Royals Sign Guthrie, Make Other Roster Moves

The Royals have already made several moves this offseason, but recently the team has made some big decisions that will significantly shape next year’s roster. The biggest deal came yesterday, when the Royals resigned pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to a three year, $25 million deal.

Guthrie resurrected his career with the Royals last season after the club acquired him via a trade with the Colorado Rockies. After struggling a bit early on, Guthrie absolutely caught fire in the second half of the season and became one of the better pitchers in the American League. After joining the Royals, Guthrie posted a 5-3 record with a 3.16 ERA in 16 starts.

While many are concerned with Guthrie’s age (he is 33) and struggles in Colorado, the Royals resigned him for a decent price and showed its fan base that they are serious about contending for a playoff spot next season. Kansas City needed to upgrade its starting pitching, and with deals to Guthrie and Ervin Santana, as well as the return of Felipe Paulino and Danny Duffy from injury, the Royals suddenly have what appears to be a solid starting rotation. This rotation, paired with several key offensive players entering the prime of their career, should have Royals fans somewhat optimistic about next season.

Kansas City also was forced to remove several players from its 40 man roster, and a few have surprised Royals fans. Bryan Pena was let go after spending the last four seasons as the team’s backup catcher. The backup catching job now belongs to Brett Hayes, whom the Royals claimed off of waivers on November 2. Hayes is only 28 and is known to be a good defensive catcher who also calls a good game.

The Royals also designated pitchers Vin Mazzaro, Chris Volstad and Ryan Verdugo for assignment, as well as first baseman Clint Robinson and outfielder Derrick Robinson.

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Guthrie Flirts With No-Hitter, Royals Sweep White Sox

Jeremy Guthrie has been on fire lately, and that trend continued yesterday. Guthrie took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and the Royals defeated the White Sox 5-2. The win gave Kansas City a sweep over their AL Central rival, and the team has been playing winning baseball over the past two weeks.

The hit that broke up Guthrie’s no-hitter attempt has been a controversial subject. Paul Konerko hit a ground ball that shortstop Alcides Escobar had to dive for. Escobar was able to make an accurate throw to first baseman Eric Hosmer, however the throw took a bounce that Hosmer was unable to field. It appeared the play should have been an error on Hosmer, however the official scorer Del Black decided that Escobar had to make too tough a play which resulted in an infield single. As a result, Guthrie didn’t even get a victory, as Chicago tacked on two runs later in the 8th inning. Luckily, Kansas City got some great hitting from Salvador Perez, who drove in runs in the 6th and 8th to twice give Kansas City the lead.

Dayton Moore has taken some heat this year, particularly for trading Melky Cabrera to the Giants for Jonathan Sanchez, who was a complete disaster for the Royals. However, he should be commended for trading Sanchez for Guthrie, who has been absolutely lights-out over his past several starts. Guthrie has likely earned a permanent spot in the Royals’ rotation, and could be part of the team’s future plans. With some key pitchers returning from injury next season, suddenly one of Kansas City’s biggest weaknesses – starting pitching – has a potentially bright future.

Kansas City’s sweep of Chicago improved the team’s record to 54-66 on the season, and the team will look to continue its winning ways when it travels to Tampa Bay for a three game series with the Rays. The first game starts tonight at 6:10 p.m., and Will Smith (4-4) will start for the Royals. Jeremy Hellickson (7-8) will be the starting pitcher for the Rays.

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Royals Shut Out A's - Jeremy Guthrie Continues To Dominate

Almost a month ago, the Royals traded the struggling Jonathan Sanchez for Jeremy Guthrie, a pitcher who was also in the middle of a bad season. At first it appeared that the Royals failed to gain anything from the trade, as Guthrie struggled in his first start in Kansas City. Now, that trade appears to be a steal, as the new Royals pitcher is in the middle of an incredible pitching streak and could become a mainstay in Kansas City’s rotation.

Last night against the A’s, Guthrie completely shut down an Oakland team that has been one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season and is currently fighting for a playoff spot. Guthrie only allowed three singles in seven innings, adding a season-high eight strikeouts to completely dominate Oakland. The Royals would use a hot fifth inning to put the A’s away and wound up winning 5-0, improving the team’s record to 50-65 on the season.

It appears that Guthrie is coming into his own in Kansas City, as the pitcher currently has a 15 inning scoreless streak and three strong consecutive starts. He will be a free agent after this season, but it appears that the team may have plans to resign him and offer him a starting position next year. A change of scenery may have been all that Guthrie needed, and he claims that working with Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland has given his game a significant boost. For the moment, it appears that he has impressed both general manager Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost, and may be part of the team’s future, even though Kansas City will be getting several talented pitchers back from injury next season.

The Royals face the A’s again tonight at home in the second game of the teams’ three game series. Will Smith (3-4) will start for Kansas City, while Brandon McCarthy (6-3) will start for the A’s. The game starts at 7:10 a.m.

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Royals Win Third Straight Game

The Royals have been playing some pretty good baseball lately, winning their third straight game last night with a dominating 8-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Kansas City has now won seven out of its past 10 games, and has improved its record to 48-63 on the season.

One big reason the team is winning games is due to a suddenly hot offense, led by Billy Butler and Alex Gordon. Both players homered in the first inning last night, giving the Royals a commanding 4-0 lead early on. Butler has three homers in the past week, and has raised his average to .303 for the season with 23 home runs and 72 RBI. Gordon has also cranked up the offensive production, raising his season average to .294. Gordon is batting .347 since the All-Star break, and while he has failed to provide the Royals’ offense with power, his ability to get on base in front of players like Butler has been very valuable, as has his defense in the outfield.

The Royals have also gotten some strong pitching performances recently, only giving up five total runs over the past three games. The biggest surprise was the recently-acquired Jeremy Guthrie, who was dominate in an eight-inning performance against the White Sox. Guthrie was acquired when Kansas City traded Jonathan Sanchez, and it appeared as if the team had merely swapped one struggling pitcher for another. If Guthrie can turn things around and continue to pitch well, he could find a permanent spot in Kansas City’s rotation entering next season.

The Royals will be back in action tonight, facing the Orioles in game two of the teams’ four-game series. Luke Hochevar (7-9) will start for Kansas City, while Miguel Gonzalez (3-2) will start for Baltimore. The game will begin at 6:05 p.m.

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Royals' Guthrie Poor In Debut Against Twins

During the offseason, the Royals made one of the worst trades in recent baseball history. The team sent Melky Cabrera packing, trading the future 2012 All Star game MVP to the Giants for pitcher Jonathan Sanchez. This season, Cabrera has been one of the better hitters in baseball, while Sanchez was a complete disaster - a 7.76 ERA in 12 starts, one win and six losses. The trade could very well spell the end for Dayton Moore in Kansas City. The Royals finally cut ties with Sanchez, trading him on Friday for Jeremy Guthrie.

Unfortunately for Kansas City, Guthrie really hasn't been any better than Sanchez this season, and his debut today mirrored his results from earlier this year. Guthrie lasted only five innings, giving up five runs in a 7-5 loss to the Twins and falling to 3-10 on the season with a 6.49 ERA. Hopefully a change of scenery pays off for Guthrie, but his career as a Royal currently got off to a rocky start.

Starting pitching has been a huge problem for the team since the All Star break. On the Royals 10 game homestand, the team's rotation had a 7.38 ERA, a big reason why Kansas City is 3-7 despite facing an easy schedule. Injuries have really decimated this group, and its hard to see the team ever getting back in contention now.

The lone bright spot for the Royals was Billy Butler, who belted his 19th homer of the season. Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas have continued to hit and get on base as well, and the team's young core has steadily produced runs since the All Star break. We'll see if the Royals pitching can improve enough to support the team's offense.

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