Royals Rumblings - News for December 8, 2022

Dec 8, 2022 - 1:00 PM

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Anthony Castrovince writes why the Royals did nothing at the Winter Meetings:

For Kansas City right now, the biggest developments are taking place beneath the surface, as first-year manager Matt Quatraro gets to know his players more deeply and the club assembles a big league coaching staff and player development staff with a special emphasis on improving its pitching in the near and long terms.

At one organizational meeting here at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, Quatraro took the floor to discuss his approach to managing rosters and what he had learned in that regard from working alongside the respected Terry Francona and Kevin Cash. It was a good opportunity for the club’s pro scouts to understand his process more deeply. They also heard extensively from new pitching coach Brian Sweeney about his philosophies on developing pitchers.

Matt Quatraro has been getting to know his players since he was hired in October:

“It’s been really enjoyable, to be honest,” Quatraro said. “The energy level, the excitement, the positivity that I’ve heard from everybody has been off the charts, which has been really refreshing to me and kind of energized me about getting going.”

Quatraro estimated he is about “90 percent” of the way through connecting with the players on the Royals’ 40-man roster. Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. were right at the top of his list.

“I’ve had two brief conversations with Salvy, he’s been traveling a lot,” Quatraro said. “It’s been tough to nail down a bit. But I’ve been super impressed with the accountability and the ability to articulate what he thinks is important.

“The same with Bobby. Kind of mature beyond his experience level. Really professional. Really thoughtful in what he says. And you can tell through the conversations with other guys that they feel the same way about him.”

Transactions!

• The Yankees signed Aaron Judge to the largest free agent contract in MLB history.
• San Diego signed Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year deal.
• Boston signed Masataka Yoshida to a five-year deal.
• St. Louis signed Willson Contreras to a five-year deal.
• The Cubs signed Jameson Taillon to a four-year deal.
• The Mets signed José Quintana to a two-year deal.
• Boston signed Kenley Jansen to a two-year deal.
• Oakland signed Aledmys Díaz to a two-year deal.
• The Mets acquired Brooks Raley from Tampa Bay.

What have the Royals done this offseason? On November 21, they signed RHPs Julio Rosario, Marvin Rojas, and Damian Jimenez to minor league deals. They have not made any other free agent signings or trades and have not signed any extensions. They have been the least active team in baseball in terms of player transactions.

Dan Szymborski continues his 2023 ZiPS projections with the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, and Washington Nationals.

The 2022 Cincinnati Reds broke hit-by-pitch records that dated back to the 19th century.

A first look at Kansas State’s upcoming Sugar Bowl matchup against Alabama.

Von Miller will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing ACL surgery.

This week’s rental opportunity is what appears to have at one point been a nice room that has been converted into a deranged studio flat.

Oklahoma game wardens arrested two men they described as “notorious wildlife violators.”

Here’s something to spark furious arguments civilized discussion: a ranking of the best movies of the year. I have seen exactly one (1) of these movies.

Quiet E-bikes have been a boon for park rangers in Southern African wildlife reserves in their endless battle with poachers. I’ve been to several of these parks. They’re incredible places but poaching is a huge problem they take very seriously. Hence, park rangers at these reserves probably don’t look like your mental image of park rangers:

STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images

Tornadoes and blizzards? Both are possible throughout the central US next week.

There are many holidays and observances that fall on December 8, with my favorite being the Day of Finnish Music.

Your song of the day is Always Let You Stop by Dylan Tallchief & Crow.