[KChiefs1]

https://theathletic.com/3155173/2022...or-the-royals/

Alec Lewis:
What the end of the lockout means for the Royals

In late February, a Royals executive loitered around the bullpen in Surprise, Ariz. His slumped posture hinted at his boredom, at his readiness for a new collective bargaining agreement.

He also did acknowledge: When that breakthrough arrives, he will be quite busy working the phone lines with players’ agents.

Well, that time has come. The owners and players agreed Thursday on a new CBA, and now a whirlwind of baseball activity will commence.

Where do the Royals stand? What must they accomplish? Who makes sense as a potential acquisition?

Here’s a breakdown:

How did the Royals get here?
First, let’s define here, beginning with how last season ended.

The Royals finished 74-88, missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year and entered the offseason with numerous important questions. Could their young pitchers utilize their experience to develop ahead of 2022? Could Adalberto Mondesi refine his training throughout the offseason to ensure better durability in 2022? Could the Royals retain the hitting development staffers who helped revamp and improve the team’s player development?

To answer the first question, relating to the young starters, the Royals’ research and development staff collaborated with pitching coaches on individual plans for each player. As for Mondesi, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo outlined a regimented offseason program, focused on the complexity of his muscle fiber makeup. In supporting the club’s hitting development staffers, the Royals promoted Keoni DeRenne, formerly the assistant hitting coordinator, to assistant big-league hitting coach.

In November, Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore and Picollo met with media members at Kauffman Stadium, where these plans and alterations. The front office also detailed an acquisition strategy focused on enhancing their bullpen for two reasons: 1.) It would serve as emergency assistance for many of the club’s young starters. 2. It would lessen the workload on the up-and-coming relief prospects.

“What I think we should do is continue to be very disciplined with our young players and work to build a really, really strong and powerful and elite championship-caliber bullpen,” Moore said about a month before the owners locked out the players.

The Royals did not, however, make many moves in the ensuing month. The only arm they signed was right-hander Taylor Clarke, who had been designated for assignment by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

They also added a few minor-league free agents throughout the lockout: right-handed reliever Arodys Vizcaino; right-hander Brad Peacock; right-hander Daniel Mengden; infielder Robbie Glendinning; center fielder JaCoby Jones; and infielder Ivan Castillo.

Maybe the inactivity was a byproduct of players not being ready to sign. Or maybe the Royals believed numerous players would be looking for deals shortly after a new collective bargaining agreement was reached.

Regardless, here the Royals are, prepared to operate within a fluid market with mostly the same roster as 2021. Once again, there are important questions to answer: Have the young starters stuck to their offseason plans? Has Mondesi? Which potential bullpen arms fit best? Is there a trade market for first baseman Carlos Santana?

And there are so many more.

What is the Royals’ urgency level?
It depends on the topic.

Let’s start with arguably the most important element of the Royals’ hopes in 2022: The young starters. Brady Singer and Kris Bubic now have two big-league seasons (one, albeit, was quite short) under their belts. Carlos Hernández, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar, Jonathan Heasley and Angel Zerpa have all debuted. What type of shape are they in now? What have they altered with their pitch repertoire? Are their arms all healthy? The Royals’ urgency in answering these questions is obvious.

Then there are the free-agent and trade markets. Many teams are going to be active, and many players are going to be champing at the bit to find jobs. The Royals will assuredly be operating urgently, conversing with agents on player preferences, bouncing financial details off of chairman and CEO John Sherman, etc. Within these processes the Royals will continue surveying the trade market. The Royals could trade Santana ahead of the season to recoup part of the $10.5 million he’s owned in 2022 and open a spot for a prospect such as Nick Pratto or MJ Melendez. To do so, Royals executives such as Scott Sharp and Jin Wong must move quickly.

As far as relationships with the big-league staff go, the Royals are fortunate in that there is a great deal of familiarity. Pitching coach Cal Eldred and bullpen coach Larry Carter have spent time around most of the club’s arms. Hitting coach Terry Bradshaw has worked daily with hitters such as Hunter Dozier. If there’s any urgency in this area, it’ll be DeRenne, the new assistant hitting coach, continuing to develop relationships with big-league players.

Overall, while the club will certainly speak of wanting to compete in 2022 the same way it has in the past few years, there remain realities to the Royals’ situation. They know they will be transitioning numerous hitting prospects (Bobby Witt Jr., Nick Pratto and MJ Melendez) to the big leagues. They’re aware that many of the young starters have yet to build full regular-season workloads.

So, while the club will definitely display urgency in many areas, they are not the San Diego Padres, per se. They have not yet pushed the chips toward the middle of the table. Instead, they are sitting back, studying their opponents’ tendencies and waiting for the right time to strike.

Which players fit as potential remaining targets?
Because we’ve mentioned the Royals’ hopes at enhancing their bullpen, let’s start there. Previous options such as Hector Neris, Yimi Garcia, Aaron Loup and others are already off of the table. But plenty of possibilities remain.

Jake Diekman, a former Royals left-hander, is available. He hails from Nebraska. He attended Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan. And he enjoyed his time with the Royals in 2019. Though Diekman is 35 years old, he’s a veteran lefty with a sweeping slider. He would provide a different look for a bullpen that could benefit from it.

Some other high-end options include: Trevor Rosenthal, who revived his career with the Royals in 2020 and has great relationships with multiple Royals staffers and players; Joe Kelly, who possesses a filthy curveball and has had a successful last couple of years with the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Yusmeiro Petit, a deceptive right-hander who has pitched at least 78 innings in four consecutive 162-game seasons. If the Royals wade through the market and choose the cost-effective route, they could end up with Sean Doolittle, Brad Boxberger, Ervin Santana or others.

Besides bullpen help, the Royals could also seek a versatile utility player to serve as depth on the corners in the infield and outfield. A backup center fielder for Michael A. Taylor could also make sense. Matt Duffy or Matt Carpenter could be options for the former. Jarrod Dyson could be an option for the latter.

And then, if the market plays into the Royals’ hands, and numerous starters are available, the Royals could profit from a veteran pitcher who could not only eat up innings but also serve as a mentor for the Royals’ young staff. There are loads of candidates in this area — Zach Davies, Danny Duffy, etc. — but again, the chances that this is an option likely rely on what the market looks like.

The Royals know many of their young arms will enter arbitration in the coming years, meaning they will be primed for trades that allow the Royals to multiply the talent at the big-league level or the farm system. They know relievers such as Dylan Coleman, Will Klein, Nathan Webb and Collin Snider will soon need to establish themselves. They also know that, behind Witt, Pratto and Melendez, they have potential big-league bats such as Vinnie Pasquantino, Nick Loftin and Michael Massey.

Seeing how the season plays out, and how many of these prospects perform, will more than any stopgap signing, provide the Royals a compass for the direction they have to head.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk