Daily Clips
January 30, 2018
LOCAL
Royals acquire Hahn, prospect in trade with A's
January 29, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/royals-acquire-jesse-hahn-in-trade-with-as/c-265531932
Royals bring back Escobar on one-year deal
January 29, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/alcides-escobar-royals-sign-1-year-contract/c-265377890
Zimmer sets sights on injury-free season
Righty prospect throwing 'free and easy' after years of pain, discomfort, surgeries
January 29, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/royals-kyle-zimmer-aims-for-injury-free-2018/c-265500182
Royals save $5 million, get two pitchers in deal that sends Brandon Moss to Oakland
January 29, 2018 By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article197308004.html
Shortstop Alcides Escobar returns to Royals on one-year contract
January 29, 2018 By Maria Torres & Rustin Dodd/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article197242694.html
NATIONAL
A's add Moss, lefty Buchter in deal with Royals
Hahn, Fillmyer sent to Kansas City in trade
January 29, 2018 By Jane Lee/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/as-trade-for-buchter-moss-from-royals/c-265533638
Indians to stop using Wahoo logo starting in '19
January 29, 2018 By Jordan Bastian/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/indians-to-stop-using-chief-wahoo-logo/c-265489544
Time for the big free agents to find homes
Could this be the week for J.D., Yu, Arrieta, Hosmer, Moustakas?
January 30, 2018 By JP Morosi/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/updating-5-free-agents-who-could-sign-soon/c-265542338
MLB TRANSACTIONS
January 30, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions
LOCAL
Royals acquire Hahn, prospect in trade with A's
January 29, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/royals-acquire-jesse-hahn-in-trade-with-as/c-265531932
Royals general manager Dayton Moore continued his offseason of shaving payroll and restocking his farm system on Monday, as he traded left-hander Ryan Buchter and designated hitter/first baseman Brandon Moss to the A's for right-hander Jesse Hahn and Minor Leaguer Heath Fillmyer.
Moss, who will be making his second stint with Oakland, was owed $8.25 million on the two-year, $12 million deal he signed with the Royals a year ago. The Royals, according to a source, sent $3.25 million to the A's as part of the deal.
The Royals now are without a natural first baseman, which could lead to further speculation they might bring back free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer. The Royals' payroll now has been slashed to around $107 million with potentially more trades to come to perhaps make room for Hosmer.
"It would be inappropriate for me to comment on a free agent right now," Moore told MLB.com by phone. "[But] I think I've made it clear what our thoughts are about Eric Hosmer."
Hahn, a pre-arbitration player out of options making less than $600,000, likely will get a chance to crack the Royals' rotation, which consists of Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Jason Hammel, Nate Karns and Jakob Junis. Right-hander Trevor Oaks, acquired from the Dodgers in the Scott Alexander trade, also will compete for a rotation spot.
"He's got a great arm," Moore said. "We think there's a lot of value there. He will compete for a spot in the rotation. He gives us more depth there."
Moss hit .207 last year with a .279 on-base percentage. Moss did hit 22 home runs with 50 RBIs, and he was projected to play first base for the Royals this season in the absence of Hosmer.
"Mossy was just a super guy who hit some big home runs for us," Moore said. "He was great in the clubhouse and a super competitor on the field."
Buchter, acquired from San Diego prior to the non-waiver Trade Deadline last July, had a 2.67 ERA in 29 games for the Royals down the stretch.
Hahn, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound 28-year-old, started 13 games for the A's last year and was 3-6 with a 5.30 ERA with a 1.507 WHIP. He struck out 55 hitters in 69 2/3 innings.
Fillmyer, 23, was a fifth-round pick by the A's in 2014. He went 11-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 starts for Double-A Midland (Texas) in 2017. He was the A's No. 18 prospect per MLB Pipeline.
Royals bring back Escobar on one-year deal
January 29, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/alcides-escobar-royals-sign-1-year-contract/c-265377890
The Royals re-signed free-agent shortstop Alcides Escobar on Monday, adding back a key piece of their roster.
General manager Dayton Moore hinted on Friday at the team's Fan Fest event that the one-year deal was imminent. A source confirmed the contract is worth $2.5 million with $1.5 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances.
"I've been here for seven years, and I feel like I belong here in Kansas City," Escobar said. "I got some offers outside. For me, I came back because I think it's better here, that's why I'm coming back."
"Obviously we're very delighted that Esky is back with us," Moore said Monday. "I think we all agree he's been a huge part of our success through this historic run here in Kansas City. I think we would all agree, and I certainly speak for myself, we all love watching him play and watching him compete."
Escobar, 31, spent the past seven seasons with the Royals and three times has played all 162 games in a season. Moore indicated Escobar would not be coming back to the Royals to be a backup player.
"When I signed, I said I want to play every day," Escobar said. "I'll be the first guy on the team to say that's what I want."
"It's safe to assume he's going to play a lot of shortstop," Moore added.
The Royals earlier this offseason spoke about 2018 being an opportunity for Raul Mondesi to claim a starting spot at shortstop. Those plans have changed.
Moore said Mondesi is still in the team's long-term plans but that the most important part of Mondesi's development is for him to play consistently. While Moore said it might be possible for manager Ned Yost to play Mondesi somewhere five or six times a week at the big league level, it's also possible Mondesi could be better off starting every day at Triple-A Omaha.
"We'll see how that unfolds," Moore said. "[Mondesi] can play second base. He can play short. He's good enough to play center field. We don't have a clear vision [for him] right now other than to continue his development. He is a part of our future."
Moore believes Escobar will give the Royals the defense they covet at the position.
"It's a very important position," Moore said, "and you need to convert outs there."
Escobar slashed .250/.272/.357 last season for the Royals and is a past Gold Glove Award winner who landed with Kansas City in December 2010. Escobar had a banner year in 2015, named the American League's starting shortstop for the All-Star Game, then being honored as the MVP of the AL Championship Series. He set a franchise record with a hit in 15 consecutive postseason games and led off Game 1 of the World Series that year with an inside-the-park home run, the first to do so in 112 years.
Zimmer sets sights on injury-free season
Righty prospect throwing 'free and easy' after years of pain, discomfort, surgeries
January 29, 2018 By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
https://www.mlb.com/news/royals-kyle-zimmer-aims-for-injury-free-2018/c-265500182
Royals right-hander Kyle Zimmer dreams of the day he won't have to answer another question about his health.
Soon after he was drafted in the first round in 2012, Zimmer's career became marked by a series of health setbacks. There were elbow procedures, shoulder procedures and a strained latissimus dorsi muscle. Then in '16, Zimmer hoped that thoracic outlet syndrome surgery would finally be the ticket to a healthy season.
But Zimmer's 2017 was dogged again by soreness and discomfort. Last November, Zimmer went through another procedure to remove sutures from a past procedure -- the sutures were left in deliberately at the time to promote healing.
"It'd really been bugging me," Zimmer said at last weekend's FanFest. "But they're out, and now I'm throwing free and easy.
"I threw my first bullpen [Thursday]. Threw 20 fastballs, 18 strikes, super free and easy. And no pain."
No pain is, of course, the key. Through all the procedures over the years, Zimmer has thrown over 100 innings just once in a season.
"I'd just like to show up to the ballpark and be a normal guy," Zimmer said. "I understand [injuries] sort of have dictated my career. My goal is to show up and not have to answer questions about my health. But I know to do that I have to prove I can sustain [being injury-free].
"If [other people] get frustrated with my health problems, multiply that by a thousand for me."
Zimmer, 26, is on schedule, he said, to be ready for Spring Training in two weeks. He is not concerned right now about velocity during his throwing program.
"Last year, I was up to 98-99 [mph] with pain," he said. "So now it's free and easy. I don't see any reason why the velocity won't be back up there."
How the Royals intend to use Zimmer remains to be seen. Last season, they tried the righty, the team's No. 15 prospect per MLB Pipeline, in the bullpen. Eighteen of his 21 outings between Double-A and Triple-A came in relief.
"I'm open to both," Zimmer said. "I've done both now. I know how to mentally prepare for both roles."
Mostly, though, he just wants to blend in and contribute.
"It's sort of been a puzzle," Zimmer said. "I think we finally filled in that puzzle.
"I couldn't be more grateful to this organization. They've stuck with me."
Royals save $5 million, get two pitchers in deal that sends Brandon Moss to Oakland
January 29, 2018 By Rustin Dodd/KC Star
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article197308004.html
In a move to clear salary, bolster rotation depth and possibly prep for the biggest free-agent signing in club history, the Royals on Monday traded first baseman Brandon Moss and left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter to the Oakland A’s in exchange for right-hander Jesse Hahn and minor-league right-hander Heath Fillmyer.
The deal represented the Royals’ latest cost-cutting maneuver as they continue to pursue free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer. The Royals sent $3.25 million to Oakland, saving $5 million of the remaining $8.25 million on Moss’ two-year contract. The trade came just hours after the team officially re-signed shortstop Alcides Escobar to a one-year, $2.5 million deal that could pay him up to $4 million this season.
“The economic part of it is very real to us,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore told The Star on Monday evening.
The Royals have spent much of the winter attempting to trim payroll, listening to offers on multiple relievers. The goal has been flexibility — for the future and for a possible deal with Hosmer. They dumped $9 million earlier this month while dealing reliever Joakim Soria to the White Sox and Scott Alexander to the Dodgers in a three-team trade. On Monday, they paired Moss, an underachieving slugger with one year remaining on his contract, with Buchter and gained more financial flexibility.
The savings could be used in an aggressive offer for Hosmer, who is a free agent for the first time and expected to command a long-term deal that could approach $140 million. The Royals are believed to have made an offer close to that number. The only other public suitor has been the San Diego Padres. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres’ offer for Hosmer is less lucrative.
Yet Moore remained noncommittal on Monday when asked if he expected any free agent signings in the weeks before spring training.
“We’ll see,” he said. “These things are unpredictable. I don’t have anything for you right now.”
The market for Hosmer, 28, has remained stagnant amidst a wider freeze in baseball’s offseason free-agent market. The Royals, though, have remained patient as they move into the early stages of a franchise rebuild.
The process began this offseason with an internal directive from Moore to restock the farm system. It continued on Monday when the club acquired Hahn, an injury-prone starter who posted a 5.59 ERA across the last two seasons, and Fillmyer, 23, whom Moore described as a “young projection starter.”
Hahn, 28, began his career with promise, posting a 3.23 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 170 innings in 2014 and 2015. Armed with a fastball that sits in the low 90s and a curveball with significant movement, he appeared ready to become a rotation staple in Oakland. But he battled elbow issues in 2015 before being slowed by shoulder and triceps injuries in 2016 and 2017, respectively. He logged just 116 innings in 2016 and 2017. He became available this winter because he was out of options and unlikely to make the A’s opening day roster. Moore said Hahn would compete for a spot in the Royals’ rotation this spring.
“He’s got really good stuff,” Moore said. “He’s had some bad luck with some injuries. He’ll get going, be really dominant. He’s had some setbacks injurywise. But we feel really comfortable.”
Fillmyer, 23, recorded an 11-5 record with a 3.49 ERA at Class AA Midland in 2017. A fifth-round pick in 2014, he has a career 3.78 ERA in 392 2/3 innings in the minor leagues. He was added to the A’s 40-man roster this offseason. He will likely offer rotation depth while starting the year in the minors, Moore said.
For now, the addition of Hahn gives the Royals an assortment of back-end-of-the-rotation options as spring training looms in a matter of weeks. With Danny Duffy headlining the rotation, and Ian Kennedy returning for a third season, Hahn will compete for a spot with a group that includes Nathan Karns, Trevor Oaks and Jakob Junis.
The rotation is also expected to include veteran Jason Hammel, though he could also find himself as a casualty of a another salary-dumping trade. Hammel, 35, is owed $11 million entering the second season of a two-year, $16 million contract. Yet as Moore executed a deal on Monday, he reiterated that no such trades were imminent.
“If the right situation comes along,” he said. “As you know, I’ve made our objectives really clear. We want to rebuild our farm system, and we’re certainly focused on managing our payroll more efficiently going forward.”
The club has stated that its payroll will likely be somewhere in the $105 million to $110 million range in 2018. The current projections — before a possible Hosmer signing — approach that number.
Moss, 34, is returning to Oakland, where he excelled early in his career, after batting .207 with 128 strikeouts in 118 games last seasons. Buchter, 30, posted a 2.67 ERA in 27 innings last season after being acquired from San Diego in a midseason trade. He will make close to the league minimum this season and is under club control for another four years.