Royals Rumors & News

CBS Sports "Sign-stealing is a hot topic in baseball these days after the Astros were caught monitoring and recording activity in the opposing dugout during the postseason last year. Houston was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, though the incident did bring high-tech sign-stealing into..." March 18

MLB Trade Rumors "The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Jason Adam from the Royals for cash considerations, Scott Mitchell of TSN reports. Additionally, the Blue Jays announced notable injury news regarding second baseman Devon Travis and right-hander Mark Leiter Jr., Shi Davidi of Sportsnet tweets. Travis..." March 17

MLB.com "Jorge Soler is going to be in the lineup somewhere every day this season. Where he plays – either in right field or as the club’s designated hitter – each day is to be determined. “How do I know? How do I know what’s going to happen? How do I..." March 17

Royals Review "Despite only playing in Kansas City for a little over three months, Ben Zobrist will go down as one of my all-time favorite Royals. Zobrist is one of the coolest guys in baseball, had some huge hits during the 2015 postseason, and named his daughter Blaise Royal. His time in..." March 14

Larry Brown Sports "Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreed to numerous changes that will take effect this season or next, but it sounds like the union was very reluctant on at least one of the new rules. One major change that will be implemented beginning in 2020 is a three-batter..." March 14

ESPN "A single trade deadline, an All-Star Game election day and a million-dollar bonus for the Home Run Derby winner will be implemented in 2019 -- while a three-batter minimum for pitchers and roster expansion will happen in 2020 -- as part of a deal Major League Baseball and the MLB Players..." March 14

The Score "Baseball's trade season is about to get a major facelift. Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to eliminate the August waiver trade period in favor of a single non-waiver trade deadline day for all transactions on July 31, sources told Ken..." March 13

Royals Review "Manager Ned Yost has named Brad Keller his starter for the season opener on March 28 at home against the White Sox. It has been a meteoric rise for the 23-year old Keller who a year ago was fighting to make the roster as a Rule 5 pick from the Diamondbacks. But he impressed many in his rookie..." March 12

Yardbarker "The Kansas City Royals have their catcher for the 2019 season. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Royals have agreed to terms with catcher Martin Maldonado on a one-year, $2.5 million deal, where he will serve as the starting catcher as Salvador Perez recovers from Tommy..." March 09

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals have acquired right-handed pitcher Stephen Ridings from the Cubs in exchange for Donnie Dewees, the team announced (via Twitter). Ridings, 23, was an 8th round draft pick of the Cubs in 2016. Last season he pitched for the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League, the Cubs..." March 09

Awful Announcing "It’s something of a no-brainer for professional sports leagues to get involved in the burgeoning world of legalized sports gambling. But gambling always comes with strings attached, and sometimes those strings are going to dangle in a way that doesn’t seem quite..." March 07

USA Today "Wes Johnson did not run from the labels. Weirdo. Iconoclast. Voodoo coach. Johnson heard some variation of them all over the past decade, when he first set up shop as the pitching coach of Dallas Baptist University armed with mysterious tracking technology, funny balls and a..." March 07

Hardball Talk "Ted Berg of For the Win has written an excellent story about what it’s like to be a minor league catcher in spring training. About how many of them there are and how much work they do. Of how critically important it is to the big league team and big league players that they are..." March 07

Boston Herald "Good thing the Internet hasn’t been invented yet because if it had been, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred might have some explaining to do upon returning home to his wife, Colleen, mother to the couple’s four children. The marquee name at the Boston College..." March 07

12 Up "The Royals feared the worst when All-Star catcher Salvador Perez was sent for a second opinion on his elbow last week, and on Saturday, the organization announced that ?Salvy would undergo Tommy John surgery, ending his 2019 season before it started. Since then, Kansas City..." March 07

Larry Brown Sports "Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez underwent successful Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. In a statement released by the club, they reaffirmed the expectation that Perez will miss the entirety of the 2019 season, but is expected to make a full recovery. March 06

Larry Brown Sports "A new provision as part of Major League Baseball’s new gambling partnership has annoyed at least one manager. Last November, MLB made MGM their “official gaming partner” as sports betting becomes increasingly legal and accepted in the United States. Peter Gammons of..." March 06

The Score "Major League Baseball plans to introduce an extra step to All-Star selection this season with a new "election day" to determine the starters at each position, sources told Jeff Passan of ESPN. Standard online voting would still take place under the new format. Once..." March 06

Hardball Talk "Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reports that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are close to agreeing to expand active rosters to 26 players for the start of the 2020 regular season. This is in exchange for a commitment to discuss larger economic issues after Opening..." March 06

Royals Review "The Royals weren’t expecting to contend for a title this year, but it was still a devastating blow when they got the news that All-Star catcher Salvador Perez had injured the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. This type of injury frequently leads to Tommy John surgery,..." March 05

MLB Trade Rumors "Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have spent the winter negotiating over rules changes while publicly bickering over the operation of the player market. The sides now appear to be nearing agreement on a package of new rules, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link),..." March 05

Royals Review "Every once in a while, somebody in the Kansas City Royals discussion sphere brings up the possibility of a downtown stadium. There hasn’t been a downtown stadium in Kansas City since Municipal Stadium shuttered its doors on 2123 Brooklyn Avenue as a result of Kauffman..." March 01

Bleacher Report "The Kansas City Royals have received bad news regarding catcher Salvador Perez, who will reportedly miss the entire 2019 season with an elbow injury.  Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, doctors have recommended Perez have Tommy John surgery, and he's expected to undergo the..." March 01

Sporting News "Royals All-Star catcher Salvador Perez suffered ligament damage to his right elbow on Wednesday and will seek a second opinion based on the initial MRI exam, the team announced Friday. A six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glover, Perez, 28, will travel to Los Angeles next week for..." March 01

Bleacher Report "As it turns out, owners haven't slammed shut all of the financial spigots that run to the players. It just depends on which players. Bryce Harper, 26, set a record Thursday for the largest contract ever awarded to a free agent in professional sports, landing with the Philadelphia..." March 01

ESPN "Major League Baseball is prepared to scuttle the implementation of a pitch clock until at least 2022 as part of a wide-ranging proposal to the MLB Players Association that would include the ability to implement a three-batter-minimum rule for pitchers and roster-size changes in 2020, sources..." February 27

Kansas City Star "Here’s the latest on the prospects for a downtown baseball stadium: Royals owner David Glasshasn’t ruled it out. City Manager Troy Schulte said his conversations with Glass associates have left the door open to that possibility. “He (Glass) is..." February 25

MLB Trade Rumors "Major League Baseball has formally announced the implementation of a 20-second pitch clock to be tested during Spring Training games. Jeff Passan of ESPN reportedminutes prior to the announcement that it’d be made today. Per the league’s announcement, there has been no decision..." February 22

Hardball Talk "Earlier this week, Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle and his wife Eireann Dolan brought attention to a labor issue that likely would have flown under the radar. New Era, the official manufacturer of MLB caps, planned to close their factory in Derby New York, eliminating 219 union..." February 22

USA Today "It was cold and rainy Thursday morning in Phoenix, and the forecast from Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark was just as gloomy. It’s premature to talk about a strike until 2021, certainly no one is walking out of camp right now, and even..." February 22

ESPN "Major League Baseball is putting new rules in place this season to guard against high-tech sign stealing, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan, confirming an SI.com report. After several incidents of alleged stealing of catchers' signs last season, including during the..." February 20

MLB Trade Rumors "Per a team release, the Orioles have signed shortstop Alcides Escobar to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. " February 16

Cincinnati Enquirer "Billy Hamilton, Homer Bailey and now Drew Storen. The reliever who last pitched in Major League Baseball in 2017 for the Cincinnati Reds - before undergoing Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss all of last season - is the third former Red to join the Kansas City Royals in the..." February 16

Kansas City Star "The Royals signed left-handed reliever Jake Diekman on Wednesday to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2020 worth a guaranteed $2.75 million. Diekman, 32, will make $2.25 million in base salary this season and could earn performance bonuses for games and games finished, a..." February 14

USA Today "I feel like I keep writing about Bryce Harper and Manny Machado in this space, and I apologize for repeating myself so much already. But with the NFL season over, the NBA season in its lull between the trade deadline and the playoff run, the NHL almost entirely..." February 13

CBS Sports "For the second consecutive offseason, free agency has been incredibly slow and this time around, it feels like far too many contending teams with deep pockets are sitting out. We've started to see some grumbles from players like Jake Arrieta, Justin..." February 12

Kansas City Star "Two years after Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura died in a single-car crash in his native Dominican Republic, the $20.25 million remaining on his contract has not been paid. And his estate is broke. Ventura’s 5-year-old daughter is listed as the sole heir of..." February 10

MLB Trade Rumors "Per Rustin Dodd of The Athletic, the Royals have signed longtime Red Homer Bailey to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training. " February 09

Hardball Talk "The stuff that came out the other day about the National League possibly adopting the Designated Hitter soon? Forget it: Commissioner Rob Manfred said today that expanding the DH is something that’ll have to wait until the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, which — barring an..." February 08

MLB Trade Rumors "MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said today at the owners’ meetings that the league is not interested in considering certain union-proposed changes in advance of the 2019 season, as Ronald Blum of the AP reports. In particular, Manfred indicated he is not open to the introduction of the..." February 08

CBS Sports "The Major League Baseball Players Association is reportedly pushing to add a designated hitter to National League rosters as soon as this season, one of several eye-opening changes being batted around by the union, and MLB. Per reports by Jeff Passan of ESPN and Ken..." February 07

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals are “closing in” on a one-year contract with free-agent righty Brad Boxberger, according to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter). A client of the Boras Corporation, he’ll receive a $2.2MM guarantee along with $1MM in potential incentives, per Jon..." February 06

USA Today "The baseball equipment and uniforms have been packed, the trucks are rolling on the highways, and in just a few days, spring training camps open in Florida and Arizona. While local TV crews have breathlessly showed clips and soundbites of team equipment trucks leaving their snowy..." February 06

USA Today "Baseball has lurched to the one-week mark until almost every spring training camp opens, and of course you’re well-aware dozens of unsigned players won’t be walking through those doors. But never mind the unknown destinations of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and a..." February 06

ESPN "Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are discussing potentially drastic changes to the on-field game and economic landscape of the sport in the middle of a..." February 06

SNY TV "With less than two weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, dozens and dozens of quality major league free agents remain jobless. But there are no plans for the Players' Association to repeat last year's experiment with a training camp for unsigned..." February 04

CBS Sports "If you're a New Orleans Pelicans fan today, you're heartbroken. Anthony Davis, the best player in franchise history and one of the best in the NBA, announced (through his agent) that he wants to be traded. By asking for a trade, Davis asserted a level of autonomy that we..." January 29

MLB Trade Rumors "Right-hander Dillon Gee took to Instagram on Monday evening to announce that after a professional career that spanned more than a decade and included parts of eight MLB seasons and a season in Japan, he is retiring from the game. Gee, who’ll turn 33 in April,..." January 29

Kansas City Star "The Royals have put faith in young players like Hunter Dozier, whose development will largely decide how quickly the club can climb back to the right side of .500. The Royals need to start to see their faith rewarded sooner rather than later. The lumps endured during a 104-loss season..." January 28

MLB Trade Rumors "The Royals are nearing a four-year contract extension with second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield, Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports. With Merrifield already under control through 2022, his new deal will cover his final pre-arbitration season and his three arb-eligible years...." January 27