The Royals’ series in Miami ended with a thud, as the Marlins not only beat Kansas City 6-1 on Wednesday but ended up sweeping the series, bringing the Royals’ record to 18-44 overall for the year.
It’s been a tough start to the month of June for the Royals, as they have been 1-5 this month. This includes not only the recent sweep against the Marlins but losing two out of three at home during Big Slick weekend to the Colorado Rockies, who sit in last place in the NL West.
Safe to say, Royals fans are frustrated, and it’s hard to see a lot of light at the end of the tunnel, even in an AL Central division where no one has a winning record, as of Thursday.
So let’s look at what went wrong in the Marlins series (and so far in June), what Royals fans have to look forward to against Baltimore, and what kind of changes could be on the horizon for this Royals roster desperately looking for a spark.
Big Innings Doom Royals in Miami
The Royals lost 9-6 on Monday and 6-1 on Tuesday and Wednesday. In fact, the Royals held a 4-0 lead on Monday against Miami starter Braxton Garrett (who has been one of the hotter starters in baseball lately). Unfortunately, the Royals’ pitching staff being able to limit high-scoring innings ended up being their downfall in this road series.
On Monday, Mike Mayers, who was brilliant against the Cardinals in his last outing, was far from it against the Marlins. Mayers gave up seven runs on nine hits in three innings of work, which ended up boosting his ERA to 4.41 for the season. While Mayers struggled to get whiffs and outs in this outing, he wasn’t helped by his defense, as Drew Waters and MJ Melendez miscommunicated on a flyball that was eventually dropped and led to runs.
Games two and three were more of the same from the Royals’ pitching staff, only the offense wasn’t able to back up the pitching this time around.
Zack Greinke dueled Jesus Lazardo for four innings on Tuesday, but the wheels came off in a five-run fifth. Greinke not only gave up a home run to Jesus Sanchez but loaded up the bases for Jackson Kowar, who then promptly gave up a double to Bryan De La Cruz that cleared the bases and gave the Marlins a 5-0 lead (which led to their 6-1 win).
On Wednesday, the Royals pretty much looked lifeless on the hitting end, as they collected only three total hits in the game in the 6-1 loss. Jordan Lyles had one of his better starts of the season as he allowed only three runs through seven innings and seemed to be cruising beyond a three-run home run given up to Sanchez in the third inning.
Unfortunately for the Royals though, manager Matt Quatraro kept him in for the 8th, and much like Deja Vu, De La Cruz put the game out of reach with Jose Cuas unable to clean up Lyles’ mess.
The Marlins series was a nightmare for Royals fans. Bad pitching. Bad hitting. Bad baserunning. Bad defense. You name it.
The good thing is that the Marlins aren’t in the Royals division or the American League, so thankfully this will be the last time Kansas City will face this club this season.
Rematch with Orioles at Camden Yards
Nearly a month later, the Royals play the Orioles again, this time in Baltimore.
The Orioles haven’t really seen much change in their place in the AL East, as the Rays still clearly sit at the top of the division. However, after a month of play, the Orioles are clearly a playoff contender and will be the favorites in this series with a 38-24 record.
On a bright note, the Royals will see pretty much the same Orioles pitchers that they faced back in May at Kauffman Stadium. That includes Tyler Wells in game one and Kyle Gibson in game three, with manager Brandon Hyde keeping the Saturday starter as a TBA for now.
The Royals got after Gibson on May 3rd in a 6-0 win that saw Vinnie Pasquantino collect three hits, which included a solo home run off of Gibson.
It would be nice for Vinnie and the Royals offense to get things going in June against the Orioles, whom they scored 23 runs against in the three-game series back in May.
The Orioles’ offense continues to look stellar, especially with a lineup of Adley Rutschman (a likely All-Star), and a suddenly surging Anthony Santander and Aaron Hicks, who have both put cold starts behind them. Ryan O’Hearn has also emerged as a hot bat at the end of the batting order for the Orioles as well, as he is slashing .286/.328/.536 in 61 plate appearances this season.
On a positive note for the Royals, Cedric Mullens will be on the IL in this series and Jorge Mateo and Ryan Mountcastle have cooled off after hot starts to the season when the Royals initially played them back in May.
The Orioles bullpen will be formidable as Yennier Cano and Felix Bautista have been one of the best one-two punches in the late innings this season. Bautista was hurt and didn’t face the Royals back at Kauffman, but if he gets the ball in the ninth and with a lead, it’s likely that it will be a loss for the Royals, especially on the road at Camden Yards.
On the other hand, the Orioles starting pitching is vulnerable, especially with Cole Irvin down in Triple-A Norfolk (though it will be interesting to see if they call him up for Saturday or perhaps go with top prospect Grayson Rodriguez).
The Orioles starting rotation ranks 24th in ERA, 20th in WHIP, 25th in H/9, and 25th in HR/9, so if the Royals can do damage against the Orioles starters early, they have a shot, as long as the Royals’ rotation can hold its own (which should be Daniel Lynch, Brady Singer, and Carlos Hernandez as an Opener with Mayers as the bulk guy).
If the Royals can get off to early leads and avoid the big innings that plagued them in Miami, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to think that they could get two out of three in this series.
Big Trades Coming in Kansas City?
With the Royals clearly rebuilding for 2024 and beyond, hot stove talk has been a popular topic in Kansas City, with Aroldis Chapman and Scott Barlow being thrown out as possible names of guys who could be moved soon.
Chapman, on a one-year deal with the Royals, is posting a 2.95 ERA, has struck out 35 in 21.1 IP, and is showcasing the premium fastball velocity that once made him the closer with the Yankees, Cubs, and Reds, previously. He should be a highly-sought after asset, and it appears that JJ Picollo is eager to move on from Chapman sooner rather than later to maximize the trade package.
As for Barlow, he got off to a slow start, but he’s posting a 3.52 ERA now and has struck out 33 batters in 23 IP. Barlow is generating a K% of 35.1 percent, which is one of the best rates of his career, and after a rough April, he’s looking like one of the better relievers in the AL Central again, as I wrote about last week.
The most interesting trade rumor though may be the possibility that Salvador Perez could be dealt, perhaps in a package with Chapman to better the return, as Ken Rosenthal mentioned as a possibility in his most recent column on The Athletic.
It seems unlikely that the Royals will trade Salvy, especially after naming him the team’s first captain since Mike Sweeney, and with the need to build momentum for a new stadium (which doesn’t seem to be on the table yet in the upcoming August Jackson County ballot). Plus, Salvy has 10-5 rights, which means that he has to approve any trade destination and waive his “no trade” clause to make any kind of trade happen.
Nonetheless, I think this shows that Picollo and the Royals’ front office are kicking the tires on anyone beyond Vinnie and Witt, who seem to be long-term priorities for the Royals.
While I think Salvy will stay in Kansas City for at least one more year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this be a busier hot stove summer under Picollo than it ever was under previous GM and President Dayton Moore.
Photo Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports
Mr. O’B, SHOULD they trade the uber-popular Salvy, I fear attendance would fall off the cliff it is already on the precipice of and it would do nothing but damage the possibility of a downtown stadium initiative being passed. If they pull the trigger, it had better be for the haul of hauls.
I don’t think it happens honestly. I get that there may be some buzz, but I think the money will be too much for other teams, and the backlash will be really bad from fans.
Honestly though, I’m not against it. This team needs to rip off the band-aid and rebuild and the bottom line is Salvy won’t be around for when this team will be ready to compete again. Might as well start now if the prospect haul would be good.
[…] Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter also reacts to the trade rumor. […]
Things look particularly sorry for the Royals as they are now tied for the least wins in the majors with the A’s who have won 5 straight games and have beaten the Royal 2 out of 3. Royals now the MLB worst
How do you trade Barlow, the best Royal reliever and the one pitcher that I do not cringe at when they bring him on. Hels not perfect but he is as good as we got.
That’s how trading works. He’s a reliever and probably on the downswing of his career anyways. Might as well get something for him while he still has value.