It’s Feb. 6, and MLB teams will be reporting to spring training in the next week or eight days. This is despite the fact that nearly every major free agent and mid-level free agent and a bunch more free agents besides are still, well, free agents. It’s despite the fact that teams like the Orioles have done nothing to improve their rotation while teams like the Royals are still without an actual, viable plan at the corners.
Spring training is right around the corner even if teams aren’t acting like it
Tuesday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at a few teams with major holes that still need filling.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
According to Royals general manager Dayton Moore, Kansas City is still in talks with Eric Hosmer, who has been their first baseman since 2011. From what Moore says, you get the sense the Royals would be happy to have Hosmer back, but they aren’t going to push too hard to make their supposed priority feel like he has to return to the organization.
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Granted, the Royals do have other options available to them, and if Kansas City’s plan is to hit reset after their window closed, someone besides Hosmer isn’t the worst idea. Again, though, it’s Feb. 6, and the Royals still don’t know who their first baseman will be, which in turn means they still don’t actually know what their goal for 2018 is. Mike Moustakas is probably going to have to keep on waiting, too, since it seems unlikely both he and Hosmer are in Kansas City this year.
The Os have a full rotation in the sense that they have five pitchers listed on their depth chart. Once you get past Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy, though, well ... things are a little sad. Chris Tillman is still a free agent, yet is not guaranteed a return to Baltimore. The Os have a chance to upgrade on Wade Miley and Ubaldo Jimenez, who were disasters in 2017 yet somehow still not the worst pitchers the team trotted out there: instead, the depth chart lists Gabriel Ynoa, Miguel Castro, and Alec Asher. Roster Resource has Mike Wright in there instead of Asher, but ... yeah.
The Orioles haven’t seen their window close yet like the Royals seemingly have, Hosmer or no, but they’re doing their best to slam it shut with their inaction. This could be the last year of Manny Machado in Baltimore, but there’s no urgency to be found anywhere in that front office.
- Someone like the Tigers could speed up their rebuild in a hurry if they went on a spending spree during spring training.
- Grant Brisbee wonders how long it will take for the Giants’ farm system to stop being awful.
- Athletics Nation takes a look at three of the A’s position player battles in spring training.
- Not all of the free agents are waiting at home: Todd Frazier signed a two-year, $17 million deal with the Mets Monday night.
- Viva El Birdos writes that the Cardinals should just sign Yu Darvish already.
- Pinstripe Alley looks at Clint Frazier’s comps.
- Over at the Hardball Times, Ashley MacLennan wonders about the disappearing franchise player.
- FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus both released their top prospect lists.
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