Daily Clips
March 15, 2018
LOCAL
Actor Caviezel 'plays part' at Royals camp
Kennedy battles through command issues against Cubs
March 14, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Peralta comfortable with role in KC's bullpen
March 14, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals 7, Cubs 6: Frank Schwindel's big day helps KC complete rally
March 14, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Mike Moustakas will likely be in the Royals' lineup this weekend
March 14, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
The Royals' Cheslor Cuthbert is counting his chickens—literally
March 14, 2018By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
Caviezel portrays Royals coach in team photo
March 14, 2018News Tribune (via AP)
MINORS
Four Former Blue Rocks Earn 2017 Royals' Organization Awards
Griffin, Lopez, Hernandez and Schwindel all Recognized for Standout Performances
March 14, 2018By Cory Nidoh/Wilmington Blue Rocks
MiLB announces pace-of-play rules for 2018
Extra innings to begin with runner on base, mound visits limited
March 14, 2018Minor League Baseball
MLB TRANSACTIONS
March 15, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Actor Caviezel 'plays part' at Royals camp
Kennedy battles through command issues against Cubs
March 14, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The Royals had yet another celebrity arrive in camp.
After the legendary Bo Jackson and comedic actor Rob Riggle spent some time in camp earlier this month, actor Jim Caviezel showed up to take some batting practice on Wednesday with the Royals and throw out the ceremonial first pitch before their game against the Cubs at Surprise Stadium.
Caviezel even made himself extremely useful as a stand-in (sort of) for bench coach Dale Sveum on staff photo day. Sveum was absent because of a doctor's appointment.
"[Caviezel] put on Dale's uniform and did a good job filling in," manager Ned Yost said. "We'll just photoshop Dale's head for his later on."
After Wednesday's 7-6 win, several Royals players were expected to attend a private screening of Caviezel's latest film, Paul, Apostle of Christ, at a local move theater later in the evening.
Caviezel, who is good friends with Royals Hall of Famer Mike Sweeney, also starred in The Passion of the Christ, The Thin Red Line, Frequency and Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius.
Kennedy's command issues
Royals starter Ian Kennedy made his third start of the spring and the results were good: four innings, two hits, one run, two walks, three strikeouts.
"But that's probably the worst command I've had this spring," Kennedy said, smiling. "I was trying to correct things out there. I kept pulling my slider, pulling my pitches ... but I'll take the results."
Clark arrives in camp
Executive director of the MLB Players Association Tony Clark made his annual spring visit with Royals players on Wednesday morning to discuss the issues facing the union in light of a rough offseason for free agents.
While the union's position is that too many teams are more interested in acquiring Draft picks for the future rather than fielding a competitive team now -- thus leading to a cold free-agent market this winter -- Clark did acknowledge that some teams must rebuild.
"In any given offseason, you will see two or three teams rebuild," Clark said. "We just haven't seen what we've seen this offseason where we've seen many more ... we understand teams are going to cycle. But what we are seeing is a little different."
Camp battles
Rule 5 right-hander Brad Keller, who has a good shot at making the 25-man roster, pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one. His fastball sat at 94-96 mph.
Right-hander Josh Staumont, ranked as the club's No. 13 prospect by MLB Pipeline, wowed everyone with a scoreless ninth as his fastball sat at 97-100 mph. He even hit 102 mph.
Injury updates
Outfielder Paulo Orlando remains out for a few more days because of a Grade 1 hamstring strain that occurred while lunging for a line drive on Saturday.
Infielder Adalberto Mondesi continues on his no-throw program because of right shoulder impingement. He has served as the DH the past two days and may start throwing on Friday.
Up next
Watch live on MLB.TV as right-hander Jason Hammel makes his third spring start at 3:05 p.m. CT on Thursday when the Royals face the Dodgers in Glendale, Ariz.
Peralta comfortable with role in KC's bullpen
March 14, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Royals manager Ned Yost hasn't made any proclamations about right-hander Wily Peralta's role in 2018.
But with all the spots in the club's rotation taken basically before camp opened, it seemed an obvious conclusion that Peralta, a former starter, was a strong candidate to transition to the bullpen.
The 28-year-old former Brewers pitcher pretty much has made it official, telling MLB.com he views himself now as strictly a reliever.
"Yeah, I finished my last few outings in Milwaukee in the bullpen last season," Peralta said. "I feel like I'm a bullpen guy now. At first it was a hard transition because I've always been a starter. But going to Triple-A last year for a bit helped me with the transition and taught me how to go back to back out of the 'pen."
Peralta, who signed a one-year, $1.525 million deal with the Royals in the offseason, was once an effective starter. He went 17-11 in 2014, throwing 198 2/3 innings for the Brewers and posting a 3.53 ERA.
But Peralta struggled as a starter in subsequent years, and last year the Brewers eventually pulled him from the rotation. He had a 7.85 ERA in 19 games overall.
But Peralta did get a taste of a new career path when the Brewers sent him to Triple-A Colorado Springs. There, he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen and had a 3.38 ERA in 13 games.
What Peralta liked the most about the bullpen was being able to go all-out with every pitch, rather than conserving energy as a starter would do.
"Out of the bullpen you only have one or two innings so you can let it go," he said. "It's different. You come out of the bullpen and you let it go because you're not saving anything. You're not going deep into the game so you don't have to manage your pitches. Turn it loose."
Peralta said he consistently can hit 96-97 mph out of the bullpen.
"I like it," he said. "It's a lot of fun. And you know you can pitch more often."
Peralta's debut this spring -- one inning, six runs, four earned -- likely scared a few Royals fans.
But Peralta shrugged it off and was solid in both of his next two outings. But he gave up four runs in one inning on Wednesday against the Cubs. However, most of the damage was done on two walks, an infield hit and a soft two-run single to center.
"Always my first one down here there's a little adrenaline going and you get a little wild," he said, smiling. "First outing didn't go the way I wanted it. Every spring the first outing has always been a rough one for me. After that, you just try to get into a rhythm.
"I feel better and better with each outing. In Spring Training you work on certain things, just get your work in and prepare for the season."
Indeed, it's pretty hard to keep a smile off Peralta's face this spring.
"I'm just happy with the opportunity here," he said. "A new page in my career."
Royals 7, Cubs 6: Frank Schwindel's big day helps KC complete rally
March 14, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
With late help from non-roster invitees, the Royals scored twice in the seventh inning and overcame an early deficit to beat the Chicago Cubs 7-6 in front of an announced crowd of 10,213 fans at Surprise Stadium.
The game
The Cubs put up a four-spot on right-hander Wily Peralta in the fifth inning, but the Royals slowly chipped away at the 5-1 deficit. They scored two runs in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to mount a comeback.
Shortstop Alcides Escobar led off the fifth with his first double of the spring and scored when outfielder Jon Jay’s triple rolled into the right-field corner moments later.
In the sixth inning, Frank Schwindel put a charge into a 3-1 pitch and watched the ball travel 470 feet to center field for his second home run of the week, another lead-off bomb to match one he hit against the Rangers on Monday night. Schwindel later hit a double into the gap at right-center field to drive in two more runs and put the Royals ahead in the seventh.
Jorge Soler had an RBI single to give the Royals their first run of the game. He leads the team with nine RBIs.
The starter
Ian Kennedy breezed through the first inning against the Cubs, retiring Ian Happ, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo on 13 pitches. Even after allowing a two-out double in the second, Kennedy kept his pitch count at 30 through the second inning and gave himself wiggle room for his third start of the spring.
But as he embarked on his second trip through the order, Kennedy tried to throw his breaking ball too perfectly. He pitched deep into at-bats. After walking Happ and Bryant back-to-back over nine pitches and allowing a sacrifice fly that appeared to hold up at the warning track, he was six pitches in on the Cubs’ Chris Gimenez when Salvador Perez caught Bryant straying off third base to end the inning. Kennedy had raised his pitch count to 51 when the inning ended.
Kennedy needed just eight pitches to get all three outs in the fourth. But the rebound inning didn’t assuage his displeasure with his slider, which he said was the worst he’d thrown it all spring.
“I just all of a sudden started yanking the pitches,” Kennedy said. “Everything down and away was pulling off a little bit. But you know, luckily you get out of it with one run.”
Peralta struggles
Peralta signed a minor-league contract with the Royals in December in an effort to re-establish his career and find a job in the Royals bullpen.
After allowing four earned runs in his first Cactus League outing, he gave up one earned run over his next three innings and recorded seven strikeouts in that span.
But Peralta struggled when he took the mound in the fifth inning Wednesday. He threw 95 to 96 mph fastballs with regularity throughout his 39-pitch outing, but he couldn’t get them down in the strike zone.
After a leadoff home run, four straight batters reached base with one out. Rizzo knocked in two of them when he pulled a single into right field.
Another run scored on a squeeze play.
Whit Merrifield helped Peralta limit the damage when a single deflected off Peralta’s glove and toward second base. Merrifield trapped the ball before it squeaked into the outfield, which caused the runner at third base to hold up with two outs. Peralta retired the ninth batter of the inning on a ground ball to Escobar.
“He had a bit of timing issue,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “He just never could get comfortable. He couldn’t get his foot down on time. … I don’t worry about him too much.”
Gordo’s bat
Outfielder Alex Gordon has gone hitless in his last 19 at-bats. But his slow start has not set off any alarms.
Gordon was 0 for 2 on Wednesday. He reached base on a fielder’s choice and a seven-pitch walk. He also scored easily from third base when Humberto Arteaga stroked a two-out double to deep center field.
“I don’t worry about Alex,” Yost said. “I know Alex is gonna give you everything he’s got every single day. He’s prepared. He works hard.”
Up next
The Royals (9-10-1) will travel to Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz., on Thursday to face the Los Angeles Dodgers at 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on MLB Network.
Mike Moustakas will likely be in the Royals' lineup this weekend
March 14, 2018By Maria Torres/KC Star
Royals third baseman MIke Moustakas might see Cactus League action this weekend.
Manager Ned Yost said Wednesday Moustakas could be the Royals' designated hitter in Friday's game against Eric Hosmer's new team, the San Diego Padres, in Peoria, Ariz.
The decision will hinge on how Moustakas feels after getting at-bats on the minor-league side Thursday. If he's up to it, Moustakas would also see time in the field during Saturday's split doubleheader against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium.
Moustakas joined the Royals in camp on Saturday, when he signed a one-year contract after struggling to gain traction on the free-agent market.
Yost said Sunday Moustakas only needs 30 to 35 at-bats to prepare for the season. Moustakas should have no trouble getting ready for the season opener at Kauffman Stadium on March 29.
The Royals' Cheslor Cuthbert is counting his chickens—literally
March 14, 2018By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
The call lit up his cell phone last summer, in the weeks before Cheslor Cuthbert was set to return home. His cousin, Job, was on the other end with distressing news. The chickens were dying.
Cuthbert, a 24-year-old Royals third baseman, had spent his adult life dedicated to disparate pursuits and passions: One was baseball, where he became the 14th man from Nicaragua to reach the sport’s zenith. The other was raising chickens.
The latter had started with modest ambitions. Using a small percentage of his amateur signing bonus, Cuthbert purchased two roosters and six hens in 2009. In time, the number of fowl exploded. First, he had 20, then 30; then 40 and 50 before one day there were 150 roosters and 80 hens living on a small plot of land behind his home on Corn Island, Nicaragua.
“I just love 'em,” Cuthbert said.
As he climbed through the minor leagues, he kept watch over his flock. He called home to his sisters for daily updates. He watched cell phone videos in the clubhouse. He leaned on his cousin, who watched after the birds. He believed the hobby had value beyond novelty.
“That is like my way to distract my mind,” Cuthbert said. “I just like watching them.”
Yet as Cuthbert listened to his cousin late last baseball season, he felt sick to his stomach. Every day, more chickens were turning up dead inside their cages. Every day, the numbers were thinning. A mysterious bug had ravaged animals on the island. Job had tried to vaccinate. It was already too late. There was nothing they could do, Job told his cousin.
“Almost all my chickens, in that moment, were dead,” Cuthbert said.
More than five months later, on a morning last week, Cuthbert stood inside the Royals’ clubhouse here at spring training. His mouth curved into a smile as he talked about his birds and his love for them. The story offered a worthwhile distraction.
Two days earlier, the Royals had signed third baseman Mike Moustakas to an unexpected one-year deal, leaving Cuthbert’s future unclear. Once a presumptive starter, he will now fend for at-bats at designated hitter or as a reserve infielder. The situation remains uncertain.
Since debuting in Kansas City in 2015, Cuthbert has sought a more stable role in the lineup while being blocked by Moustakas. That status will not change soon. Cuthbert, though, remains unusually upbeat. It is his way, teammates say. The son of a lobster fisherman and a stay-at-home mom, the product of a sleepy island off the coast of Nicaragua, Cuthbert personifies low-key. He speaks softly in the clubhouse, his accent revealing touches of Creole influences. He smiles a lot. His default setting is easygoing.
Yet he is serious and sincere about his pastime away from baseball, the one that was decimated last fall. He spent years collecting, raising and watching over his chickens. He learned the trade and admired what he built in his backyard. In time, a hobby turned to obsession.
“Some guys are into real estate,” says Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield. “Some guys flip houses, some guys collect things. Cheslor’s a chicken guy.”
***
The origins of a chicken story begin on Corn Island, a speck of terra firm in the Caribbean sea, just 50 miles off the coast of Nicaragua. Once a British protectorate, once leased to the United States, the island was crawling with pirates in the late 1800s before it was annexed by Nicaragua before the 20th century. Today it is a blend of Latin and Creole cultures, home to just over 6,000 people, most of them fishermen.
The place has never produced much in the way of sports stars, and nobody would expect it to nurture a future major leaguer. Yet two decades ago, one of those fisherman was a man named Luis Cuthbert, who specialized in two trades: Catching lobster and teaching his son baseball.
On quiet mornings on the island, Cheslor Cuthbert would join his father in his boat and watch him work, even as his mother, Debbie, decried the dangers of the sea. When they were done trawling, Cuthbert and his father would head to a patch of land near their home and work on his swing.