A Royals Acquisition that May Make Sense

[ThunderBolt]

CJ Retherford is the starting third basemen in Charlotte.

 

If anything I can see him (and others) for Gordon. But, I'd rather take my chances with CJ. Granted both are risks with one being a prospect and one being a bust.

 

But still.

There is a MASSIVE gap in talent and potential between C.J. Retherford and Alex Gordon. Retherford is a great pure hitter, but there's a reason why Gordon was the #2 overall pick of a talent laden draft. Trading a undrafted free agent, even if he's worked his way through the minors in an impressive fashion, should not be an issue.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Thunderbolt, substitute Viciedo for Konerko at 1B (salary dump) and you have a deal, haha.

 

Teahen would be benched/utility/spot play. I actually would rather see what Morel could do...since we already know what we've got with Mark. Heck, I'd rather see Wilson Betemit...almost...if he was hitting like in ST 2009.

 

How can you say that with a straight face?

[caulfield12]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/statistics/...ds/?pl_id=59642

 

Alex Gordon already with 2 homers with the O-Royals, low BA but 891 OPS. Must be very strange to come from Nebraska, the Golden Spikes Award, etc., and now to be returning "home" to Nebraska again under these conditions.

 

I'm pulling for him, he seems like a good kid who's really gotten screwed over by a dysfunctional organization that for some inexplicable reason prefers to go down with Chris Getz and Alberto Callaspo over Alex.

 

 

[chetkincaid]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/statistics/...ds/?pl_id=59642

 

Alex Gordon already with 2 homers with the O-Royals, low BA but 891 OPS. Must be very strange to come from Nebraska, the Golden Spikes Award, etc., and now to be returning "home" to Nebraska again under these conditions.

 

Gordon Beckham will soon follow suit if he doesn't turn it around soon.

[Balta1701]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/statistics/...ds/?pl_id=59642

 

Alex Gordon already with 2 homers with the O-Royals, low BA but 891 OPS. Must be very strange to come from Nebraska, the Golden Spikes Award, etc., and now to be returning "home" to Nebraska again under these conditions.

 

I'm pulling for him, he seems like a good kid who's really gotten screwed over by a dysfunctional organization that for some inexplicable reason prefers to go down with Chris Getz and Alberto Callaspo over Alex.

Gordon reminds me of where Beckham would be if he was hurt for a couple of the next few seasons and never got his average above .250 when he was playing.

[caulfield12]

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/11/19402...on-getting.html

 

Not exactly the same result that we got out of Josh Fields.

 

Wonder if they'll go the same direction with Dayan Viciedo (LF/RF) at some point...I just don't know about Dayan's height and being RHed at 1B, it seems he's better suited for a corner OF spot, his mobility is limited but he has a cannon for an arm.

[southsider2k5]

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/05/11/19402...on-getting.html

 

Not exactly the same result that we got out of Josh Fields.

 

Wonder if they'll go the same direction with Dayan Viciedo (LF/RF) at some point...I just don't know about Dayan's height and being RHed at 1B, it seems he's better suited for a corner OF spot, his mobility is limited but he has a cannon for an arm.

 

Wow, they are dead if Soria falls apart.

 

Joakim Soria has allowed homers to three of the last six batters faced and four overall this season in 13 innings. He permitted only five last year in 53 innings.

 

 

 

[Balta1701]

Wow, they are dead if Soria falls apart.

Soria for Jenks.

 

Get it done KW!

[caulfield12]

If Soria's hurt....their whole future is riding on Greinke, Moustakas, Hosmer, Hochevar, Billy Butler, but Butler, he's not even close to a superstar, he's more like DeJesus....solid, above average MLB player, but not much above that mean, especially when you consider the numbers put up at 1B/DH/LF.

 

 

[Balta1701]

If Soria's hurt....their whole future is riding on Greinke, Moustakas, Hosmer, Hochevar, Billy Butler, but Butler, he's not even close to a superstar, he's more like DeJesus....solid, above average MLB player, but not much above that mean, especially when you consider the numbers put up at 1B/DH/LF.

Come on Caulfield...the Royals future isn't riding with anyone on the ballclub right now. If they're smart, their future is riding on dealing those guys before they become FA's and trying to load up on the next generation of draft picks.

[caulfield12]

Which is why signing Meche, Guillen, Ankiel, Pods, Bloomquist, Jacobs, etc., nobody knows what the heck someone trained by the vaunted Braves' FO is doing in Moore. I would say he's on VERY VERY thin ice right now. He might get 2011, but that's the absolute deadline for a competitive club.

 

All those decisions have been pretty inexplicable.

[Balta1701]

Which is why signing Meche, Guillen, Ankiel, Pods, Bloomquist, Jacobs, etc., nobody knows what the heck someone trained by the vaunted Braves' FO is doing in Moore. I would say he's on VERY VERY thin ice right now. He might get 2011, but that's the absolute deadline for a competitive club.

 

All those decisions have been pretty inexplicable.

Some of those decisions make sense...if you go and talk to a team mid-June who needs a leadoff hitter (Braves?) or a team that needs a DH (Mariners) and you say "Hey, I've got this guy having a good season and you have these 2 players in low-A who interest us".

 

It's not exactly like those guys were blocking stud prospects when they signed them. Maybe Jacobs was, but that's about it.

[Chisoxfn]

I'd be shopping the hell out of Greinke right now too. His value will never be higher. And by the time they are any good to where he can actually make a difference for them, he will be walking via FA.

The Royals have a very strong farm system and two really really good offensive prospects (Hosmer and Mosfauka or whatever the hell his name is). Mellville isn't panning out as planned ,but he still has middle of the rotation upside and the Royals have invested a ton in the draft and have a very strong system. Hochevar is looking like he has a ton of potential and his stuff has improved significantly over the past year or so (velocity, etc).

 

So I don't know that I'd trade a guy like Greinke who is signed IIRC.

[Chisoxfn]

But Sox director of player development Buddy Bell admitted that although Viciedo's talent led to certain expectations, they were limited.

 

"I don't think we had any expectations other than getting him to do different things he needed to do," Bell said. "Coming from a different country, just understanding the culture, understanding what we do here is a lot to take in, in one year.

 

"The game is played a little bit different than what he's used to. It's played at a little bit of a slower pace in Cuba, and when you get over here, there are certain things they have to do that they're not used to, like running balls out. The perception that you get from Dayan sometimes is that he's not ready or prepared, but he's the greatest kid in the world. All you need to do is tell him what he needs to do, and he's terrific. Those are the kind of things he has to make habit. Quite honestly, he's got to do better, but offensively and defensively, he's making great progress."

 

Last season, Viciedo hit .280 with 12 home runs and 78 runs batted in for Double-A Birmingham. In 10 spring training games, he is 4-of-22 (.182) with a run scored, two RBIs and seven strikeouts. And the numbers game is not in Viciedo's favor right now.

 

Although he played well enough at third base last season for Birmingham, the acquisition of Mark Teahen from Kansas City to play third for the Sox, complete with a three-year, $14 million contract extension, has essentially forced the Sox to look to first base as a possible destination for Viciedo with Paul Konerko and backup Mark Kotsay both becoming free agents after this season.

 

"We're kind of going back and forth with that right now," Bell said. "[Viciedo] is going to play a little more first than he ever has in the past because of the depth we have there right now, and we feel like Dayan is probably a better fit than the other two guys (Kotsay/Konerko or Flowers at 1B???), so this is probably his quickest path."

 

The other problem with Viciedo playing third is that he is listed at 240 pounds, but he looks considerably heavier and needs to improve his physical condition.

 

"I think that's fair," Bell said. "But he's a typical 18-, 19-, 20-year-old. Your body kind of gets away from you like when you go to college, but we have him on a fairly strict program, and he's starting to lose some of his baby fat."

 

Viciedo said it "doesn't matter" whether he plays third or first but agrees his weight is a concern.

 

"Right now I feel healthy, but I know I have to lose a little more weight to be more comfortable playing," he said.

 

The Sox love his hands and his power at the plate. "We're still working on his feet," Bell said. "Part of that is changing his body. He's kind of a young hitter right now where he gets out of control, so we have to kind of back him off a little bit, which is really hard. But I'd rather do it that way than have a guy who's passive that we've got to push. We've got to get him more under control, more balanced. But he's got great ability. I think it's just going to take a little bit more time."

 

Bell compares Viciedo to Cuban-born Angels first baseman Kendry Morales.

 

"He was supposed to be the next great thing," Bell said of Morales, "and he had to spend a few more years in the minor leagues, and now he's one of the better players in our league. I think it's very similar."

 

Being the next great thing does have its drawbacks. But Jordan Danks, who played with Viciedo in Birmingham and became close friends with him despite the language barrier, said it did not appear to faze Viciedo.

 

"I think he handles that weight [of expectation] really well," Danks said. "He was born to play baseball. He said he knew that as soon as he got drafted out of high school. He was real mature at a young age, and I really don't think it's that big of an adjustment for him [to be playing in the U.S.]."

 

Guillen said he still has high hopes for Viciedo.

 

"I expect a lot of things from him," he said. "He's a different type of guy. He doesn't look like a Latino. He's so laid-back and sometimes with Viciedo acting that way, people think he's lazy, but no, that's the way he is."

 

www.espn.com

It is stupid if we are changing Viciedo's position because of Teahen.

[iamshack]

The Royals have a very strong farm system and two really really good offensive prospects (Hosmer and Mosfauka or whatever the hell his name is). Mellville isn't panning out as planned ,but he still has middle of the rotation upside and the Royals have invested a ton in the draft and have a very strong system. Hochevar is looking like he has a ton of potential and his stuff has improved significantly over the past year or so (velocity, etc).

 

So I don't know that I'd trade a guy like Greinke who is signed IIRC.

 

I just spit out water onto my desk.

 

Moustakas

[GoodAsGould]

It is stupid if we are changing Viciedo's position because of Teahen.

 

I thought it had a lot to do with Viciedo was a butcher at 3B despite Cubano trying to convince us otherwise and the fact that the wsox are so high on Morel.

[Chisoxfn]

I thought it had a lot to do with Viciedo was a butcher at 3B despite Cubano trying to convince us otherwise and the fact that the wsox are so high on Morel.

That is what I have always thought and I was ok with the fact that we are moving him because we don't think he can play 3B. But the article specifically mentioned how having Teahen changed where we were going to play him. And that would be a real stupid reason.

[southsider2k5]

That is what I have always thought and I was ok with the fact that we are moving him because we don't think he can play 3B. But the article specifically mentioned how having Teahen changed where we were going to play him. And that would be a real stupid reason.

 

It is a better thing to tell a kid we are moving you because you are blocked versus telling them that they are moving because they suck.

[kitekrazy]

I thought it had a lot to do with Viciedo was a butcher at 3B despite Cubano trying to convince us otherwise and the fact that the wsox are so high on Morel.

 

It just goes to show you defense is never a priority in this organization. They try to churn out as many DH/1B as possible.

 

[ChiSox_Sonix]

It just goes to show you defense is never a priority in this organization. They try to churn out as many DH/1B as possible.

 

This post makes no sense.

[dyuen]

That is what I have always thought and I was ok with the fact that we are moving him because we don't think he can play 3B. But the article specifically mentioned how having Teahen changed where we were going to play him. And that would be a real stupid reason.

 

That article makes no sense than because he was moved off 3b last season before we even acquired Teahan.

[Balta1701]

That article makes no sense than because he was moved off 3b last season before we even acquired Teahan.

Really? He only played 2 games at 1b last season. Was he there in the AFL pre-injury? I don't recall the "Viciedo moving" official article happening until after the TeahEn trade.

[dyuen]

Really? He only played 2 games at 1b last season. Was he there in the AFL pre-injury? I don't recall the "Viciedo moving" official article happening until after the TeahEn trade.

You could be right. I don't recall when exactly the "official" announcement was made. But I was informed last summer that his future was at 1b. So I think it would be more accurate to say signing Teahen was a reaction to moving Dayan as opposed to he was moved due to signing Teahen.

 

He is off to a good start at AAA. Though that bb/k ratio is pretty bad.

[NorthSideSox72]

It just goes to show you defense is never a priority in this organization. They try to churn out as many DH/1B as possible.

As I said when you did this in the Cubs thread too, you need to look around at the current Sox team. You have one serious defensive liability (Teahen), one below average defender (TCQ), and then the rest of the squad I'd say is average or better. And if Jones is on the corner instead of TCQ, it gets better.

 

Further, this team has rarely churned out 1B/DH types - how many have come out of the minors? That's just nonsensical.

 

[dyuen]

As I said when you did this in the Cubs thread too, you need to look around at the current Sox team. You have one serious defensive liability (Teahen), one below average defender (TCQ), and then the rest of the squad I'd say is average or better. And if Jones is on the corner instead of TCQ, it gets better.

 

Further, this team has rarely churned out 1B/DH types - how many have come out of the minors? That's just nonsensical.

The only one I can think of was Brandon Allen and he was dealt off for good value. It doesn't look like he will ever be a starter. Oh and Chris Carter too. The jury is still out on that one depending on if Q finds his stroke.