***Official 2024/2025 KC Royals Offseason Thread***

[GabyKeepsMeWarm]

Royals went from 56-106 to 86-76.

Made the playoffs. Took out the Orioles on the road.

Lost in four games to the Yankees by 4 runs.

Finally got a bullpen.

Had two pitchers who will finish in the top five for the Cy Young.

Bobby Witt jr turned into a superstar likely being an MVP #2 to that phag in NY.

Salvy just kept doing Salvy stuff.

Vinnie came back from shoulder surgery and had a helluva year.

Cole Ragans had a full season. His arm didn’t fall off. He’s probably top five for Cy Young.

Seth Lugo is gonna finish top five for Cy Young. He’s like Rick Reed. And he’s ours for at least another season.

Brady Singer will get his next time with arbitration. And I’m ambivalent, but I know it’s damn hard to find healthy arms who could be be better as a 3/4 starter.

Michael Wacha was more than everything we could’ve ever wanted, but I say let that man fly unless he wants to take a dumb contract, which he won’t do.

That gives us Alec Marsh who was pretty great for his role.

And we have Wright coming in, plus Bubic who could start.

But this team needs another bat and wingman for Bobby. It’s perfect that Juan Soto would fill many roles, but it ain’t happening.

Adames is someone I like. And we can dangle Massey/Garcia. Just a thought.

This team…. I hope they go into the offseason working hard, and I hope they got the glitter out of their eyes.

Good team with obvious weakness, and a perennial superstar ready to erupt….

Sherman and JJ should be on the phone soon

[Ocotillo]

Originally Posted by GabyKeepsMeWarm

Angels might have had to overpay because, well, they're the Angels and they always suck. Such an Angels move too. Go out and sign an aging veteran to a big contract. Those idiots will just never learn their lesson.

This is right.

The Angels are repeating their failures, too.

Two years ago, they gave Tyler Anderson three years, $39 million after his 2.57 ERA season with the Dodgers. Without the Dodgers' pitching lab and performance resources, his ERA ballooned to 5.43 in 2023. He's a pitcher who relies on weak contact, so he's living on the edge as it is.

The Halos are banking on Yusei continuing his second-half success when he had a 3.49 ERA, .207 opponent's batting average and an 89/18 K-BB ratio in 69.2 IP. He got a Cy Young vote because of his strong second half. But it's hard to feel confident the Angels will give Yusei the same type of intel he got with the Astros, who just have the magic touch with pitchers. Ronel Blanco being the prime example.

[Ocotillo]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

Wonder if Wacha is kicking himself for signing so early? He must certainly would have gotten a much better deal if he had waited.

Wacha is playing for a winner, a place where he thrived. He has peace of mind, knowing he's going to be in Surprise in February 2025.

With Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, Nick Pivetta, Luis Severino, Nathan Eovaldi, Frankie Montas, Walker Buehler all competing for those second-tier SP contracts, some of them are going to get left out on musical chairs and have to settle for one-year deals with high AAV. Because outside of the big spenders we know (Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, Phillies), there's a lot of uncertainty among the mid markets and how much they can spend because of the Bally Sports bankruptcy.