***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

[GabyKeepsMeWarm]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

Uhh, a ton of people ARE changing the channel. And that's why the folks at the top of baseball are desperately pulling every lever feasible to try and stem the bleeding of viewership.

Correct. MLB has been dropping in tv ratings for years. This isn't anything new. But so is everything else. But nobody wants to just face the fact this is the new reality and there's been a paradigm shift in what and how people watch tv, shows, movies, entertainment in general. On the other hand though, ballpark attendance has been rising for a good while, with the exception of the pandemic blip, and things are back on the rise in gameday attendance again. But you don't "stop the bleeding" by turning the game into something it's not. Sure, pro wrestling, the carnival, an orgy, a riot, a town square beheading are all fun on special occasions, but even the most fervent weirdo is gonna turn that shit off at a certain point because even car crashes get boring if you're watching them every day.

[UteChief]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

Uhh, a ton of people ARE changing the channel. And that's why the folks at the top of baseball are desperately pulling every lever feasible to try and stem the bleeding of viewership.

I believe viewership and attendance were both up in 2024.

https://www.mlb.com/amp/press-releas...ven-years.html

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by UteChief

I believe viewership and attendance were both up in 2024.

https://www.mlb.com/amp/press-releas...ven-years.html

Yeah, they're touting the rule changes as to why they finally pulled up a bit out of this slump they've been in. And that's why they're going to keep doing it.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by UteChief

I believe viewership and attendance were both up in 2024.

https://www.mlb.com/amp/press-releas...ven-years.html

Part of the reason I watched more baseball the last couple of years is how much they reduced the length of an average game. Fantastic change and great job by Manfred.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...b-game-length/

[GabyKeepsMeWarm]

Originally Posted by UteChief

I believe viewership and attendance were both up in 2024.

https://www.mlb.com/amp/press-releas...ven-years.html

Yeah, I know viewership did actually go up this year, but I'd almost attribute a lot of that to so many good, fun, big/small market teams being in the race all year. This was actually a really, really good year of baseball with terrific storylines from several places. Though I'm sure some of the rule changes might've had some sort of impact as well, more than anything, the pitch/hit clock, but again, you could easily speed things up by cutting down on the ads.

[GabyKeepsMeWarm]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

The sport will face a serious reckoning in 2027. If they **** around too much and stop playing long enough that a large portion of fans simply give up like has happened with past stoppages, there may not be a path forward outside of simply existing as another niche sport like MLS or NHL.

I haven't heard any clamor for another work stoppage when the current CBA runs out. Are you referring to something you've heard or seen? I think MLB kinda already is a "niche sport", and there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing at all quite like it from a major sports perspective. I know there's a ton of shared concern regarding the NBA. Viewership is way, way down. But it's such a global thing, I have a hard time believing their problems are too deep.

[poolboy]

Baseball is fine..but Imagine Bobby getting one more AB every game

[Sassy Squatch]

Originally Posted by GabyKeepsMeWarm

I haven't heard any clamor for another work stoppage when the current CBA runs out. Are you referring to something you've heard or seen? I think MLB kinda already is a "niche sport", and there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing at all quite like it from a major sports perspective. I know there's a ton of shared concern regarding the NBA. Viewership is way, way down. But it's such a global thing, I have a hard time believing their problems are too deep.

Really? Manfred hasn't exactly been subtle about his intentions to eventually implement a salary cap or something equivalent to one. While that would absolutely go a long ways towards fixing the constant competitive balance issues it'll be a non starter for the players. It's almost entirely dependant on how serious Manfred and the owners are about getting that implemented.

[GabyKeepsMeWarm]

Originally Posted by poolboy

Baseball is fine..but Imagine Bobby getting one more AB every game

Soooooo many records would fall. Pete Rose would finally one day be nothing more than a footnote, so it wouldn't be all bad.

[poolboy]

Originally Posted by GabyKeepsMeWarm

Soooooo many records would fall. Pete Rose would finally one day be nothing more than a footnote, so it wouldn't be all bad.

dont forget the asterisk...lol

[GabyKeepsMeWarm]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

Really? Manfred hasn't exactly been subtle about his intentions to eventually implement a salary cap or something equivalent to one. While that would absolutely go a long ways towards fixing the constant competitive balance issues it'll be a non starter for the players. It's almost entirely dependant on how serious Manfred and the owners are about getting that implemented.

Yeah, I guess. But I've had a hard time taking any salary cap discussion very seriously because it really is such a non-starter for the player's union. And I don't know if either side has enough leverage at this point to do a thing about it. Expansion isn't gonna help the owner's case much, because expansion is already inevitable. And the only leverage the owners have after that is a complete and total shut down lasting a year or more, or playing with scabs, and simply sucking it up. It would likely wreck the game irreparably, or take a generation to get things back to even close to the prior levels. Manfred wants to retire in 2029, so I doubt he wants his lasting legacy residing on MLB shutting down for a salary cap.