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Daily Clips

February 8, 2017

LOCAL

Prospect Staumont has tools to surprise this spring

Hard-throwing righty struck out 167 batters in 123 1/3 innings across two levels in '16

February 7, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/



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KC brings back Pena for catching depth

Veteran to return to Royals on Minor League deal with spring invite

February 7, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/



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Royals forecast to finish last in AL Central in 2017 by PECOTA projections

February 7, 2017 By Pete Grathoff/KC Star



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Royals set to reunite with catcher Brayan Peña on a minor-league deal

February 7, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Star



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Mellinger Minutes: Royals lineup

February 7, 2017 By Sam Mellinger/KC Star



[pic]Do the Kansas City Royals need to hit more home runs?

February 7, 2017 By Lee Judge/KC Star



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Dayton Moore tells crowd how to reach the top of your game, as he did in building the Royals' world

February 7, 2017 The Hutchinson News



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NATIONAL

MLB Roundup: Why Jason Hammel didn't have a deal until February

February 7, 2017 By Buster Olney/



[pic]Source: Yanks, Carter close to 1-year deal

February 7, 2017 By Bryan Hoch/



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D-backs sign infielder Descalso

Gosselin designated for assignment

February 7, 2017 By Chad Thornburg/



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Sources: Rangers, Napoli agree to 1-year deal

February 7, 2017 By T.R. Sullivan/



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Nats add electric arm in trade for lefty Romero

February 7, 2017 By Jamal Collier/



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The Market was stacked against Jason Hammel

February 6, 2017 By Jeff Sullivan/



[pic]MLB TRANSACTIONS

February 8, 2017 •.



LOCAL

Prospect Staumont has tools to surprise this spring

Hard-throwing righty struck out 167 batters in 123 1/3 innings across two levels in '16

February 7, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/



With Spring Training fast approaching, will take a look at a different aspect of this year's Royals squad each day this week. Today's topic: Who might surprise?

Josh Staumont.

Royals fans may want to get familiar with that name.

Staumont, a hard-throwing 23-year-old, could be the next young fireballer to emerge in the Royals' pipeline of bullpen arms, perhaps following in the footsteps of Greg Holland, Kelvin Herrera and last year's sensation, Matt Strahm.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore has indicated Staumont, who can hit 101 mph on the radar gun, will get an extended look this Spring Training for a possible bullpen spot.

That's bold, considering Staumont isn't even on the 40-man roster.

"We've certainly showed in the past that we're not afraid to go with young arms in the bullpen," Moore said. "If you have the talent, you can pitch at any level."

Staumont, a second-round pick in the 2015 Draft out of Azusa Pacific University -- the same school that produced former Chiefs great Christian Okoye -- always has had a big arm. He could hit 100 mph in college.

But it wasn't until the second half of 2016 when Staumont proved he could harness that blazing fastball.

After being promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, everything began to click for Staumont, the Royals' No. 10 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. In 11 starts there, he posted a 3.04 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings.

In Staumont's last three starts covering 17 innings, he struck out 30 and walked six. His last start of the season was the most memorable as he threw six shutout innings, struck out 12 and walked two.

"There's nobody in our system that throws the ball as easy and as hard as he does," Royals assistant general manager/player personnel J.J. Picollo said. "Even when he's throwing 98 [mph], it looks like he's just playing catch.

"He's got a really good curveball that is from 80-88. And there are nights he adds and subtracts [from his velocity] the way Zack Greinke did for us. I'm not saying he's going to be the next Zack, but there are similarities."

With the absence of Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar this season, the Royals are counting on one or two prospects to seize a bullpen role. All eyes will be on Staumont this spring.

"We really don't have anyone quite like him," Picollo said.

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KC brings back Pena for catching depth

Veteran to return to Royals on Minor League deal with spring invite

February 7, 2017 By Jeffrey Flanagan/



Old friend alert.

The Royals on Tuesday signed catcher Brayan Pena to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training camp.

Pena, 35, likely will provide organizational depth at Triple-A Omaha. Last year's catcher at the affiliate, Tony Cruz, was designated for assignment earlier this offseason and subsequently released.

Pena played four seasons for the Royals from 2009-12, with his best season coming in '09, when he hit .273 with six homers and 18 RBIs.

Pena was one of the more popular players in the Royals' clubhouse during that stretch.

Pena is a .259/.299/.351 career hitter in 12 Major League seasons.

Pena was a regular with the Reds in 2014 and '15, and he played nine games for the Cardinals last season.

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Royals forecast to finish last in AL Central in 2017 by PECOTA projections

February 7, 2017 By Pete Grathoff/KC Star



We’ve come to expect a few things in early February.

The groundhog. The Super Bowl. The dismal prediction for the Royals season from PECOTA, the baseball projection system.

Well, the numbers aren’t kind to the Royals again.

Baseball Prospectus forecasts a 71-win season* for the Royals in 2017 and a last-place finish in the American League Central. That’s the fewest victories in the American League, second in all of baseball to the San Diego Padres (68). And it’s a distant fifth-place finish in the Central, six games behind the rebuilding Chicago White Sox.

UPDATE: This is an increase of 69 from hours earlier on Tuesday, because of what was described as a bug in how runs scored and runs allowed calculated team wins. The overall win-loss total for all Major League Baseball teams went from 2386-2474 to 2431-2429, an increase of 45 wins overall.

A year ago, the PECOTA projection was right about one thing in the American League Central: The Indians were picked to win the division and that they did. However, the Royals exceeded their projection of a 76-86 record and a last-place finish in the Central.

Instead, the Royals were 81-81 and third in the division. That continued a trend of (depending on your view) overachieving Royals seasons or wrong predictions.

In 2015, the PECOTA system forecast the then-defending American League champion Royals to win 72 games. Instead, the Royals rolled to a 95-67 record and, of course, won the World Series that season.

In 2014, the Royals were projected to finish 79-83. The won 89 games, were a wild-card team and advanced to the World Series.

In 2013, PECOTA projected a 76-win season for the Royals, but they beat that by 10 games (86-76).

PECOTA was the brainchild of Nate Silver, who is well-known for his work at . It was created in 2003 and named after former Royals infielder Bill Pecota.

UPDATE: USA Today also released its predictions for the 2017, and they were much kinder to the Royals: An 83-79 record and third-place finish in the AL Central (behind the Indians and Tigers).

Part of the what they wrote about the Royals: “... they’re playing to keep together a team loaded with pending free agents.”

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Royals set to reunite with catcher Brayan Peña on a minor-league deal

February 7, 2017 By Rustin Dodd/KC Star



Seeking more depth at catcher, the Royals have tapped an old friend, signing free agent Brayan Peña to a minor-league deal, the club confirmed on Tuesday.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported the deal, which includes an invite to major-league spring training.

The Royals will enter the season with catchers Salvador Perez and Drew Butera on the 25-man roster. But the organization desired more insurance at the position after letting backup Tony Cruz go this offseason. Cruz spent most of last season at Class AAA Omaha.

Peña, 35, spent parts of four seasons with the Royals from 2009 to 2012. Known for his gregarious demeanor and inspiring back story — Peña defected from Cuba in dramatic fashion when he was 16 years old — the switch-hitting catcher batted .251 with a .291 on-base percentage and 12 homers in 264 games for the Royals.

The Royals jettisoned Peña after the 2012 season. He spent 2013 with the Detroit Tigers and then played in 223 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 2014 to 2015. He played last season in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, playing in just nine games while battling a nagging knee injury.

In 12 major-league seasons, Peña is a career .259 hitter with a .299 on-base percentage and 23 homers in 638 games.

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Mellinger Minutes: Royals lineup

February 7, 2017 By Sam Mellinger/KC Star



@gingerylocks: I've actually moved on to Jason Hammel.

This was sent after the Super Bowl, but I’m using it here to replace a question about whether the Royals were OK with filling the last two spots of the rotation in-house.

Spoiler alert: they weren’t.

I expected them to sign someone, but am mildly surprised it was Hammel, mostly because of cost and a few conversations I had with some folks. But the deal isn’t enormous — two years, $16 million, and the omnipresent mutual option for a third year that essentially serves as a way for the club to further backload the money — and Hammel provides a level of dependability.

He was, probably, the best starting pitcher still on the market and the Royals got him for a price far less than he or anyone else expected him to make at the beginning of the offseason.

He’s more of a placeholder than difference maker. He’s 34, and while he’s made 27 or more starts six times in the last eight years, he’s never thrown 180 innings in a season and his production has hovered around the league average.

There’s a lot of value in that, particularly for the Royals, who can now avoid a hint of desperation as they fill in the last spot of the rotation.

Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Vargas and Hammel make for a representative first four. After that, the Royals are probably choosing from a group headlined by Nate Karns, Chris Young and Matt Strahm.

You could do worse, and a week ago, it looked like the Royals were going to try.

We’ll get more into this as the week goes on, but this mostly completes a terrific offseason under brutal circumstances for Dayton Moore and the men who work for him.

But this is a team that expects to win this year, and has a chance, with health and the right breaks, to get back into the postseason after last year’s disappointing 81-81.

The rotation is solid, if unspectacular. The bullpen could be strong, maybe not like the 2014-15 laser show, but again strong depending on how well they’re able to fill the innings between the starters and Kelvin Herrera.

The offense has to be better, and there are plenty of logical reasons to believe it will. Alex Gordon was terrible last year. I believe his wrist hurt more than he’ll ever admit, and that he’ll be much better in 2017, if he can stay healthy. They essentially add Mike Moustakas, who is in the prime of his career. Eric Hosmer should be ready for the best season of his professional life. Jorge Soler and Brandon Moss add power.

One man’s guess on the lineup:

Alcides Escobar, SS

Mike Moustakas, 3B

Lorenzo Cain, CF

Eric Hosmer, 1B

Sal Perez, C

Alex Gordon, LF

Jorge Soler, RF

Brandon Moss, DH

Raul Mondesi, 2B

One man’s suggestion for the lineup:

Alex Gordon, LF

Lorenzo Cain, CF

Eric Hosmer, 1B

Jorge Soler, RF

Mike Moustakas, 3B

Sal Perez, C

Brandon Moss, DH

Alcides Escobar, SS

Raul Mondesi, 2B

Either way, that’s a group that could be closer to the middle of the league in runs scored (like they were in 2015) than the bottom (like they were in 2016).

There’s enough here to hope, at least, which is what the current leadership is going for.

@Bart41CPA: isn't this "competitive cliff" more a product of 4 poor drafts from 2009-2012 than a lack of spending?

If I understand the term correctly, I actually don’t think there’s a competitive cliff. The Royals have enough to expect another winning season, and they’ve built themselves in a way to keep that going — even if they’re sacrificing a bit of high-end in the name of consistency.

But, yes, absolutely, the Royals haven’t been as good in the draft as they need to be or that most believe they’ve been.

An incomplete but somewhat informative point can be made by looking at the firstround picks from those seasons: Aaron Crow, Christian Colon, Bubba Starling and Kyle Zimmer. Crow went 12th overall. The others were all in the top five.

Mike Trout, Shelby Miller, Chris Sale, Matt Harvey, Francisco Lindor, Anthony Rendon, George Springer, Addison Russell and Corey Seager are just some of the guys the Royals left on the board when they picked.

Yes, I understand, we could play this game with every team, in every draft. But particularly now, with MLB rules prohibiting teams from overpaying picks (which is how the Royals got Wil Myers in the third round of 2009) the Royals have to be better than most.

Instead, from those four drafts, Colon is the best of the bunch.

Baseball’s draft is perhaps the biggest crapshoot in sports, but that’s not good enough.

John Hennessy Best spring training food near Surprise, AZ?

Scottsdale?

Look, I love spring training. I love it because it’s baseball, and I love it because it’s the best place to get work done, and I love it for all the corny reasons old baseball people talk about, with green grass and sunshine and spring and all of that.

But Surprise is, um, not awesome. Kyle Zimmer has spent more time in Surprise than most, and put it perfectly when asked if he’d grown to like it: “Not really. You can only go to Walmart so many times.”

Rosie’s is good, and has the added benefit that you’re 50-50 to run into Art Stewart there. You can find some decent hole-in-the-wall Mexican places. But the options are less than awesome. I’m all about that Chipotle and Jimmy Johns life in Surprise.

There are worse ways to live.

[pic]Do the Kansas City Royals need to hit more home runs?

February 7, 2017 By Lee Judge/KC Star



Last season the Kansas City Royals were dead last in the American League when it came to hitting home runs. Dead last sounds pretty bad until you remember the 2014 Royals were also dead last in home runs and still managed to win the AL championship and make it to Game 7 of the World Series.

And in 2015 the Royals were second-to-last in home runs, but once again won the AL Championship and the World Series.

When the Royals were losing, some people blamed the lack of home-run power, but the 2014 and 2015 Royals showed that if they excelled at the other parts of the game the Royals could win without hitting a lot of home runs.

But now that the Royals have added Jorge Soler and Brandon Moss — two guys with pop — we’re once again talking about the Royals hitting more home runs.

The last time the Royals made a big deal out of hitting more home runs was in 2012, right after they fired hitting coach Kevin Seitzer; but changing hitting coaches didn’t change the dimensions of Kauffman Stadium.

In 2012 under Seitzer the Royals hit 131 home runs and scored 676 runs; after Seitzer was dumped, the 2013 Royals hit 112 home runs and scored 648 runs.

Jack Maloof — Seitzer’s replacement — said that trying to hit home runs in Kauffman Stadium doesn’t get rewarded; better to hit line drives, plug the gaps for doubles and run like hell.

Maloof lost his job the next day.

But replacing Maloof didn’t help; since 2012 the Royals have either finished last, tied-for-last or second-to-last in home runs in the American League.

So how come Kauffman Stadium doesn’t limit opponent’s home runs?

Actually, it does. Visiting teams out-homer the Royals when playing in Kauffman Stadium, but:

▪ In 2013 only one AL team allowed fewer home runs in its home park.

▪ In 2014 only one AL team allowed fewer home runs in its home park.

▪ In 2015 no AL team allowed fewer home runs in its home park.

▪ In 2016 — a year in which the Royals were ninth in team ERA — it was still hard for visiting teams to hit the ball out of the yard; only three AL teams allowed fewer home runs in their own ballpark.

Turns out it’s hard to hit home runs at the K no matter who you are, but visiting teams still have a home-run advantage when playing in Kansas City.

Why?

Because visiting teams that play their home games in smaller parks might find power hitters a good investment; paying a power hitter to play half his games in Kauffman Stadium is a risky bet.

Nevertheless, after the Royals signed Brandon Moss they assured everyone that the power Moss has displayed in the past will transfer to Kauffman Stadium. Maybe so, but if you see a whole bunch of Brandon Moss fly balls being caught on the Kauffman Stadium warning track, that’s a bad sign.

The downside of trying to hit home runs

But what’s the harm in at least trying to hit more home runs?

Let’s start with batting average:

Look up the numbers and you’ll see the 2016 Royals hit .170 and slugged .490 when they hit a fly ball; when the Royals hit a line drive their average was .679 and their slugging percentage was 1.013. Those numbers are fairly typical.

So do you have your hitters try to lift the ball and hit a homer knowing if a fly ball doesn’t leave the yard it’s probably an out? Or do you have your hitters try to hit line drives and hard grounders and go for average?

In recent year the Royals have gone for average and getting the ball in play.

And that brings us to strikeouts:

In 2014 and 2015 the Royals were the hardest team in the American League to strike out. As a team the 2014 Royals struck out once every 5.6 at bats; the 2015 Royals struck out once every 5.7 at bats. Getting the ball in play puts pressure on the other team’s defense and it’s how the Royals won Game 5 of the 2015 World Series.

To hit home runs most guys have to pull the ball, and that means swinging sooner and that means getting fooled by a pitch more often. Jorge Soler strikes out once every 3.2 at bats and Brandon Moss strikes out once every 3.3 at bats.

And finally, signing guys to hit home runs often means less team speed.

There are exceptions, but home-run hitters tend to be big guys and big guys tend to be slow. That means fewer stolen bases, fewer extra bases taken and less ground covered on defense.

If Soler and Moss are as slow as their stolen-base numbers indicate — 13 combined steals in a combined 13 seasons — they’re not going to help much on the base paths or on defense.

The point of the game is not to score more runs; it’s to score more runs than your opponent. And you can do that by putting runs on the board or keeping the other team’s runs off the board.

▪ In 2014 the Royals were ninth in runs scored, but only three American League teams allowed fewer runs.

▪ In 2015 the Royals were sixth in runs scored, but only two teams allowed fewer runs.

You can be middle-of-the-pack in runs scored if you’re good enough at preventing the other team from scoring. So if you add Soler and Moss to put runs on the board but they can’t keep runs off the board, you might not come out ahead. So keep an eye on how often either one of these guys is the DH; that keeps their gloves on the bench — and if they are in the field watch for a defensive replacement in the later innings.

What comes first: the players or the philosophy?

Teams that are consistent over a long period of time tend to have a philosophy and acquire players that fit that philosophy; teams that aren’t so consistent tend to sign whoever looks good at the time and change their philosophy based on the players acquired.

Recently Royals GM Dayton Moore said the Royals are not abandoning their philosophy of speed and defense, but would like to hit more home runs — and while we’re at it, I’d like to lose weight, but continue to eat pepperoni pizza and drink beer.

It may not be possible to do both things at once, but Dayton and I are willing to give it a shot.

Stay tuned.

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Dayton Moore tells crowd how to reach the top of your game, as he did in building the Royals' world

February 7, 2017 The Hutchinson News



If he had listened to his mentors, Dayton Moore wouldn't be in Kansas City.

It was 2006 and the Kansas City Royals were one of the worst teams in baseball. At the time, the small-market team only had one winning season out of 11. Sure, the Royals were his boyhood team. But Moore had worked his way up the Atlanta Braves organization. He would have been content to finish his career there, raise a family there.

But he had a job offer to be the Royals' general manager. For 10 days, he sought the advice of his mentors.

"They all said the same thing - they all said don't go," said Moore to a crowd at the Hutchinson Sports Arena Tuesday. "They said you can't win. The owner isn't going to spend any money. There is no players in the farm system."

"The person I sought the the most counsel from said, 'Dayton, Kansas City is a professional graveyard.'"

Moore didn't take their advice. And it would be seven more years before the Royals would have a winning season. There was even talk at one point whether he - and Royals manager Ned Yost - should find their success somewhere else.

Those things have been forgotten with a Wild Card win in 2014 and a World Series appearance. It was followed by a 95-win season in 2015 and a storybook ending with a World Series championship. Among the highlights: Eric Hosmer's dive at home in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series to tie the game with the New York Mets. And, there was Christian Colon's clutch hit in the 12th inning to score Jarrod Dyson in the Series clincher.

Moore spoke at the first Dillon Lecture Series of 2017, telling the audience how positive leadership and role models shaped him, and how he took those same philosophies and management style to the Royals, creating a franchise where character and integrity is one of the foundation principles.

Farming to baseball

Moore, however, hasn't forgotten his own foundation. His mother grew up on a farm near Coldwater. At least once a year, he travels to Comance County where his parents are buried.

Moore spent his early childhood years in Wichita before his family ended up in Moline, Illinois.

"They were all farmers," he said. ... "I figured I would be a farmer, work in aviation like my father."

Moore, however, loved baseball.

"I can't recall a day in my life where I haven't dreamed or thought about this great game," Moore said.

He played at Garden City Community College, then at George Mason University. He became a coach, but soon the Braves called, offering him a scouting job. He loved his job - working to make difference in the players he coached, but the Braves were persistent.

"I thought I was going to do this four years and get right back into college coaching," Moore said of his Major League stint.

Instead, he stayed, until he got a phone call for his mentor, Braves General Manager John Schuerholz. Royals owner David Glass wanted to meet him.

Moore told Schuerholz the Royals were his boyhood team, but "I probably won't ever leave the Braves."

But he agreed to the meeting.

"I could tell right away," Moore said of Glass, "he was broken, frustrated. He was embarrassed. He wanted change."

Moore soon was beginning his efforts to rebuild the Royals.

When Moore and his family arrived in Kansas City in 2006, he had questions of all prospective Royals leaders. One was if they were able to apply moral principles in their lives. They needed to have good character - to be good fathers and husbands, community leaders and represent the organization well.

"We won in Atlanta for all those years and our environment here is based on people who have the ability and desires to put everybody else's needs, wants and desires first and put their own needs wants and desires second," he said.

Whoever manages failure the best will reach their ceiling, said Moore.

"I knew what we had to do - we may not win, I can't control that," he said. "But let's try to create the greatest environment in all of sports ... certainly in the history of baseball, where people want to work, where scouts want to represent the organization, where coaches, instructors and managers love working, where players want to play and raise their families. We simply wanted to create an organization where we wanted our own sons and our own families to be a part of.

"It had to become personal. So let's create the best environment that we can possibly can," Moore said.

Rebuilding

Moore crafted a leadership team with those core philosophies. There are seven in his organization leadership model.

Two stood out in Moore's talk.

Stand up for others.

He tells of Jarrod Dyson - "One of the most difficult trades I ever made emotionally," he said of trading Dyson to the Seattle Mariners last month.

Dyson, from Mississippi, was drafted by the Royals in the 50th round in 2006. He learned he and his dad have the same birth date at his father's funeral.

It shows his upbringing, Moore said.

"We never thought Jarrod Dyson would be a Major League player. Nobody thought he would be a Major League player - let alone help us win a Major League championship," he said.

In fact, he was on several release lists. But Moore and his staff could never cut him.

"We loved his heart," he said. "Yeah, he failed a drug test, and we would send him away and he would do OK for a while. Then he would fail another, and we would send him away and he would do a little bit better.

"But if we sent Dyson out, one or two things were going to happen. He was going to end up incarcerated or he was going to end up dead. And we loved his heart. His teammates cared about him and his coaches cared about him. Because we stood up for him, he gave us everything he had."

Moore recalls sticking up for Mike Moustakas, too, the third baseman who, early in his career, fans were screaming to get rid of.

"We stayed with Moose because we believed in him. ... He was trying to get better. His coaches believed in him. And because we stayed with him, he went on to help us."

Remain calm in the eye of the storm. Handle your circumstances.

Alex Gordon represents this quality, Moore said.

Gordon was hailed to be the savior of the struggling Royals - the next legend - like Hall of Famer George Brett.

But Moore sat Gordon down in 2009. He was sending him down to Triple-A Omaha.

"We need a change, because if you keep doing what you’ve always done you will get what you’ve always gotten," he said he told Gordon.

Moore also told Gordon he would learn a new position - left field - and that up-and-coming Moustakas would be playing third base.

"Alex Gordon responded the most successful people in the history of our country respond," he said. "He embraced the new circumstance like it was the best thing that ever happened to him."

"I wasn't sure if he would ever make it back to the Major Leagues, and I never thought he’d be a Golden Glove left fielder. In fact, I told Rusty Kuntz - 'Rusty, just try to make him average. He’s a hard runner. He doesn’t even run the bases very well. I don't know how he is going to track balls in Kauffman Stadium."

Gordon deserves all the credit, said Moore, adding at the end of his speech, "If you put others first you will reach your ceiling."

Seven organizational leadership skills of Dayton Moore

1. Settle disputes quickly

2. Care more than anyone else. Be responsive.

3. Have an above and beyond attitude. Give people more than they expect.

4. Stand up for others.

5. Share the glory.

6. Remain calm in the eye of the storm. Handle your circumstances.

7. Emphasize one on one communication.

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NATIONAL

MLB Roundup: Why Jason Hammel didn't have a deal until February

February 7, 2017 By Buster Olney/



The market was stacked against Jason Hammel in free agency, writes Jeff Sullivan.

When the Chicago Cubs declined to pick up the right-hander's $12 million option, the explanation was that they didn't want to stand in the way of him pursuing a multiyear deal with another organization. It was said to be a decision of benevolence.

Other teams, however, weren't buying this at all. Rival executives assume that the Cubs cut Hammel because they believe he cannot help them for the salary cost. The Cubs didn't become a great team -- a great organization -- by giving away value.

It's assumed in other front offices that the Cubs cut ties with Hammel because they preferred other options. Remember, the Cubs went into the offseason needing rotation depth, and they want to give lefty Mike Montgomery a chance to win the No. 5 spot. They also signed veteran Brett Anderson to a low-risk contract.

The fact that Hammel had to wait until February to get a two-year, $16 million deal with the Kansas City Royals -- who suffered the tragic loss of Yordano Ventura -- within what was widely perceived to be a thin market of starting pitchers is an indication of industry concerns about Hammel's health and underlying numbers.

Hammel, 34, had some elbow trouble late in the 2016 season and made just four appearances in September, throwing 20 2/3 innings after Aug. 31. More and more, teams seem to be buying into data that suggests that each arm issue is a precursor to a larger problem -- like the tremors that come before an earthquake.

Hammel had a solid 3.83 ERA, but his fielding independent numbers weren't as good. Fairly or not, some rival evaluators believe Hammel was greatly helped by the Cubs' historically great defense. His .267 batting average on balls in play last year was the best in his career, and 32 points below his career BABIP of .299; batted balls that dropped in past years were caught. His strikeout-to-walk ratio fell to 2.72 last season, from 4.30 in 2015.

The union should have larger concerns about how the strategy of tanking (or rebuilding, whatever you want to call it) has become standard operating procedure, because each season, it seems that three to six teams are turning off the spending spigot and essentially declining to pursue players who could make them better and more competitive. Hammel probably would have made some of the worst teams better in 2017, but there are teams that would rather lose 96 games while pocketing the dollars than lose 94 games.

The players' association should have done more to fight this trend in collective bargaining agreement talks last fall. With that opportunity squandered, the next time around, the union needs to alter this. If all teams were devoted to winning in 2017, Hammel and others might have gotten better contracts.

But a lot of teams were wary of the right-hander for the same reasons they believe the Cubs were: Pure analytical evaluations of his pitching and his health.

Lee Judge of the Kansas City Star takes a closer look at Hammel.

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Notable

• Jayson Stark writes about MLB's proposal to alter the strike zone.

• According to ESPN researcher Sarah Lang, called strikes in that area of the strike zone have grown in recent years. The rate of called strikes in the lower third of the strike zone has increased by 16 percent from 2009 to 2016.

There were 38,982 strikeouts in the 2016 season. That shattered the MLB record of 37,446, which was set in 2015. The MLB strikeout record has been broken in each of the past nine seasons.

The percentage of strikeouts ending on called strikes in the lower third has increased by 28 percent from 2009 to 2016.

• We wrote here in the fall about how the Pittsburgh Pirates planned to shift Andrew McCutchen to right field, and Clint Hurdle formally announced the decision Sunday. Kevin Gorman writes that it's the right move. Travis Sawchik also wrote about the move.

• The Oakland Athletics will name their field after Rickey Henderson.

• Joel Sherman writes about the New York Yankees' budget.

• Scouts watched Seth Maness.

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Moves, deals and decisions

1. The Los Angeles Angels signed Dustin Ackley.

2. The Minnesota Twins claimed an infielder.

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NL East

• A spring training preview of the Philadelphia Phillies' pitching, from Matt Gelb.

• Seth Lugo has a great curveball.

• Matt Ehalt writes about the New York Mets' right field situation.

• The Washington Nationals have some MVP candidates in the infield.

• The Nationals' catchers face a tall task in trying to replace Wilson Ramos.

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NL Central

• A new form of training is paying off for Jameson Taillon, writes Bill Brink.

• The St. Louis Cardinals will be helped by the Cincinnati Reds' plodding rebuild.

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NL West

• Henry Schulman writes about Sergio Romo's decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.So now the Giants will see that Frisbee slider from a different angle. For the past few years, Romo and Hunter Pence have dressed at adjoining lockers at AT&T Park. Now they will try to beat one another.

Buster Posey caught Romo for eight seasons. Now Posey will have to hit him.

Posey might get the chance sooner rather than later, in the World Baseball Classic, if both Mexico and the United States advance to the second round.

I know from my Twitter feed that many Giants fans cannot forgive Romo for going to the Dodgers, while many others feel he gave his all to San Francisco for his entire career so far and he had every right to go where he chose.

I doubt any of those folks are going to budge.

Dodgers-Giants, you know.

Romo gets $3 million, as Andy McCullough writes.

• Andrew Baggarly writes about the San Francisco Giants' non-roster invitees.

• Jeff Sanders writes about the San Diego Padres' shortstop options.

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AL East

• Roger McDowell has a reputation as serious coach.

• Manny Machado talks about the World Baseball Classic.

• The Boston Red Sox are drawing inspiration from the New England Patriots.

• Michael Silverman has nine questions the Red Sox face.

• Boston's trucks departed for Florida.

• The Tampa Bay Rays prepare to open a camp.

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AL Central

• Paul Sullivan writes about what kind of team that the Chicago White Sox will be this year.

• The Royals have a new slogan for 2017.

• A look at the Cleveland Indians' bullpen.

• Rebuilding the Detroit Tigers' farm system will take time, writes Lynn Henning.

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AL West

• Kyle Seager has been part of the Seattle Mariners' growth.

• Evan Grant writes about Carlos Gomez's defense.

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Lastly

• The last snap of the football season means the start of baseball, writes John McGrath.

• Cubs bobbleheads will be available soon.

• A Milwaukee Brewers minor-league coach recovered from a rare disease.

And today will be better than yesterday.

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Source: Yanks, Carter close to 1-year deal

February 7, 2017 By Bryan Hoch/



The Yankees are closing in on a one-year, $3.5 million agreement with slugger Chris Carter, a source familiar with the negotiations has told .

The club has not commented on the deal, which is subject to a successful physical. The Associated Press reported that Carter's contract includes a $500,000 signing bonus, a $3 million salary and $500,000 in performance bonuses: $100,000 each for 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances.

Carter tied the Rockies' Nolan Arenado for the National League lead with 41 home runs last season, batting .222 with 27 doubles and a career-best 94 RBIs in 160 games for the Brewers. He also led the NL with 206 strikeouts and was non-tendered by Milwaukee in November.

"I am excited to go play for a bigger-market team with more national exposure," Carter told The AP on Tuesday.

Though the deal is not yet official, the 30-year-old Carter projects to provide insurance for the Yankees at first base, where they had been planning on entering the spring with a competition between Greg Bird and Tyler Austin.

Bird showed promise in a late-season callup two years ago, hitting 11 homers in 46 games, but he missed all of 2016 following right shoulder surgery. Austin hit .241 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 31 games last season, marking his first taste of big league duty.

The Yankees also have added veteran slugger Matt Holliday to the roster, though they envision the 37-year-old more in a designated-hitter role.

A career .218 hitter over seven Major League seasons with the Athletics, Astros and Brewers, Carter could play first base against left-handers, against whom he posted an .875 OPS last year, while also picking up some at-bats at DH and in left field, where he has played 77 career games.

"I'm ready for whatever role they give me," Carter said. "I know they have Holliday and I know Bird's there, so I'm looking to help the team in any way I can."

Carter earned $2.5 million last season and would be the third significant free agent signed this winter by the Yankees, following their pacts with Holliday (one year, $13 million) and closer Aroldis Chapman (five years, $86 million, a new record for a reliever).

Yankees pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 14, with the full squad set to report on Feb. 18. Carter said that it was a relief to finally know which uniform he would be wearing in 2017.

"It's definitely been tough having to wait this long in the offseason when Spring Training is so close," Carter said. "I'm glad to have this out of the way now so I can get out there at Spring Training and have a team and be out there with the guys."

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D-backs sign infielder Descalso

Gosselin designated for assignment

February 7, 2017 By Chad Thornburg/



The D-backs signed free-agent infielder Daniel Descalso to a one-year contract, the club announced Tuesday. To make room for Descalso on the 40-man roster, they designated infielder Phil Gosselin for assignment.

MLB Network Insider Ken Rosenthal reported the deal guarantees Descalso $1.5 million for 2017 and includes a $2 million buyout for 2018.

Descalso, 30, spent the last two seasons in Colorado. He hit .264 with a career-best eight home runs and 38 RBIs through 99 games in 2016.

The veteran infielder began his big league career in 2010 and spent five seasons in St. Louis, where he won a World Series in 2011.

Gosselin, 28, was acquired by Arizona in a trade with the Braves in June 2015. He's appeared in 146 games for the D-backs since, batting .283 with five homers and 26 RBIs.

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Sources: Rangers, Napoli agree to 1-year deal

February 7, 2017 By T.R. Sullivan/



After more than three months of discussions, Mike Napoli is headed back to the Rangers.

Napoli has reached a tentative agreement with the Rangers on a one-year contract, Major League sources confirmed Tuesday. An official announcement is pending until the required physical and the Rangers can make room on their 40-man roster. The club has not confirmed the deal.

The two sides may wait until next week when the Rangers can make room on Feb. 14 by moving Prince Fielder or Jake Diekman to the 60-day disabled list. Both have to stay on the 40-man roster until that date.

Napoli will join the Rangers to be their primary first baseman while continuing to get time at designated hitter. He jumps ahead of a field that includes Minor League invites Josh Hamilton and James Loney. If Hamilton shows he is healthy, he could still earn significant time at designated hitter.

The move likely means Joey Gallo will likely start the season at Triple-A Round Rock, although he could change that with a big Spring Training. Jurickson Profar and Ryan Rua will likely fill utility roles as they did for most of last season.

Napoli, 35, gives the Rangers more power in the middle of their lineup, something that was of concern after the departure of Carlos Beltran, Mitch Moreland and Ian Desmond to free agency.

Napoli was with the Indians last season and hit .239 with 34 home runs, 101 RBIs and a .465 slugging percentage. The Indians won the American League Central and advanced to the World Series as Napoli played in the postseason for the eighth time in 10 years.

Napoli was with the Rangers in 2011, when they went to the World Series and again in 2012, when they advanced as an AL Wild Card team. He left as a free agent after that season but was reacquired on Aug. 7, 2015, for the Rangers' stretch run.

Acquired from the Blue Jays on Jan. 25, 2011, Napoli hit .320 for the Rangers that season with 30 home runs and 75 RBIs. In 17 postseason games, Napoli hit .320 with three home runs and 15 RBIs.

Napoli was an All-Star catcher for the Rangers in 2012, when he hit .227 with 24 home runs and 56 RBIs. When he returned in 2015, he split time between first base and left field.

He will not play left field this time around.

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Nats add electric arm in trade for lefty Romero

February 7, 2017 By Jamal Collier/



The Nationals added another left-handed arm to their bullpen mix when they acquired lefty Enny Romero from the Rays on Tuesday for Minor League righty Jeffrey Rosa.

Romero, who just turned 26 in January, was the youngest member on Tampa Bay's Opening Day roster last year but had a disappointing season. He had a 5.91 ERA in 52 games and got himself into trouble with high walk numbers at 5.5 walks per nine innings.

However, Romero has an electric arm with a fastball that averaged 96.1 mph in 2016, which ranked ninth among American League relievers who threw at least 40 innings, according to Fangraphs. He did have success at the beginning of last season when he set a Rays franchise record by retiring 17 consecutive batters, and he struck out 9.9 batters per nine innings last season.

That strikeout rate, high velocity and the fact that he is under team control until 2022 was enticing enough for the Nats to take a chance on a young pitcher after Tampa Bay needed to free up space on its 40-man roster upon signing first baseman Logan Morrison. Romero, who is out of options, brings the Nats' 40-man roster to 39, and he will likely enter competition with the remaining lefties in the Nationals bullpen.

Both Oliver Perez and Sammy Solis will return this year after playing key roles in last year's bullpen, and Matt Grace is the remaining left-handed reliever on the roster. Manager Dusty Baker grew fond of carrying three lefties through much of the first half last season, so perhaps there is room for Romero as well. His sample size in the Majors is small, but Romero has fared better against right-handers (.665 OPS) than left-handers (.880 OPS).

Washington parts with Rosa, 21, after two seasons in the organization following his signing as an undrafted free agent. He spent 2016 in the Gulf Coast League, and in 24 starts in the Minors the past two seasons, he posted a 3.83 ERA.

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The Market was stacked against Jason Hammel

February 6, 2017 By Jeff Sullivan/



Jason Hammel isn’t yet officially a member of the Royals. He still has to pass a physical, and we’ve been burned before when we’ve jumped the gun. Yet the odds are that Hammel will soon officially join the Royals, and he’ll do so on a two-year guarantee worth $16 million. I’ve personally never signed a two-year guarantee worth $16 million, and I can’t imagine I’m going to, unless FanGraphs gets incredibly popular. Hammel is coming out of this with a nice chunk of change.

On the other hand, we’re a week into February, meaning spring training is right around the corner. Hammel got two years where he really wanted three, and this offer might not have even existed were it not for a horrible accident claiming the life of Yordano Ventura. The Royals were more or less forced into this position, and the offseason for Hammel wasn’t what he thought it would be. Looking back, I suppose there’s not much mystery. Hammel’s representatives were fighting something of an uphill battle.

We can start easy. What’s one reason why Hammel might not have been able to draw much of a market? He’s 34 years old. Teams tend to shy away from making significant commitments to players Hammel’s age. There are exceptions, in the cases of really really good players, but Hammel is only really really good relative to you. In the majors, he’s basically average, and 34-year-olds get worse. Sometimes, they stay the same. But then they get worse. Everybody gets worse.

Then there’s the matter of the Cubs declining Hammel’s option. This was sold as a great gesture, and it even probably was. The Cubs were said to be honoring an arrangement where they wouldn’t trade Hammel or limit his future earnings by putting him in the bullpen. But Hammel’s option was for only $12 million, and it came with a $2-million buyout, meaning it would’ve cost the Cubs just $10 million to pick up. Teams were inevitably going to react with skepticism. Hammel ended last season with elbow discomfort, and other teams weren’t sure he was okay.

Tying into that, Hammel leans heavily on his slider. It’s a good slider, and Hammel knows it, and he throws it more than a third of the time. Last season, 181 starters threw at least 50 innings. Hammel had the sixth-highest slider rate among them, and sliders have a negative perception when it comes to a pitcher’s longer-term health. Teams weren’t sure if Hammel’s arm was sound, and the slider rate to some extent justified the concern. Even now, the Royals can’t be totally sure Hammel can hold up.

And there’s one more interesting twist. On the matter of Hammel’s stamina and durability — for his career, he has a 3.99 first-half ERA, and a 5.06 second-half ERA. I’ll grant that ERA isn’t a good statistic. I’ll also grant that season half splits are quick and sloppy. But a lot of people around the league think of Hammel as a pitcher who wears down, and for some evidence, over the past two decades, there are 184 pitchers who have thrown at least 500 innings in each half. Here are the 10 worst splits by OPS allowed.

Second-Half Decliners, 1997 – 2016

Pitcher 1H OPS 2H OPS Change

Chris Sale 0.588 0.682 0.094

Nate Robertson 0.756 0.848 0.092

Jason Hammel 0.721 0.805 0.084

Johnny Cueto 0.641 0.725 0.084

Edinson Volquez 0.709 0.787 0.078

Edwin Jackson 0.743 0.811 0.068

Jered Weaver 0.662 0.729 0.067

Brad Penny 0.733 0.791 0.058

Josh Fogg 0.794 0.852 0.058

Chris Capuano 0.746 0.802 0.056

SOURCE: Baseball-Reference

Minimum 500 innings pitched in each half.

There are some good pitchers on that list, like Sale and Cueto. They don’t suffer from the same kind of perception problem. But Hammel’s split is indeed enormous — it’s the third-biggest out of everyone, where the total pitcher pool has an average split of -0.001. Hammel had problems down the stretch last year. He had problems down the stretch the year before, and he lasted just 4.1 innings over two playoff starts. Plenty of teams like the idea of Jason Hammel as a starter, but you just can’t know what you’ll have in September.

I don’t know how much of this is fair, versus how much of this is random noise. Much of Hammel’s ugly split comes down to quality of contact allowed, and that can bounce all over the place. But something we don’t talk about enough is the stretch-run and playoff bonus that gets built into certain contracts. High-leverage relievers get more money, and front-of-the-rotation starters get more money, in part because they’re being compensated for postseason value. Even though no team is guaranteed to make the playoffs, there’s always some chance, and you know which players might become more important in October.

With a guy like Hammel, you very well might not want to use him in October. You might not even trust him in September or August. It’s not that that’s certain, and it’s not that he doesn’t help a team out in the earlier months, but as the games get more and more important, the idea is that Hammel gets less and less reliable. And to an executive, that’s negative value. It means Hammel might not help if your own team makes the playoffs, and it means another team might not want Hammel so bad in the event your team has to sell near the deadline.

In short, Jason Hammel suffers from a perception problem. His age, his stats, his being left off the Cubs’ playoff roster — it all informs a general lack of trust in his ability to keep pitching well as a season wears on. For the Royals, maybe that means this is a buy-low opportunity on a legitimate No. 3 starter. Heaven knows that would help fill a void. But this is a risk, a risk that reminds us to consider just what a team is paying for. The best baseball seasons stretch for seven months, and they don’t all mean the same thing.

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MLB TRANSACTIONS

February 8, 2017 •.



|TEAM |PLAYER |TRANSACTION |

|Cleveland |Austin Adams |Designated for Assignment |

|Indians | | |

|Detroit Tigers |David Lough |Signed to a Minor League |

| | |Contract |

|San Diego Padres|Erick Aybar |Signed to a Minor League |

| | |Contract |

|San Diego Padres|Tony Cruz |Signed to a Minor League |

| | |Contract |

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