Royals Rumblings – News from November 25, 2024

Sam McDowell writes that the Jonathan India trade is all about Bobby Witt Jr.

Because that’s what’s waiting behind him: Witt hit 23 solo home runs in 2024, the fifth-most in baseball. His 23 doubles with no one on fourth place. The six threes, second. First the 122 hits.

For the record, I continue to be curious about what the Royals are doing defensively, and they have spoken to Massey about left field. They are also now back in the market to start pitching. This offseason just got a lot better.

These points are important, but they can’t compete with the consistency of, say, adding a little more juice to 10% of Witt’s plate appearances.

Craig Brown has mixed feelings about the deal.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being an amazing and exciting deal for the Royals, this trade lands at a solid five for me. On the one hand, it’s good to see that Picollo and his staff are actually transactional. Singer was their best bargaining chip and they set out to find a deal. Maybe this is my bias, but I feel like they could have done better than India. (I’m not ignoring Wiemer, I just think he’s a bit of a throw-in because the Royals agree that a straight Singer-for-India deal isn’t enough to get over the finish line.)

Royals Weekly reviews the deal.

India has another offensive quality that I find particularly interesting. He finds an optimal launch angle very much. Although he had a hit rate that was well below average, he had a walk rate that was about average. Why? Because it has a great launch angle. Piccolo mentioned in the press conference for this trade that he believed India would be successful offensively with Kauffman’s expansive outfield. That will probably mean even fewer home runs for him, but perhaps a lot more doubles and triples. His excellent launch angle gives me hope on this point.

Royals Repoter’s Kevin O’Brien discusses the trade and who the Royals could pursue to replace Brady Singer in the rotation.

Additionally, I think Picollo will add another starting pitcher candidate to the mix as insurance for Marsh and Wright, Ragans, Lugo and Wacha should any of them get injured in 2025.

Michael Lorenzen seemed to respond well to Royals pitching coaches Brian Sweeney and Zach Bove, so he could be a candidate to return to Kansas City on a reasonable one-year deal. Frankie Montas and Shane Bieber are proven free agent targets who could solidify the back of the Royals rotation. Additionally, Cal Quantrill, Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval are recently undrafted pitchers who could be a rebound project for Sweeney and Bove in Kansas City.

Colorado signed infielder Kyle Farmer to a one-year contract.

Teams are expected to make offers to Juan Soto this week.

The Red Sox are interested in free agent Corbin Burnes.

The Orioles are looking for catching help.

The free agents who increased their stock this year after signing one-year deals.

The candidates for the 2025 Rookie of the Year.

The Rays are building a team and expect more rain next summer.

Why Tigers reliever Tyler Holton deserves his MVP vote.

Is the strikeout era coming to an end?

Former batting champion Rico Carty has died aged 85.

UCLA ends South Carolina’s 43-game winning streak in women’s basketball.

A positional change for Kylian Mbappé was exactly what Real Madrid needed.

Spirit Airlines’ CEO received a $3.8 million bonus just before the company filed for bankruptcy.

A crypto guru spent $6.2 million on a banana taped to a wall.

Your song of the day is Pink Floyd Pleasantly numb.