Royals Rumblings - News for January 25, 2023

When it rains (news), it pours

Ben Clemens of FanGraphs likes the Michael A. Taylor trade for both teams:

That’s a nice haul for a Royals team that wasn’t realistically contending this year, and it probably doesn’t hurt that their assistant pitching coach, Zach Bove, came over from the Twins this offseason, where he’d been the assistant minor league pitching coordinator (title inflation in baseball is so hot right now). Teams in contending windows either need to have relievers like Sisk and Cruz in their system or trade for them as the need arises. I don’t think either of them has a ton of value as a standalone trade piece, but if the Royals are good in a few years, their bullpen will have more length as a result of this trade.

As an added benefit, moving Taylor opens up the outfield for a young team in need of major league experience. Drew Waters will start the year in center, and while his star dimmed considerably in Atlanta, he’s the kind of player that non-contending teams should take a chance on. He has serious swing-and-miss problems but tons of tools to compensate for that. He might not be the starting center fielder for the next good Royals team, but Taylor certainly wasn’t going to be either, so giving the youth movement an added kick makes sense to me.

Also at FanGraphs Alcides Escobar makes an appearance in this fun ode (and possible farewell) to the bunt double, by Davy Andrews.

David Lesky gave his thoughts on the MAT trade, and ruminated on what might be next (which turned out to be Mondesi to Boston, just hours later) for the Royals.

Craig Brown also looked into what the trade of MAT means for the Royals going into 2023.

Anne Rogers hit us with an infomercial-style “but wait! There’s more!” in this tweet:

Scott Rolen was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame; Jeff Kent fell off the ballot.

White Sox signee Mike Clevinger is under investigation for domestic violence.

Billionaire gossip is weird: after an LA Times piece mentioned that the Miami Marlins might be up for sale, Marlins owner Bruce Sherman issued a denial, stating he intends to own the Marlins for life. This was in the wake of Angels owner Arte Moreno deciding not to sell his team (or having the market make that decision for him; who knows).

Brad Ausmus is reportedly a contender for the Astros GM position.

Dearica Hamby being traded while 7 months pregnant is a rough part of the WNBA business, writes Maitreyi Anantharaman at Defector. (free to read)

Senate subcommittee hearings are underway in the matter of Ticketmaster maybe being a monopoly, and the Senators spiced up the affair by quoting a bunch of Taylor Swift lyrics.

What would you do if you mistakenly got $5,000 cash in your McDonald’s bag instead of the McChicken you ordered? This guy returned it.

Eight surprising household uses for chalk. I’m sorry that it’s a slideshow.

A guide for getting the best prices on tires, if you have the luxury of time and didn’t run over yet another nail or whatnot.

Athena Scalzi rips into HBO for shoddy subtitles on The Last Of Us.

Here’s my Not An Affiliate Link, Just a Cool Deal of the week: a ginormous box of 800 crayons for $25.

At Ask a Manager, readers offered advice for a letter writer who had to return to life in a cubicle after getting accustomed to working from home.

Justin Bieber sold his music catalog.

This press release for a new Oreo with so much Stuf, plus an Oreo metaverse experience, is unhinged.

There is no great way to transition from Oreos to this next item: Doomsday Clock is at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been.

Welp, on that note...that is the end of this post.

SOTD: Caroline Polachek - Welcome to My Island