Royals Rumors & News

Hardball Talk "The Baseball Hall of Fame has released its ballot for 2019. The newcomers to the ballot, two of whom I presume will be first-ballot inductees, include Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay: Roy Halladay Todd Helton Andy Pettitte Mariano..." November 19

Sporting News "Major League Baseball and DAZN, the fast-growing global live and on-demand sports streaming service, have finalized plans to create a weeknight show for baseball fans to follow game-by-game action in real time beginning in the 2019 season.  The yet-to-be-named program,..." November 16

Hardball Talk "There’s something interesting deep in Ken Rosenthal’s latest notes column. It’s about arbitration, with Rosenthal reporting that the players union believes that all 30 teams will take a “file-and-trial” approach to arbitration this winter. If..." November 16

MLB Trade Rumors "Major League Baseball announced today that it has reached a new seven-year, multiplatform agreement with FOX Sports spanning the 2022-28 seasons. Eric Fisher of Sports Business Journal reports (via Twitter) that the contract’s rough value is a staggering $5.1 billion — a..." November 15

Hardball Talk "The owners meetings are going on down in Atlanta this week. Unlike a lot of gatherings of baseball dignitaries, we tend not to get much news out of them, however. We know the owners do things like light cigars with $100 bills and, I dunno, play games of chess on human-sized chess boards with..." November 15

Kansas City Star "This is the season of baseball players changing teams and one of the sport’s more valuable trade assets is Royals property. Done right, they could push some other contender toward a championship while bolstering their own chances in the future. A win-win. The reasons they..." November 14

Royals Review "The Royals are not rebuilding. No sir, they have made that very clear. Dayton Moore expects the team to win games next year - probably not enough to contend, but he does want an expectation of winning games rather than looking to the future, even as they look to the future. But..." November 13

MLB Trade Rumors "Major League Baseball owners are expected to meet next week to vote on a five-year extension for commissioner Rob Manfred, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. He’d need the approval of ownership representatives from 16 of the 30 teams, though Nightengale reports that Manfred..." November 09

Larry Brown Sports "Paranoia about sign stealing was more rampant than ever during the MLB playoffs this year, and the league is trying to find ways to cut down on that heading into 2019. According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Major League Baseball is in the process of trying to implement rules and..." November 07

Bleacher Report "The free-agent market this winter includes the National League's Most Valuable Player—from 2015. And the American League's MVP—also from 2015. And the AL Cy Young winner. And two others who finished in the top five in MVP voting in their respective..." November 07

Sportsnaut "One of the interesting possibilities coming out of the GM meetings is not a potential deal, but a big change to the MLB trade deadline. MLB is considering moving the non-waiver deadline back from its traditional July 31 date. In the process, the waiver deadline of August 31 would be..." November 06

Hardball Talk "The Hall of Fame just announced the nominees for this year’s Veterans Committee ballot. Well, they don’t call it the “Veterans Committee” anymore, but it basically is. It’s now done with an era-system which rotates every year, and this year’s era is the..." November 05

Yahoo! Sports "Early in her seminal Babe Ruth biography, “The Big Fella,” Jane Leavy, the gifted storyteller of bygone ballplayers, perfectly encapsulates his place at the intersection of America’s game, Americana and America today. The forebear of modern politicians and religious..." November 05

Hardball Talk "The General Manager Meetings are taking place in San Diego this week. We don’t often get a lot of general news from those. Heck, at the moment two teams — the Giants and the Orioles — don’t even have general managers. The best way to think of the GM Meetings is to think..." November 05

ESPN "Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print The Boston Red Sox, just a week after winning the World Series, had the most players in the American League named as Rawlings Gold Glove winners, with right..." November 05

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals announced Friday that right-hander Brandon Maurer, outfielder Paulo Orlando and infielder Ramon Torres all cleared outright waivers. Maurer has already rejected his outright assignment in favor of free agency, while both Orlando and Torres will become minor..." November 02

Bleed Cubbie Blue "Roster moves, options and opt-outs are in the news this week, and the Chicago Cubs are no exception to those moves: The exercising of Jose Quintana’s option was expected, and a no-brainer, really; it’s for $10.5 million. October 31

Fox Sports "With the likes of Jeff Montgomery, Dan Quisenberry, Joakim Soria and Greg Holland, the Kansas City Royals have trotted out some outstanding closers over the years. But only one Royals pitcher has ever recorded at least 10 saves without blowing an opportunity in a season. That would be..." October 31

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals announced that they’ve declined their half of right-hander Jason Hammel’s mutual option, thereby making him a free agent. Hammel will receive a $2MM buyout rather than a $12MM salary for the 2019 season and will hit the open market in search of a new club. The..." October 30

Bleacher Report "For all the fuss this month about sign stealing, the key matchup in the World Series may have nothing to do with which team has the other team's signs. Sometimes, you don't need the signs. Sometimes, the pitcher tells you what's coming. He may do it..." October 22

Kansas City Star "At some point last summer, as the Royals trod toward 104 losses, general manager Dayton Moore essentially banned a word from the lingo of front-office personnel. Rebuild. The designation seemed rather suitable for the Royals, who had endured enough turnover that the roster..." October 19

Hardball Talk "Back in June, we learned that the Royals were considering signing embattled pitcher Luke Heimlich. Heimlich is a registered sex offender who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of molesting his then-six-year-old niece back when he was 15 years-old. Heimlich went undrafted. Per Tom..." October 18

Sportsnaut "Major League Baseball might not be too excited by the Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that overturned a nation-wide ban on sports gambling. But as states take it upon themselves to open up sportsbooks in the wake of said ruling, America’s pastime could soon see an..." October 18

Kansas City Star "The season ended as it started for Royals catcher Salvador Perez. In pain. Perez has been playing for the previous six weeks with a left thumb injury that will require surgery to repair ligament damage on Tuesday. “We’re going to fix it for next..." October 01

Kansas City Star "Ned Yost will return as the Royals manager next year. Yost and the club agreed to a 1-year extension, they announced Sunday. A frustrating year is ending on an uptick as the Royals prepared for their season finale on Sunday. There is no avoiding last place in the American..." September 30

Yahoo! Sports "The plundering of Latin America wasn’t Major League Baseball’s original sin. It’s simply the one that has festered the longest. Corruption of all kinds – illicit payoffs, bonus-money skimming, doping teenagers with performance-enhancing drugs – has been treated as..." September 28

Sporting News "As the MLB season winds down toward the playoffs, players and team management hope that the crack of the bat takes precedence over the crack of the bones. Bones of the hands in particular.  Since the exhibition season, an all-star team of players — more than..." September 27

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals entered the 2018 season with a payroll of roughly $122MM — their fourth straight season with a $100MM-plus payroll — but Fancred’s Jon Heyman writes in his latest notes column that the team is expected to pare that figure back by as much as $30-35MM for..." September 21

Kansas City Star "This wasn’t a good representation of the homestand. The Royals lost to the Twins, 9-6, on Sunday afternoon, halting a three-game win streak and also pausing a stretch of success where the team had won 10 of 11 at home. In truth: One defeat isn’t that big a deal..." September 21

MLB Daily Dish "It was a sad day in Kansas City on February 19 when first baseman Eric Hosmer — who had been flirting all offseason with the idea of re-signing with the team that drafted him and likely spending the rest of his career in a Royals uniform — signed an eight-year,..." September 21

Sportsnaut "Those attending Monday’s game between the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park will have plenty of room to stretch out. As the game was starting, the outfield seats were almost completely devoid of people. " September 17

Bleacher Report "One of Major League Baseball's latest controversies calls to mind a bit from the 2009 Star Trek, in which Dr. McCoy offers words of wisdom to Mr. Spock. "You know, back home we have a saying: 'If you're gonna ride in the Kentucky Derby, you don't leave your..." September 14

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals announced Monday that they’ve requested unconditional release waivers on left-handed reliever Eric Stout. The 25-year-old was designated for assignment last week when Kansas City claimed Ben Lively off outright waivers from the Phillies. Stout had a..." September 10

Hardball Talk "For over 100 years, off and on — more off than on, actually — major leaguers have traveled to Japan for all-star barnstorming series of one form or another. The tradition will continue this November and this morning MLB and the MLBPA announced many of the participants in the series,..." September 10

Kansas City Star "Less than two weeks after coming off the disabled list, Royals left-hander Danny Duffy departed his start in the first inning Tuesday night because of the same ailment: a left shoulder impingement. Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor led off the home half of the first inning Tuesday..." September 05

Larry Brown Sports "As the playoff race heads to the final stretdch, teams on the other end of things are facing other concerns. A number of managers must be feeling their seats getting warmer, be it because their contracts are coming to an end with no guarantee of renewal or because their struggling teams have..." September 03

Hardball Talk "Royals outfielder Jorge Soler isn’t guaranteed to return to the field this season, manager Ned Yost told reporters Sunday. Soler had been working his way back from a lengthy stint on the disabled list after he fractured his left toe in mid-June, but experienced an unanticipated setback in..." September 02

MLB Trade Rumors "The Rockies announced Friday that they’ve acquired veteran catcher Drew Buteraand cash from the Royals in exchange for minor league left-hander Jerry Vasto. Butera, 35, has been the primary backup to Kansas City mainstay Salvador Perez for the past three..." August 31

CBS Sports "The subject of service time manipulation is one we've been talking about for years. The biggest case in recent memory was Kris Bryant with the Cubs in 2015. Remember? Bryant was sent to Triple-A Iowa to start the 2015 season, despite all the evidence in the..." August 30

CBS Sports "Duda was traded from the Royals to the Braves in exchange for cash, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports. Duda slashed .242/.311/.415 with 13 homers across 86 games with the Royals prior to be traded. " August 29

USA Today "Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn are well-paid Major League Baseball players, a group that prides itself on accountability and generally loathes excuse-making. Yet the two right-handed starting pitchers also are unwilling members of a fraternity formed last winter, when baseball’s free..." August 28

USA Today "Joe Maddon helped lead the Chicago Cubs to the Holy Grail of sports, with a consistent level of success they haven’t seen in a century, but there are whispers his job could be in jeopardy if they don’t play deep into October.  Houston..." August 27

MLB Trade Rumors "Royals righty Jesse Hahn underwent surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, as Rustin Dodd of The Athletic was among those to report on Twitter. Hahn is expected to require approximately six months of rehabilitation, indicating that he may or may not be..." August 24

CBS Sports "We here at CBS Sports have spent the week analyzing all of baseball's award races. Today, we'll conclude our series by dissecting the American League Most Valuable Player Award. As you probably know, there a a lot of capable candidates. Let's get to it. Mookie..." August 17

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals announced on Thursday that they’ve traded minor league right-hander Kelvin Gonzalez to the Rangers in exchange for international bonus pool allotments. The 20-year-old Gonzalez — not to be confused with third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez, who was acquired from the..." August 16

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals have placed right-handed reliever Blaine Boyer on release waivers, per a club announcement. Boyer’s release will clear a spot on the roster for the promotion of right-hander Jorge Lopez. Technically, Boyer’s release won’t be official until he clears..." August 15

Hardball Talk "Pitcher Luke Hochevar has retired from baseball, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports. The 34-year-old right-hander underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome two years ago but is still unable to pitch without pain. Hochevar said it was evident last year he would not be..." August 14

CBS Sports "Duffy (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day disabled list Monday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports. Duffy has been dealing with shoulder tendinitis for the past few weeks, so the 35-win Royals decided to play it safe with their ace and send him to the shelf. " August 13

Kansas City Star "Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy received an anti-inflammatory shot in his throwing shoulder after he allowed six runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings in Saturday night’s loss to the Cardinals. Duffy has played through stiffness in his shoulder for weeks. He..." August 13