http://www.pinetarpress.com/update-on-some-royals-minor-league-free-agents/
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Update On Some Royals Minor League Free Agents
Update On Some Royals Minor League Free Agents
Posted By: David Leskyon: March 15, 2016In: Baseball ChatterNo Comments Print
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We’re not quite halfway through the spring schedule, but that doesn’t mean
there hasn’t been time for some players to separate themselves in the hunt
for the few roster spots that weren’t spoken to when Royals players reported
to Surprise. Specifically, a few minor league free agents could have a decent
impact on the Opening Day roster (and beyond for a couple of them). Of
course, when you talk about final roster spots, words like “inventory” and
“options” crawl into the vocabulary, so those are important to keep in mind.
When Jarrod Dyson went down, one player who I thought would benefit most was
Travis Snider. Part of the reason I believed that was because the Royals had
been interested in him all winter and even reportedly discussed a big league
deal at one point. They were able to get him on a minor league deal late in
the spring, but that doesn’t change the fact that they had bigger interest
at one point. Because of that, I figured he would have the inside shot at the
now open spot for at least the first week or two of the season.
Yesterday, Snider’s chances grew a little bit as the Royals optioned both
Brett Eibner and Jose Martinez to AAA, which really reduced the competition
in the outfield. Still, Reymond Fuentes has greatly outplayed Snider this
spring and Paulo Orlando is the front runner while Dyson is out. Before the
game, I commented on Twitter that I was a little surprised Snider hadn’t
taken advantage of the Arizona air, but there was still time to make an
impression. Well, yesterday he did. He was able to launch his first spring
homer, and with the increased at bats, I think he can really get back into
the race.
Of course, Fuentes is hitting .389/.522/.667 in 18 at bats, so Snider
definitely has some work to do. Both could make the team, but Whit Merrifield
has been outstanding this spring and has really impressed the coaching staff
both with his ability and his versatility. If he gets a roster spot (which
also impacts another minor league free agent, Clint Barmes), that means
Fuentes and Snider are competing with each other. Fuentes does have options
left, but Snider was signed to a minor league deal, so keeping him in AAA
means the Royals don’t have to make a move on the 40-man roster for him.
Keep that in mind.
I know I led with Snider, but where minor league free agents have the best
chance to impact the Royals is in the bullpen. The word “best” in that
sentence is relative as anybody to make the team would at least start as the
sixth and/or seventh reliever, but the Royals use their bullpen quite a bit.
The obvious name here is Dillon Gee. He can opt out of his deal today if he’
s not added to the 40-man roster, so I’d expect a decision one way or
another here, but I think he’s the long reliever to start the year. As
Jeffrey Flanagan points out, the Royals could easily move Mike Minor to the
60-day DL to make room for him, so that’s not really an issue.
What’s become quite a competition is for the last spot (or maybe two) in the
Royals bullpen. If the Royals start the season with seven relievers, they
have Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria, Luke Hochevar and likely Danny
Duffy in the bullpen. With Gee added, there’s only one spot available. Some
have mentioned the Royals keeping eight relievers, and they might, but they
also play two games in the season’s first five days. I’m not sure they need
to start with eight relievers.
So that leaves one spot. I thought that spot would be perfect for Brian
Flynn, who was fantastic in spring training last year. He may yet get that
spot, but he laid an egg on Sunday, giving up five runs in one inning.
Ultimately, this spot will likely belong to Tim Collins, but I expect him to
be on the same track as Hochevar last year and not make his debut for at
least a month.
Of the remaining candidates, I think Scott Alexander has done a lot for his
chances. He’s thrown 6.1 scoreless innings and earned words of praise from
Ned Yost, which is always good. He’s also already on the 40-man.
The rest, though, are non-roster candidates. I think Ross Ohlendorf has an
uphill battle at this point after struggling in his first couple appearances.
I think Peter Moylan is out of the running with six walks in five innings.
David Huff hasn’t been very impressive either.
Brian Duensing, on the other hand, seems to have caught the eye of some with
eight strikeouts in five innings. The Royals could certainly do worse than
him, but he also struck out 4.4 batters per nine innings last season. That’s
really low, if you were wondering. So he’s got a shot, but I’d take
Alexander over him, and I’m thinking the organization would too.
One tweet, though, followed by another after he pitched intrigued me
regarding one guy who was signed to a minor league deal this off-season.
Scott Miller@ScottMillerBbl
Chien-Ming Wang has resurfaced in #KCRoyals camp and has been impressive
early. Good chance to make the club.
5:15 AM - 15 Mar 2016
My first thought was no way. I think there are too many pitchers standing in
his way. And honestly, I still believe that. Of course, then this happened.
Jeffrey Flanagan @FlannyMLB
Chien-Ming Wang was hitting 94-95 mph on his fastball with good movement.
Hmmm. Still in the bullpen mix. #Royals
5:58 AM - 15 Mar 2016
So Wang is sitting in the mid-90s with a heavy fastball. It’s hard to not at
least be intrigued. Of course, the last time he pitched in the big leagues
was 2013, and from 2009-2013, he had a 6.60 ERA in 39 games and 31 starts. He
also posted a 5.88 ERA in 22 games (20 starts) last season spread across the
independent leagues and AAA. Still, this wouldn’t be the first time the
Royals have picked up a pitcher and worked their magic with him. He’s shown
good velocity and good command this spring. Hey, why not?
At this point, I would guess that the roster spots we’ve discussed end up
going to Fuentes, Gee and Alexander. I do believe, however, that the
organization is willing to let it play out to see if these minor league free
agents can crack the roster and do for them what guys like Ryan Madson did
last year. Stranger things certainly have happened.
Follow me on Twitter @DBLesky