The Kansas City Royals went from a 2015 World Series title to finishing two games under .500 in just two seasons. It is a new year and the Royals have a chance to regain the crown of the AL Central, but the team may be looking toward a rebuilding season considering their current payroll situation. If there is one team that has shown the ability to rebuild recently, it's the Royals and after their first losing season in four years they will look to get back on track.
Here are all the Royals news and rumors you need to know.
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Padres Interested in Hosmer
Over the past few weeks, the rumors surrounding the Padres interest in Royal's first baseman Eric Hosmer have grown. ESPN's Buster Olney reports the latest:
"If San Diego gave Hosmer a big-money deal -- and at the winter meetings, the buzz among executives was that the Padres were prepared to invest about $120 million over six years -- then Hosmer might start to decline at about the time the team started to turn the corner.But the Padres certainly have the payroll flexibility to gamble on Hosmer or some other player: San Diego has only $7 million committed to player contracts in 2019."
Hosmer posted a career-best .318/.385/.498 batting line with 25 home runs and 94 RBI over 162 games in 2017. He is looking to get paid and the Royals won't be able to compete with the Padres if they want to keep their payroll under $120 million like Royals general manager Dayton Moore wanted.
Rebuilding Means Pass
As stated above the Royals are trying to save money and in the middle of a rebuilding campaign. Those two signs point to the Royals passing on any big name free agents such as Lance Lynn, Jake Arrieta, and Yu Darvish.
There has been a ton of smoke and mirrors this offseason around players and where they might land. What isn't a myth is that the Royals need to add pitching after finishing 2017 with a team ERA of 4.61, 20th worst in the MLB - but they won't be turning to a big name to find it.
Stay tuned to Chat Sports with all the latest news and rumors regarding the Royals pitching rotation.
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Keep An Eye On Frank Schwindel
Frank Schwindel was drafted in the 18th round in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft from St. John's University and was Triple-A Player of the Year last season for Omaha, where he hit .317 with 23 home runs and 97 RBIs in 133 games
Now, Schwindel is playing in the Dominican Republic league and in 30 games, he has three home runs and 21 RBIs.
The progress of young players is important since the Royals are rebuilding and haven't had the most success the past few seasons in the draft, especially in the first round.
Mitchell Renz is the Senior Writer & On-Air Host at Chat Sports. Check out his article archive and live videos on Chat Sports Facebook page. Please follow him on Twitter @MitchellRenz365.
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