Jaylon Thompson writes that Michael Massey is looking to put last season behind him.
“A lot of guys have tough years,” he said, “and you just keep fighting and you learn something from it. You learn from it, you move on and you kind of leave the result in the past.”
Massey is excited for a fresh start at spring training in Arizona, where the Royals played the Texas Rangers in their Cactus League opener on Friday. The Royals will utilize him in more of a hybrid role this season because of how their roster is constructed. It’s expected he will see time at second base and keep working in the outfield, as well.
Bailey Falter also has a lot to prove.
“He looks great physically,” Quatraro said. “His demeanor has been tremendous. He’s healthy and he’s throwing the ball with great extension and great carry.
“I think in fairness to Bailey, he came over and he was in a tough spot. He was banged up a little bit and we probably saw him at his worst. I think to his credit, the way he’s put that behind him and moved forward throughout the offseason has been tremendous.”
David Lesky considers if the Royals could use a six-man rotation.
Theoretically, going with a five-man rotation for a full year gives two guys 34 starts and three guys 33. Going with a six-man rotation all year gives everyone 27 starts. Six or seven starts coming off the arm could be the difference between freshness for the playoffs or not. But one thing that I think you have to keep in mind with that six-man rotation is that you do have a deficiency now in the bullpen, so I think the extra rest will have to be used to give starting pitchers a bit of a longer leash. Again, I don’t have the biometrics or anything so I’m just talking here, but if you’re counting on 15-18 outs every night, I think that needs to be bumped up to 18-21.
Matt Quatraro thinks Luinder Avila could be an ace someday.
Craig Brown wonders if Avila could be a potential starter.
However, Quatraro’s assessment has me reconsidering. Having Avila in the rotation was always a possibility, but “front of the rotation?” Whoa. In order to make that happen, he’s going to have to refine and rely on that changeup a little more. That would give him another weapon against left-handed hitters. If Avila starts attacking hitters with three pitches—curve, four-seam, sinker against righties and curve, four-seam, change versus lefties—that changes the calculus in determining his future role on the big league club. If I were to tell you something to watch this spring, it would be Avila’s pitch mix. Let’s see if he throws the change with more frequency. Could he even add another pitch to the mix? He’s talented enough to pull something new out of the bag.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep considers catching metrics for the Royals.
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Twins ace Pablo López will have season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg has a UCL tear.
The Blue Jays are in talks with Max Scherzer.
How can the Braves build rotation depth with their pitcher injuries?
Freddie Freeman wants to play til he’s 40 years old.
NBC plans to use local analysts for Sunday Night Baseball telecasts.
MJ Melendez is bringing defensive versatility to the Mets?
The biggest storylines in spring training this year.
Buster Olney omits Jonathan India in his ranking of top second basemen in MLB.
The big questions for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
MLB owners are stocking up about $2 billion in anticipation of a work stoppage.
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USA’s win over Canada in the Olympics was the most-watched women’s hockey game ever.
Sporting Kansas City trades longtime winger Daniel Salloi to Toronto FC.
Can social media age verification really protect kids?
AMC Theaters won’t show an AI-generated short film that is running before some movies.
A judge rules Buffalo Wild Wings can keep “boneless wings” on the menu.
Your song of the day is Joe Walsh with Ordinary Average Guy.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
