Perhaps the Sauer demotion is foreshadowing a trade. He might become part of a package for a rental like Tommy Pham or perhaps Oakland phenom Mason Miller. It would make some sense for JJ to have a trade in the works before demoting him.
I don’t believe there’s anything in the works here. His Rule 5 status and performance pretty much eliminates any market he would’ve had. I think ultimately Sauer is going back to NY.
Glad you brought up the .466 clip at end of season. Seen lots of people commenting they don't remember the last time they felt like the royals always had a chance in their games. I don't blame fans for tuning out, but I watched most of those and often felt like they could turn it around and win. I think the boys stumbled upon their groove last season.
"It’s like guerrilla warfare with baseball bats." - I hope you enjoyed writing that as much as I enjoyed reading it
Even though they were improved over the last two months, it was impossible to erase the stink from the first half of the season. That was truly some bad, uninspired ball. Which makes their late season turnaround even more impressive in my mind.
And thanks on pointing out that line. I did enjoy that.
I'm getting ahead of myself, but I'm already getting the same kind of vibes from Cleveland as back in 2017 (I'm pretty sure it was '17 and not 2016) when the Royals were playing great baseball and putting together some long winning streaks but made up no ground in the division because Cleveland won something like 22 games in a row at the same time. Feels like every time KC wins that means the Guardians win too, and they stick at 1.5 games back. Not that I'm complaining. At least not yet. 11 games over .500 and only a game-and-a-half out of first place is far better than anything I anticipated.
My other quick thoughts. Being a vet, I was never that worried about Wacha. Worst-case, I figured he'd end up very average, which, especially compared to Lugo's start, would be disappointing, but not the end of the world. He seems to have gotten right though.
And while I wanted to believe for a long time, I think Massey is finally becoming the guy at 2B. Never foresaw him as a star, but I thought he could be a really good piece of this core lineup. Not quite the star power of Witt and Salvy, or even Vinnie or Garcia, but more than just a guy. Honestly, I could see him being very Frank White-like, only with a flipped skill set. The bat could make a big impact, especially with his pop, and a solid glove at 2B. He still has to prove it consistently (and stay healthy)- we've seen flashes before, but I'm buying it this year. Which is exactly the sort of statement that is bound to make me look like an idiot in a few months, but I'm going to stand behind it.
I guess that wasn't very quick after all. Oh well, so it goes. Great stuff as always, sir.
Thanks, Patrick. At least if the Royals can’t make up ground in the division—and if we think the Royals are legit, we also have to buy into Cleveland—at least there’s an extra wild card available. I mean, I don’t like six teams from each league in the playoffs, but them’s the rules.
I’m with you on Massey. They don’t need everyone to be an All-Star. They need just solid, everyday guys who can be trusted. For me, Massey is there. The infield truly feels set. Now if they would just do something about the outfield…
The decision on Sauer, which was complicated by the Rule 5 stuff, gives me confidence they'll address the OF situation. Honestly, JJ and the FO have earned the benefit of the doubt on that. He's clearly not Dayton Moore, who, despite all his talk about being more transactional, seemed to lose his nerve for deal-making in the last few years of his tenure. (Acquiring Brandon Mauer in a Wild Card race will do that to you, apparently.) It may not be on the timeline we all want (GET IT DONE YESTERDAY!) or a splashy as fans would prefer (WHADDA YA MEAN YOU'RE NOT TRADING FOR JUAN SOTO?), but I don't think they'll sit back and be content with the status quo. I think they also need to pull the trigger on Tyler Duffey, but since he doesn't have the strings attached to him that Sauer did, I don't imagine there will be the same amount of hand-wringing.
Seems like Brentz is a logical cut and resign to a minor league deal candidate. There have been several players mentioned as potential call ups that are not on the 40 man roster. This feels like a no brainer to DFA and resign.
Perhaps the Sauer demotion is foreshadowing a trade. He might become part of a package for a rental like Tommy Pham or perhaps Oakland phenom Mason Miller. It would make some sense for JJ to have a trade in the works before demoting him.
I don’t believe there’s anything in the works here. His Rule 5 status and performance pretty much eliminates any market he would’ve had. I think ultimately Sauer is going back to NY.
Glad you brought up the .466 clip at end of season. Seen lots of people commenting they don't remember the last time they felt like the royals always had a chance in their games. I don't blame fans for tuning out, but I watched most of those and often felt like they could turn it around and win. I think the boys stumbled upon their groove last season.
"It’s like guerrilla warfare with baseball bats." - I hope you enjoyed writing that as much as I enjoyed reading it
Even though they were improved over the last two months, it was impossible to erase the stink from the first half of the season. That was truly some bad, uninspired ball. Which makes their late season turnaround even more impressive in my mind.
And thanks on pointing out that line. I did enjoy that.
I'm getting ahead of myself, but I'm already getting the same kind of vibes from Cleveland as back in 2017 (I'm pretty sure it was '17 and not 2016) when the Royals were playing great baseball and putting together some long winning streaks but made up no ground in the division because Cleveland won something like 22 games in a row at the same time. Feels like every time KC wins that means the Guardians win too, and they stick at 1.5 games back. Not that I'm complaining. At least not yet. 11 games over .500 and only a game-and-a-half out of first place is far better than anything I anticipated.
My other quick thoughts. Being a vet, I was never that worried about Wacha. Worst-case, I figured he'd end up very average, which, especially compared to Lugo's start, would be disappointing, but not the end of the world. He seems to have gotten right though.
And while I wanted to believe for a long time, I think Massey is finally becoming the guy at 2B. Never foresaw him as a star, but I thought he could be a really good piece of this core lineup. Not quite the star power of Witt and Salvy, or even Vinnie or Garcia, but more than just a guy. Honestly, I could see him being very Frank White-like, only with a flipped skill set. The bat could make a big impact, especially with his pop, and a solid glove at 2B. He still has to prove it consistently (and stay healthy)- we've seen flashes before, but I'm buying it this year. Which is exactly the sort of statement that is bound to make me look like an idiot in a few months, but I'm going to stand behind it.
I guess that wasn't very quick after all. Oh well, so it goes. Great stuff as always, sir.
Thanks, Patrick. At least if the Royals can’t make up ground in the division—and if we think the Royals are legit, we also have to buy into Cleveland—at least there’s an extra wild card available. I mean, I don’t like six teams from each league in the playoffs, but them’s the rules.
I’m with you on Massey. They don’t need everyone to be an All-Star. They need just solid, everyday guys who can be trusted. For me, Massey is there. The infield truly feels set. Now if they would just do something about the outfield…
The decision on Sauer, which was complicated by the Rule 5 stuff, gives me confidence they'll address the OF situation. Honestly, JJ and the FO have earned the benefit of the doubt on that. He's clearly not Dayton Moore, who, despite all his talk about being more transactional, seemed to lose his nerve for deal-making in the last few years of his tenure. (Acquiring Brandon Mauer in a Wild Card race will do that to you, apparently.) It may not be on the timeline we all want (GET IT DONE YESTERDAY!) or a splashy as fans would prefer (WHADDA YA MEAN YOU'RE NOT TRADING FOR JUAN SOTO?), but I don't think they'll sit back and be content with the status quo. I think they also need to pull the trigger on Tyler Duffey, but since he doesn't have the strings attached to him that Sauer did, I don't imagine there will be the same amount of hand-wringing.
Seems like Brentz is a logical cut and resign to a minor league deal candidate. There have been several players mentioned as potential call ups that are not on the 40 man roster. This feels like a no brainer to DFA and resign.