Comments on: Your 2011 Royals Bullpen in Action

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:14:38 +0000

I don’t think you will ever see a trade of a #2 SP for any relief pitcher. In all reality, if a guy is a #2 SP, then he would be a lights out closer. If the Royals were to trade Soria, they could likely expect only a fringe major leaguer and a couple of projectable prospects (not sure things). That’s why the rumors of Montero for Soria were likely just that… Rumors, or Montero has some major flaws that teams don’t like.

By: FreetinyTim

FreetinyTim — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:53:20 +0000

Ok, so can you give me an idea real quick of what we might be able get back from a trade of Soria. I was thinking maybe soria and (insert name here,mitch,blanco) for maybe a number 2 SP and a SS prospect.

By: Clark Fosler

Clark Fosler — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:22:00 +0000

Freetinytim – You’re right that a closer on a team 25 games under .500 is a luxury item, but given Soria’s age and friendly contract, there is a very real chance the Royals will be in the hunt while he is still under team control. That is probably why you don’t trade him, at least for now.

By: Clark Fosler

Clark Fosler — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:19:09 +0000

I brought up the idea of trading Soria this past winter and in doing so researched some past trades of closers (there aren’t a lot, by the way). By and large, when you translate the haul of some of those trades into a potential deal for Soria, the widespread reaction was ‘that’s not enough’ from Royals’ fans countered by ‘they would never give up that much’ from the trading team’s fans. Therein lies the problem of trading closers.

By: Frosty Maltz

Frosty Maltz — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:49:52 +0000

SP: Greinke, Hochevar, Meche, Davies, O’Sullivan
CL: Soria
RP: Collins, Tejada, Coleman, Wood, Hardy (Wood, Barrera, Chavez)

Wouldn’t be fair to put Meche in the pen; he’ll get healthy, stay a SP, and the Royals will try and move him next trade deadline in time for Duffy or Lamb to step in.

I’m not sold on Wood. Bet you he doesn’t even make the roster next Spring. I don’t think you can keep at bay the talent we have in Omaha; and don’t forget Barrera as an outside candidate.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 00:36:51 +0000

The Royals looked at trading Soria at the deadline, but never got any offers that they liked. What do you think of Collins in the 8th and Soria in the 9th, though? After next year the bullpen is going to look pretty young, so it might not be a bad idea to hold on to Soria. Very team friendly contract through 2014, so no rush to trade. This team is going to start looking pretty young, so it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have Greinke, Soria, and DDj around. Moustakas, Hosmer, and Myers are going to need somebody to look up to.

I would like to see what is out there for Butler. Can we get that #2 starter and a decent SS/CF? Or a stud CF/SS and a #4? There is such a log jam at 1B, that might be the direction. C.Rob, Hosmer, and maybe Kila and Meija make for quite a group around 1B (Murray Watts is a ways off, but he looks solid too).

By: FreetinyTim

FreetinyTim — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 22:35:16 +0000

Ok, go with me on this one. I’ve Personally seen Tim Collins pitch and from my point of view he looks like soria 2.0 (besides the fact he is five foot three) What i am wondering is, why are the royals not looking at making a trade with Soria because his value has to be high up there for this winters meetings. As much as I like Soria, I like his trade value even better considering the royals are 25 under .500 and in no real need of a closer at this point.

By: fb0252

fb0252 — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:13:40 +0000

“Royals could conceivably have an effective foursome …next year”.

They could and should have had one this year. Unlike the OP I see the main obstacle as Bob (arm slot) McClure. Although, is possibly Yost sending these pitchers into the weight room. The photos show more defined musculature of late, which may explain Wood’s resurgence–that and that he’s not being used every single day, of late.

By: Mr. Dave

Mr. Dave — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:12:13 +0000

Don’t forget about Collins. I think he can wind up being the primary setup man for Soria next season. He doesn’t really have anything else left to prove in the minors, and can make that bullpen five deep next season.

By: Jamboslice

Jamboslice — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:29:32 +0000

Does O’Sullivan have options left? We should use them. I don’t want to see him in our rotation next year, but I also don’t want to see him in this potential bullpen we are building. Maybe he can realize something at AAA up please don’t let the rocky starts happen at the major level. I want Davies to be our 5th, just cause he’s still teasing me with his September performances. Grienke, Hoch 1,2. Chen 3 and either Hardy 4th or reasonably priced free agent. Ultimately I’d like to see one of the 3-5 starters make room for Montgomery at mid season but that’s just my dream at this point.

Good point about not wanting to sign the David Riske’s of the FA pool this offseason. We did that before to aquire talent, but now we need those spots open in the pen to let that talent play. Sure the pen is probably the least home-grown portion of the team for most teams because relievers move around alot, but we can save alot of money this way.