triples.

So while Merrifeld’s bat was declining, he was still a productive player. The speed and defense helped. He finished with a 3.1 fWAR last year, the same mark he posted in 2019. This year, however, he was just at 0.7 fWAR at the time of the trade. At 33, you have to wonder how much is left in the tank. You can make the argument the Royals should’ve dealt Merrifield years ago. No argument here. The return would’ve been much stronger. Still, given the drama around him the last month, the fact he’s an ageing middle infielder who is showing decline, the Royals did well in their return.

Coming back from Toronto is right-handed pitcher Maximo Castillo, their #14th rated prospect according to Baseball America and a super-ultility type in Samad Taylor (rated #23). On the surface, it feels like a strong haul.

Castillo moved off his two-seamer for a four-seam fastball and saw his prospect status skyrocket this year. He compliments that pitch with a slider and changeup. From BA:

He has the type of stuff and command that could also make him an asset in the bullpen long term. He’s a versatile pitcher with a lunch pail attitude willing to fit a variety of roles.

Castillo opened the year in Double-A, jumped to Triple-A and made his major league debut in mid-June. He’s been propelled by an insanely low BABIP this year, but has shown the stuff to rack up whiffs while keeping the walks at bay. He made a start against the Royals when they were in Toronto last month, throwing 53 pitches in three innings and giving up three runs.

Taylor has spent the entire year in Triple-A, where he’s hit .258/.337/.426 in 244 at bats. It’s a 102 wRC+ for the 23 year old in his first action at that level. From BA:

Aggressive—that’s the best way to describe Taylor’s game. Taylor looks to do damage with each swing and pushes for stolen bases once he’s on base. Like a microwave Taylor can provide instant offense with just the click of a button.

They go on to note that Taylor’s agressiveness has hindered his production somewhat this year. They also write that, while he brings defensive versatility, he’s a below-average defender no matter where he plays. He sounds almost like Merrifield-lite. Again, this is another player who I’m excited to see indocrinated to the Royals’ minor league hitting program. Let’s see if there’s something else there for them to unlock.

There’s also the Cam Gallagher to San Diego trade. I wonder if that was the Padres’ biggest deal at the deadline. (Ahhh…It wasn’t!)

Since the arrival of MJ Melendez, Gallagher has been suplus to requirements. The Royals don’t need to carry three catchers on their active roster and they do need to give Melendez as much time back there as possible. With Salvador Perez and his miraculous power of healing, the Royals will still have plenty of opportunity to rotation him and Melendez behind the dish.

The return for a backup catcher is never going to be large, but the Royals got an interesting bat in return with outfielder Brent Rooker. Rooker was a first round pick by Minnesota in the 2017 draft. He’s hit at every level in the minors and was shipped to San Diego in the Chris Paddack trade at the start of this season. Rooker’s career Triple-A line is .266/.383/.568. Those are some impressive numbers.

The major league story has been a bit different. In 67 games covering 241 plate appearances, Rooker has hit just .205/.290/.400. He turns 28 in November, so he’s right in the prime of his career, but he needs an opportunity to see if he can do anything in the majors.

Here’s something that will shock you. Rooker is a below-average defender who profiles as a 1B/DH type. He can play the corner outfield, but that’s probably not what the Royals want. He graded at minus-six Defensive Runs Saved in just 264 innings there in 2021. In 75 innings from ‘20 and ‘21 combined, he’s minus-five DRS in right. If anything, he can provide some right-handed pop off the bench.

Let’s do a little recap. In the last month-plus, the Royals, via trades, added:

• RHP Wyatt Mills and RHP William Fleming for Carlos Santana and cash.

• OF Drew Waters, RHP Andrew Hoffman and 3B CJ Alexander for their competitive balance pick (#35 overall).

• RHP Chandler Champlain, LHP T.J. Sikkema and RHP Beck Way for Andrew Benintendi.

• LHP Anthony Misiewicz for cash.

• RHP Luke Weaver for Emmanuel Rivera.

• OF Brent Rooker for Cam Gallagher.

• RHP Max Castillo and 2B Samad Taylor for Whit Merrifield.

That’s 13 additions to the organization—nine pitchers and four position players. A couple who have exhausted their prospect eligibility. That’s quite a group. Moore and Picollo were active leading up to and on deadline day. While I felt they could’ve done more and perhaps could’ve netted better returns by packing some players at the deadline, I have to think that at least for some players, the interest just wasn’t there. For others, yes, it was probably the same old story where the Royals valued their guys more than any potential trade partners.

Baseball America has already slotted Hoffman in at #13 while Waters is #16 on the Royals’ top 30 list. I would imagine Sikkema and Way will be in the top 20 when they’re added. Same for Castillo. Taylor and Champlain could crack the top 30. While there isn’t a sexy top prospect in this group, this is a solid job of restocking a system that has seen a ton of graduates in the last year.

The Royals did well leading up to and at the deadline.

One of the baseball books I had as a kid was The Baseball Reader, edited by Charles Einstein. It’s a collection of essays from a veritable who’s who of 20th century baseball writers: Ring Lardner, Red Smith, Roger Angell to name a few. Included in the anthology was a transcript of Vin Scully calling the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in 1965.

Thinking back, this was probably my first exposure to Vin. Funny how, for the greatest broadcaster of all time, it was not about hearing his voice or listening to him call a game, rather it was reading a transcript. My goodness, reading those words…it flows. It’s pure and lyrical and wonderful. It’s magical. Later on, I would come to know Vin like so many young fans across the country through the NBC Game of the Week and the marquee events like the All-Star Game and the League Championship Series and World Series. Later, the internet and MLB.com allowed us to listen to Vin nightly. I, like so many others, would tune in to a Dodger game to finish the day. Just to listen to Vin.

Vin passed away on Tuesday. I thought he would live forever. We’re lucky to have so many of his broadcasts from his later years, along with some vintage ones as well, available online, so in a way, he will live forever. The man was simply the best at his craft. He never lost his fastball. The baseball world is a little less eloquent today, but we are fortunate to have had Vin in our lives, describing this great game, for so many years.

Farewell, Vin.

So Harvey Kuenn is batting for Bob Hendley. The time on the scoreboard is 9:44. The date, September the 9th, 1965, and Koufax working on veteran Harvey Kuenn. Sandy into his windup and the pitch, a fastball for a strike! He has struck out, by the way, five consecutive batters, and that's gone unnoticed. Sandy ready and the strike 1 pitch: very high, and he lost his hat. He really forced that one. That's only the second time tonight where I have had the feeling that Sandy threw instead of pitched, trying to get that little extra, and that time he tried so hard his hat fell off -- he took an extremely long stride to the plate -- and Torborg had to go up to get it.

One and 1 to Harvey Kuenn. Now he's ready: fastball, high, ball 2. You can't blame a man for pushing just a little bit now. Sandy backs off, mops his forehead, runs his left index finger along his forehead, dries it off on his left pants leg. All the while Kuenn just waiting. Now Sandy looks in. Into his windup and the 2-1 pitch to Kuenn: swung on and missed, strike 2!

It is 9:46 p.m.

Two and 2 to Harvey Kuenn, one strike away. Sandy into his windup, here's the pitch:

Swung on and missed, a perfect game!

(38 seconds of cheering.)

On the scoreboard in right field it is 9:46 p.m. in the City of the Angels, Los Angeles, California. And a crowd of 29,139 just sitting in to see the only pitcher in baseball history to hurl four no-hit, no-run games. He has done it four straight years, and now he caps it: On his fourth no-hitter he made it a perfect game. And Sandy Koufax, whose name will always remind you of strikeouts, did it with a flurry. He struck out the last six consecutive batters. So when he wrote his name in capital letters in the record books, that "K" stands out even more than the O-U-F-A-X.