Showing posts with label Royals trades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Royals trades. Show all posts

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Royals Spring Training Updates – Hochevar Moved To Bullpen

Despite being a former top overall draft pick, Luke Hochevar has struggled with consistency as a starter his entire career in Kansas City. Now it appears that the right-hander’s days as a starter with the Royals are over, as Kansas City announced that Hochevar will be moved to the bullpen.

Hochevar had been competing with Bruce Chen and Luis Mendoza for the final spot in the starting rotation along with James Shields, Jeremy Guthrie, Ervin Santana and Wade Davis. Now the battle is between Chen and Mendoza. Chen has been steady for the Royals, and has the most wins of any pitcher with the organization over the past three years. Despite Chen’s consistency, Mendoza has to be the favorite. After a rocky start to last season, Mendoza has pitched very well and could be due for a big season.

Hochevar has baffled Kansas City fans with his inconsistency – at times he looks like a dominant starter, other times he looks like he doesn’t belong in the major leagues. Unfortunately, the bad has outweighed the good in his career, and the former top pick has a 5.39 ERA and a 38-59 record in 132 career starts.

While Mendoza and Chen are the front-runners to win the fifth starter’s spot, Will Smith has emerged as a dark horse candidate. Smith has a 1.29 ERA so far this spring and could be a potential starter down the road for Kansas City.

The emergence of Smith may lead to Kansas City considering trading Hochevar, as Kansas City already has a loaded bullpen. Greg Holland’s job as the closer and Kelvin Herrera’s position as his setup man are locks, and the Royals also have Aaron Crow, Tim Collins, Nate Adcock and Louis Coleman as relief pitchers. The loser of the Chen and Mendoza battle could also be used in relief, and it appears there isn’t much room for Hochevar. Don’t be surprised if the Royals try to shop Hochevar over the next couple of weeks.



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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Royals Trade For Pitcher Ervin Santana

Just hours after announcing that the club had declined an option on closer Joakim Soria, the Royals announced another deal concerning a pitcher. Kansas City has made a trade with the Los Angeles Angels, acquiring right-handed pitcher Ervin Santana for minor league left-hander Brandon Sisk. The Royals also acquired $1 million in cash with the deal.

Santana has been a regular in the Angels’ rotation since 2005, going 96-80 with a 4.33 ERA. He has been extremely durable during this stretch, starting at least 23 games in eight consecutive seasons. The righty struggles last season, finishing with a 9-13 record with a 5.16 ERA while allowing a league-leading 39 home runs. Santana did pitch well in the final two months of the season, hopefully showing that he has put his struggles behind him and can pitch like he did earlier in his career.

Santana only has one year remaining on his contract, and it appears that the Royals have not discussed any long-term deals with him at this time. This might be a wait-and-see situation for Kansas City, mostly due to Santana’s inconsistency. The pitcher is a former all-star who once looked like one of the best in the game, yet really regressed in the early portion of the 2012 season.

Sisk spent last season in Triple-A Omaha, going 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA and also recording eight saves. The Angels didn’t have room for Santana in their starting rotation, and it is believed that Sisk may be an addition to their struggling bullpen.

It is hard to gauge this trade for the Royals. While the team does need some starting pitching, the acquisition of Jonathan Sanchez – who was downright horrible last season – is still on many Royals fans’ minds. However, the club has shown a knack for helping struggling pitchers find a second life in Kansas City, and Santana did pitch well at the end of last season. The Royals new acquisition has one year left on his contract to prove that he still has the stuff that once made him one of the better starters in the majors.

Kansas City News, official kc news site with breaking stories on The Kansas City Royals, Chiefs, charity events, the 2012 MLB All Star Game, weather, sports, MU, KU, ufo sightings, dui checkpoints, Kansas City neighborhoods, nightlife, concerts, the Sprint Center, the Power and Light District and current Kansas City news articles.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Royals Swept by Twins, Guaranteed Losing Season

You've got to hand it to the Royals, at least they are consistent. Kansas City fell to the Minnesota Twins last night, 4-3, at Target Field which has been a house of horrors for the Royals this season. The Royals latest dismal showing in Minneapolis (the team finished 2-7 there this season) guarantees the Royals will finish with a losing record for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons. And you thought this guy was the benchmark for consistency.

With the Royals' season now painfully behind us, Kansas City fans can reflect on another "promising" year that ultimately went down in flames. Many sports pundits and fans predicted the team to improve, however inconsistency from the entire club lead to long losing streaks and forced the team to ultimately trade all of its veterans and groom younger players. Zach Grienke was wildly unpredictable compared to his previous Cy Young winning form, as well as the entire bullpen ranging from average to downright scary.

So yet another rebuilding effort starts in Kansas City, yet the Royals seem to finally be learning their lesson from past failures. The Royals already boast a very loaded farm system and have young players already producing for the team like Grienke, Joakim Soria and more. Hopefully instead of foolishly spending on veterans like Jose Guillen and Gil Meche, the Royals will learn from the Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Marlins, two teams that groomed young players and became successful without spending big money. If not, the Royals organization will be in danger of continuing its streak of mediocrity, despite how impressive it is.

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