Back to it.
The Royals sit third in the AL Central, a game under .500 and 9.5 back of the first place Tigers. But they're just 3.5 back of Seattle for the final Wild Card berth (albeit with another two teams in the way) and they opted to make some modest improvements at the deadline.
First and foremost, they needed some starting pitching, with Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, and Michael Lorenzen all on the IL Bubic is done for the year, and Ragans is unlikely to be back before September. The Royals were giving the ball to Rich Hill just last week. And so starting pitching is what they got. They sent catcher Freddy Fermin to San Diego for two RH starters, Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. And LH Bailey Falter is coming over from Pittsburgh in exchange for a couple of prospects.
The team's other obvious issue to address was the most inoffensive outfields in the major leagues. Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski may not move the needle very much on most teams - but in Kansas City, they represent a massive upgrade. This is a team whose best hitting outfielder (Kyle Isbel) has almost managed to match the offensive punch that Myles Straw has given the Blue Jays. Isbel, batting .247/.283/355 (Straw is hitting .253/.298/.340) has been, I repeat, their best hitting outfielder.
It's an interesting approach, a bit of a two track approach to team building. Grichuk and Yastrzemski are unlikely to be Royals longer than the next two months - they're the sort of additions a team normally makes when they're hoping to win right now. I don't think that's quite what the Royals have in mind- I think they're just trying to get through these next two months. But Falter and Bergert in particular, and maybe Kolek as well, will likely be part of their rotation for the next few years.
Everyone has roster moves to make ahead of tonight's game. All the traded players have 72 hours before reporting to their new team, and I'm not aware that any have done so as I go to Virtual Print. Certainly, it won't be nearly as simple for any as it was for Seranthony Dominguez. One assumes that Ty France will eventually simply take Will Wagner's spot on the active roster, but the Blue Jays will still need to make room for Louis Varland. And there may be a Return From Injury to take into account as well. The Royals have even more of these issues to sort through, with three new pitchers and an outfielder to add, with just one player (Fermin) coming off the active roster.
Matchups
Fri 1 Aug - Wacha (4-9, 3.53) vs Gausman (7-7, 3.82)
Sat 2 Aug - Cameron (5-4, 2.44) vs Scherzer (1-1, 4.89)
Sun 3 Aug - Lugo (8-5, 3.03) vs Bassitt (11-5, 4.24)
The Royals sit third in the AL Central, a game under .500 and 9.5 back of the first place Tigers. But they're just 3.5 back of Seattle for the final Wild Card berth (albeit with another two teams in the way) and they opted to make some modest improvements at the deadline.
First and foremost, they needed some starting pitching, with Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, and Michael Lorenzen all on the IL Bubic is done for the year, and Ragans is unlikely to be back before September. The Royals were giving the ball to Rich Hill just last week. And so starting pitching is what they got. They sent catcher Freddy Fermin to San Diego for two RH starters, Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. And LH Bailey Falter is coming over from Pittsburgh in exchange for a couple of prospects.
The team's other obvious issue to address was the most inoffensive outfields in the major leagues. Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski may not move the needle very much on most teams - but in Kansas City, they represent a massive upgrade. This is a team whose best hitting outfielder (Kyle Isbel) has almost managed to match the offensive punch that Myles Straw has given the Blue Jays. Isbel, batting .247/.283/355 (Straw is hitting .253/.298/.340) has been, I repeat, their best hitting outfielder.
It's an interesting approach, a bit of a two track approach to team building. Grichuk and Yastrzemski are unlikely to be Royals longer than the next two months - they're the sort of additions a team normally makes when they're hoping to win right now. I don't think that's quite what the Royals have in mind- I think they're just trying to get through these next two months. But Falter and Bergert in particular, and maybe Kolek as well, will likely be part of their rotation for the next few years.
Everyone has roster moves to make ahead of tonight's game. All the traded players have 72 hours before reporting to their new team, and I'm not aware that any have done so as I go to Virtual Print. Certainly, it won't be nearly as simple for any as it was for Seranthony Dominguez. One assumes that Ty France will eventually simply take Will Wagner's spot on the active roster, but the Blue Jays will still need to make room for Louis Varland. And there may be a Return From Injury to take into account as well. The Royals have even more of these issues to sort through, with three new pitchers and an outfielder to add, with just one player (Fermin) coming off the active roster.
Matchups
Fri 1 Aug - Wacha (4-9, 3.53) vs Gausman (7-7, 3.82)
Sat 2 Aug - Cameron (5-4, 2.44) vs Scherzer (1-1, 4.89)
Sun 3 Aug - Lugo (8-5, 3.03) vs Bassitt (11-5, 4.24)
