Weekend Rumblings - News for November 23, 2024

Congrats to Bobby Witt Jr. for winning the 2024 Heart and Hustle Award!

Anne Rogers talks to J.J. Picollo about the Jonathan India/Joey Wiemer deal for Brady Singer.

“Clearly, we were looking for a leadoff hitter,” Picollo said. “... We wanted to address on-base. We wanted somebody to provide consistency for us in that leadoff spot. And Jonathan’s going to do that. We were very happy to acquire him. And Joey Wiemer is another player that we’ve always thought very highly of, a highly touted prospect.”

Jaylon Thompson writes that the Royals may not be done.

“When you are looking for a very specific niche thing, you don’t have a long list of players that you can turn to that have a track record like Jonathan (India),” Picollo said. “So, in this case with Cincinnati, they had interest in starting pitching. …

“We feel good about the guys who are clearly established in our rotation, and I’ll say it’s a risk worth taking knowing how fragile starting pitching can be. But we do think we have plenty of (pitching) options and the offseason is not over.”

Keith Law at The Athletic gives his take on the trade. [$]

I can see this deal going sideways for either club, but right now, I’d rather have the Royals’ end of it. India gives them an OBP boost they sorely need, and while his batted-ball data doesn’t support any upside, he can slug .390 and still help this team. Wiemer’s a lottery ticket of sorts, and while I contend that the lottery is just a tax on people who are bad at math, if you’re handing me a lottery ticket with Wiemer’s 2025 stats on it underneath whatever that scratch-off substance is (probably hemlock juice or cyanide), I’ll take it.

David Lesky reacts to the reports the Royals checked in on Juan Soto.

And here’s the biggest shocker of all. Jon Heyman reported yesterday that the Royals checked in on Juan Soto. Yes, that Juan Soto. It’s Heyman, so you know, but still. The next line was “But, ultimately, it’s not a financial fit.” Well duh. I started to move on in my brain, but then I wondered why you even check in knowing what the price tag starts at. Maybe they didn’t at all and Heyman is just doing his thing as a Scott Boras mouthpiece.

But if they did, it made me think that they might be willing to spend big and use deferred money in the way the Dodgers did with Shohei Ohtani. Obviously it won’t be that crazy of a split with the money, but the whole world knows what Soto wants. They don’t need to call to find out there’s not a financial fit for a guy who’s going to sign for $500+ (and the + is doing a lot of work there) million. Just something to think about when you wonder if they’ll spend a lot of money on a player. Maybe they will, but a lot of it will come later.

Bobby Witt Jr. wins the 2024 Heart and Hustle Award.

Anne Rogers writes about the highlights from Bobby’s season.

Eric Longenhagen at Fangraphs offers scouting reports on the players added to 40-man rosters.

The Royals have a ton of optionable, young reliever depth but were thin on starters. Avila and Cameron help stabilize their starting pitching situation.

Baseball America also provides reports on the players added.

Cameron, a seventh rounder back in 2021 out of Central Arkansas, has been a nice development story for the Royals. He’s shown the ability to get deep into starts and eat innings, while generating strikeouts at a rate you wouldn’t anticipate based on the stuff. Cameron mixes a four-seam fastball that sits 91-93 mph with cut and average ride along with a plus changeup, a downer curveball in the low 80s and an upper-80s cutter. He has No. 4 starter upside.

Matt Chabot at Farm to Fountains writes about what next year’s bullpen could look like.

Some of the most intriguing non-tendered free agents around baseball.

Diamondbacks outfielders are drawing trade interest.

The Tigers are interested in reuniting Alex Bregman with A.J. Hinch.

The Athletics are interested in free agent Walker Buehler.

At ESPN Insider, Jeff Passan writes about the most interesting teams this off-season. [$]

The four teams showing the most interest in White Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet.

Alyssa Nakken, the first female MLB coach, will leave the Giants to join the Guardians’ staff.

How baseball media has embraced analytics.

Daniel Jones’ release by the Giants is a cautionary tale.

ESPN will end Around the Horn in 2025.

Why do we have toenails?

Theaters are trying to promote Gladiator II and Wicked as “Glicked”, the next “Barbenheimer.”

Disney World is evicting the Muppets.

Your song of the day is Eels with Saturday Morning.