Daily Clips
March 7, 2018
LOCAL
Royals sign lefty-swinging outfielder Jay
March 6, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Hahn lands on 60-day DL with UCL sprain
Royals will shut down righty for several weeks before re-evaluating
March 6, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
Padres 5, Royals 4: Nathan Karns returns to mound for first time since May
March 6, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The fickle worth and uncertain future of Mike Moustakas
March 6, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
Royals sign outfielder Jon Jay; Bubba Starling develops oblique soreness
March 6, 2018By Maria Torres & Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Eric Hosmer says Mike Moustakas being unsigned 'raises a lot of red flags'
March 6, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
Royals fans in Arizona hoping for surprise finish in team's 50th season
March 6, 2018By Shawn Moran/Cronkite News (via KC Star)
Mellinger Minutes: Royals camp
March 6, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
Royals, KCPL announce the return of Cops, Tops Card program
March 6, 2018Salina Post
Bo Jackson, legendary scout Art Stewart and the biggest hole at Royals camp
March 6, 2018By Rustin Dodd/The Athletic KC
Three ways pitchers get batters to let hittable pitches go by
March 6, 2018By Lee Judge/LeeJudgeKC.wordpress.com
NATIONAL
Moss, DFA'd to open roster spot, released
Slugger's second go-round with Oakland ends early
March 6, 2018By Jane Lee/MLB.com
MLB TRANSACTIONS
March 7, 2018 •.CBSSports.com
LOCAL
Royals sign lefty-swinging outfielder Jay
March 6, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The Royals' outfield competition could be at an end.
The Royals on Tuesday signed left-handed-hitting outfielder Jon Jay to a one-year deal -- $3 million base, per source, with $1.5 million available in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Royals placed right-hander Jesse Hahn on the 60-day disabled list with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain.
Royals manager Ned Yost said Jay, 32, would "play a lot." Jay, a career. 288 hitter, likely will join an outfield mix that includes Jorge Soler, Alex Gordon, Jorge Bonifacio and Paulo Orlando -- Orlando, though, still has Minor League options and could start the season at Triple-A.
Yost said Jay also could see some time at DH, along with Soler.
But if the Royals carry five outfielders, it would appear to be difficult for non-roster invitees Michael Saunders and Tyler Collins to find a spot on the 25-man Opening Day roster, unless Orlando is optioned.
"[Jay brings] veteran leadership, a very consistent, solid bat," Yost said. "Good defense in the outfield. He'll fit in. Plays all three outfield positions, DH, whatever.
"Always been a productive bat. [He's an] 80 makeup guy, which is the highest on the scale. A really good teammate. Really productive.
"Without knowing him, the more homework I do on him, the more I like him. The more people I talk to, the more it's like, 'Wow, this guy brings a lot to the table.'"
Jay hit .296 last year for the Cubs, with 18 doubles and a .374 on-base percentage. After a long and unnerving offseason, he was happy to have found a home with the Royals.
"Obviously, this is a team with a lot of tradition," Jay said. "I'm familiar with the Midwest, having played in St. Louis and Chicago.
"There are a lot of pieces here ... but it was just a chance for me to play."
Jay bristled a bit at the suggestion he had a better chance to find an opening with the rebuilding Royals.
"I didn't think about it that way," Jay said. "I don't like to use that word [rebuilding]. We have guys who can compete."
Hahn lands on 60-day DL with UCL sprain
Royals will shut down righty for several weeks before re-evaluating
March 6, 2018By Jeffrey Flanagan/MLB.com
The Royals have placed right-handed pitcher Jesse Hahn on the 60-day disabled list with a sprain in the UCL of his right elbow. The move was made on Tuesday when the club signed free-agent outfielder Jon Jay.
Now the Royals and Hahn will have to play a waiting game. The 28-year-old felt a twinge in his right elbow on Thursday during his last start.
Hahn said he will be shut down for several weeks, then begin a throwing program and be re-evaluated.
"They sent the [images] off for a second opinion," Yost said. "It's not to the point where they would just, I don't think, opt to do surgery."
Hahn, who had Tommy John surgery in 2010, felt a twinge Thursday similar to one he felt in 2015, when he missed the second half of the season with the A's.
"Very similar, except in 2015, I didn't speak up soon enough," Hahn said. "I tried to pitch through it. I made about five or six starts with a hurt elbow. I kind of learned from that mistake."
A good ribbing
Right-hander Nathan Karns made his first start this spring since having thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last May. He went 1 2/3 innings on Tuesday and threw 49 pitches while giving up one hit, three walks and no runs. Karns struck out three as the Royals lost, 5-4, to the Padres. Cheslor Cuthbert homered for the Royals.
"It was 10 months in the making," Karns said of his outing. "That was the biggest thing for me, just kind of get through that opportunity, no matter what happens. Just one more step toward our goal of being ready for the season. Very happy with it ... but it felt like I was in the World Series, the adrenaline was going. I had a little bit of the jitters, as I should. It's been a while since I've been out there."
Like so many before him, Karns kept the rib that was removed during his surgery (like Padres starter Chris Young and Royals prospect Kyle Zimmer), and had it preserved as a souvenir.
"I'm trying to get it dipped in something, just kind of have it like coated in something and put it on a necklace," Karns said. "Just take it out there, so at least I'm always 100 percent on the mound, instead of 99."
Injury update
Outfielder Bubba Starling will be shut down for a few days as he deals with oblique tenderness. The Royals are being extra cautious with that injury because Starling's 2017 season was shut down in August because of an oblique strain.
Camp battles
Rule 5 right-hander Brad Keller continued to make a case for the roster by striking out three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings Tuesday. He has thrown three scoreless outings this spring.
Up next
Right-hander Jakob Junis will make his second start this spring as the Royals take on the Brewers at Surprise Stadium at 2:05 p.m. CT on Wednesday. The matchup will be available on Gameday Audio. Left-hander Foster Griffin and right-handers Kelvin Herrera, Brandon Maurer, Burch Smith, Scott Blewett and Mike Broadway are also expected to pitch.
Padres 5, Royals 4: Nathan Karns returns to mound for first time since May
March 6, 2018By Pete Grathoff/KC Star
The Royals twice coughed up a two-run lead and lost 5-4 to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at Surprise Stadium.
The starter
Nathan Karns reached into his stall in the Royals clubhouse after his start Tuesday and pulled out an item wrapped in adhesive gauze. He unspooled the packaging and revealed part of a rib that at this time last year had been near his right shoulder. In July, Karns had the piece surgically removed to address thoracic outlet syndrome, a neurogenic condition caused by the compression of nerves near the neck and shoulder.
Until toeing the rubber Tuesday, Karns had not pitched in a game since late last spring, and he is keeping the rib as a memento of the long layoff.
"That's what a human rib looks like," he said as the rib laid in his hand. "I'm trying to get it dipped in something, just kind of have it like coated in something and put it on a necklace.
"Just take it out there, so at least I'm always 100 percent on the mound, instead of 99," Karns joked. "It's all good. I'm really happy with where we're at, and it's just a reminder of where I was 10 months ago."
Karns admittedly had jitters about getting back on the mound for the first time since facing the Twins on May 19, but he struck out three straight Padres at one point and his fastball was working at 93 to 95 mph. He threw 49 pitches, including 27 strikes. Karns seemed to tire a bit at the end as he walked the last two batters he faced.
There was a moment in the second inning when Karns threw a curveball and then mimicked the delivery before getting the ball back.
"I don't know really know where I was velo-wise, but I was able to do some things like work in my two-seam and my cutter a little bit," Karns said, "but as far as my curveballs, there were some things that need to be worked on, but first-time outing, I shouldn't be too dialed in at that point."
The game
Cheslor Cuthbert hit a solo homer off former Royal Chris Young in the third inning, and the Royals pushed the lead to 2-0 on Jorge Bonifacio's RBI double an inning later.
After the Padres tied the game with two runs off Royals reliever Andrew Machado in the top of the fifth, the Royals regained the lead in the bottom half. Donnie Dewees singled, stole second, took third on a flyout and scored on a single by Tyler Collins.
In the sixth inning, Ramon Torres' double brought home Hunter Dozier to make it 4-2.
Heath Fillmyer gave up two runs in the top of the eighth inning, and San Diego scored the go-ahead run on a squeeze play against Kevin McCarthy in the ninth inning.
Cuthbert impresses
Cuthbert's home run, which sailed over the 350-foot sign in left field, was his first of the spring. The competition at third base appears to be his to lose, and he's batting .357.
"Cuthbert’s been really playing good third base," manager Ned Yost said. "Yeah, defense has been OK. I’ve been happy with the defense."
Duda debut
First baseman Lucas Duda lined a sharp single to right field in his first spring plate appearance with the Royals. Duda, who signed a one-year contract with the Royals last week, struck out in his other plate appearance.
Keller outing
Brad Keller inherited a two-on, two-out situation in relief of Karns and struck out Allen Craig to end the second. Keller, who reached 97 mph with his fastball, struck out two more in the third inning before issuing a walk and allowing a single. He got out of it with a groundout.
Keller, who was picked in the Rule 5 draft, has not allowed a run in three spring outings covering 3 1/3 innings.
Up next
The Royals, 6-3-1, have a quick turnaround as they will face the Milwaukee Brewers at Surprise Stadium on Wednesday. First pitch is at 12:05 p.m., and Jakob Junis will start.
The fickle worth and uncertain future of Mike Moustakas
March 6, 2018By Sam Mellinger/KC Star
By now his friends are all working, the ones he struggled and laughed with, failed and won with. Many of them are here, at Royals camp, where Mike Moustakas spent his last 10 springs. They miss him.
"He'll always be part of what we did," general manager Dayton Moore said.
Others are in new places. Eric Hosmer is with the Padres, Lorenzo Cain with the Brewers, Jason Vargas with the Mets. This is how it goes, the rhythm of baseball, the story of young players succeeding in the big leagues and then signing for generational wealth in free agency.
This is how it was supposed to go for Moustakas, too. He did everything right. Learned the game. Respected his teammates. Accepted responsibility. When he was failing, he took his demotion like a man, came back up and helped win the World Series. When it was time for his contract year, he hit more home runs than any player in Royals history.
He's 29. Not young anymore, but also not yet old. In a normal year, one evaluator guessed, that would be good for a contract worth four years and $65 million or so. A rival executive figured five years and $75 million would be possible. When the offseason started, the Royals planned on receiving draft compensation tied to a contract worth at least $50 million.
Spring training started three weeks ago. The Royals just played their ninth game. Moustakas is 360 miles west, taking grounders and swings in a simulated spring training at the Newport Beach facility of agent Scott Boras, who is not ruling out the possibility of Moustakas sitting out regular-season games and re-entering the market next winter.
"It's like the eye of a hurricane," said Boras, who's represented Moustakas since he was drafted 11 years ago. "You're surrounded by talent, and it's quiet inside."
Much has been made of baseball's unusual offseason. Hosmer and J.D. Martinez are among those who signed big contracts after camps opened, the types of deals that have typically been done in December. Jake Arrieta, Carlos Gonzalez and Greg Holland are among the stars who remain unsigned.
Scouts whisper about some players who in most years would sign for millions now being virtually forced into retirement by a lack of interest. But in many ways, Moustakas has become the personification of the cold market.
Baseball is a small world. People talk. Texts bounce back and forth, and it often isn't long before Moustakas' name comes up.
You hear anything? What's going on?
The topic can keep Boras on the phone for nearly an hour, mostly about how the CBA and competitive balance tax have had unintended consequences. He counts 12 or so teams that effectively shut off spending — the A's and Rays and Pirates and others at the bottom that aren't spending revenues, and the Dodgers and Yankees at the top that want to stay under the luxury tax.
"(Commissioner) Rob Manfred said this is cyclical," Boras said. "But cyclical, to me, is when there's not enough good players, so you can't compete, so I have to play my young players and I'm at the bottom of the league. That's cyclical. But when you have great players in the market, and you are not putting them on your teams and — this is important — you have record revenues to go with it, that is not cyclical.
"That is 1993."
Boras is referencing the environment ahead of the last work stoppage. His frustration centers around free agents being "weighed down" by increasing draft pick compensation, which diminishes the market as teams — this is his view — overvalue those picks.
He is presented with the counterargument. Teams are valuing players differently. He doesn't have to like it, but at some point maybe he has to accept it, at least for now.
"This is not about valuing players," he said. "This is about non-competitiveness. They value players the same. They want them. They're simply choosing to be non-competitive."
This is where Moustakas is the perfect example of the market. He's a two-time All-Star, a key member of a World Series champion, and in most years teams would look at Kauffman Stadium's dimensions and his 24 homers on the road and believe he could hit 45 or more homers while playing above average defense at a difficult position.
Now, many are opting to play cheaper and younger players. The Angels made sense for Moustakas, but signed Zack Cozart. The Giants made sense, but traded for Evan Longoria. The Yankees made a lot of sense, but they traded for Brandon Drury.
All of those moves were at least partly influenced by the CBA, either with draft pick compensation or the luxury tax.
"The system wasn't designed for non-competitiveness," Boras said. "The system was designed for the runaway train, for the Yankees, so that if you want to spend so much more than everybody else you need to pay in to help the other teams, too.
"But what it's turned out to be is a barrier. Teams say, 'Well, we can't pay that luxury tax,' but nobody says, 'Wait a minute, aren't you making $300 million more than when this was put in?'"
Some of this is philosophical, and much of it is a debate that is separate from whether Moustakas will be on a roster opening day.
"The teams are coming, and Moose is going to be playing baseball," Boras said. "But I don't control time, and I don't control competitiveness. The question is when do those teams want to commit to winning, and of course I think he'll be playing, yes."
Boras has done this dance before. Four years ago, Kendrys Morales and Stephen Drew both remained unsigned into June. Kyle Lohse wanted until late March in 2013 to sign. Morales and Lohse ended up making as much or more than most expected. Drew, who was 31 when he went unsigned, made less.
So, Boras knows this route. He designed the playbook, and volunteered an alternative outcome. If the offers don't come, Moustakas could wait until the draft pick compensation drops after the June draft, perhaps sign a deal for the rest of the 2018 season, and then take another spin with free agency.