OK, so how did it go? Royals GM weighs in on his club’s performance in 60-game season
There’s no other MLB season that equates to this season of COVID in terms of the length, health and safety protocols and the atmosphere both on and off the field. But a season was played, and every team played under the same conditions.
The Kansas City Royals finished fourth in the AL Central with a record (26-34) that roughly translates to a 70-win year over MLB’s customary 162-game schedule. The Royals won 58 and 59 games in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
This season, they were six games back of the Toronto Blue Jays, who were the eighth and final seed in the AL in this year’s expanded playoff field.
“Obviously, when you play 60 games you don’t have the sample size that we’re accustomed to,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said in a season-ending video conference call Monday afternoon. “But the most important thing is the transition of some of our young pitchers and a bullpen that has emerged and given us a lot of hope — so many games are won and lost in the last third of a baseball game. You have to be able to match-up well. There’s some hope there.”
The Royals posted the eighth-best bullpen ERA in the majors (3.84) the sixth-best strikeout per nine innings (10.26) and the fourth-best percentage of runners stranded on base (75.8 percent). They ranked 25th or worse in each category in 2019.
Moore offered the caveat that there’s still questions that couldn’t be answered because of the abbreviated season, such as how bullpen arms would bounce back from an even heavier workload over a longer period of time.
He also mentioned the need for more depth in the bullpen with Trevor Rosenthal no longer with the team and a pending free agent this offseason as are Greg Holland and Ian Kennedy.
“We can’t say enough about where Brady Singer is and Kris Bubic and what they were able to do and provide us with the makings of a really good rotation,” Moore said. “Brad Keller was exceptional. There’s some things to build around.”
Singer, 24, finished the season with a 4-5 record, a 4.06 ERA, 61 strikeouts, 23 walks and a 1.17 WHIP in 12 starts (64 1/3 innings) having not pitched above Double-A prior to this season.
Bubic, 23, went 1-6 with a 4.32 ERA, 49 strikeouts, 22 walks, and a 1.48 WHIP in 10 starts (50 innings) having not pitched above Single-A before this season.
As far as the offensive production, Moore pointed to a desire to add consistent production to their lineup with as many as two more hitters.
“We definitely need more on-base guys,” Moore said. “We need more quality ABs from probably two other spots in that lineup. This time last year, we talked about lengthening that lineup out. I feel like we did that with (Maikel) Franco somewhat, but then we’ve had some lack of production in some other areas that we were counting on in a 60-game season. We need a couple more on-base guys.”
Moore said the organization is not ready to proclaim that one of their young outfield prospects such as Khalil Lee or Kyle Isbel is ready to be part of the 2021 lineup from day one, particularly after a season with no minor leagues.
Franchy Cordero, acquired via trade in July, represents one player who the club will consider as an option in the outfield. And Moore said the Royals have had an eye on him for the past three years.
Other quick hits from Moore’s video conference call:
In regards to how the short season plays into evaluations of players who can be free agents after next season such as Salvador Perez, Danny Duffy and Jorge Soler, Moore indicated the club would take time to make any long-term decisions.
“We all recognize their talent, not knowing what the landscape is going to be like, the economics of the game with where we are during this unprecedented time,” Moore said. “We’ve got to evaluate all of those factors as we go forward. I think the main thing to take comfort in with all those guys is we have strong relationships with them. They love Kansas City. They want to be here. We’ll just continue to evaluate that. When we have to make a decision, we will. But we need more information. The economics are a part of this. The rising talent that we have in the organization is a part of that.”
Moore said Soler wasn’t healthy from the start of the season, though Moore also said Soler won’t admit that. Soler missed 13 games and finished the season on the IL due to an oblique injury. He returned from the IL late in the season and played, but ultimately went back on the IL due to the same issue.
First base coach Rusty Kuntz is expected back on the major league staff next season. Moore even shared that Kuntz was signed to a two-year deal last off-season. Kuntz opted out this year due to COVID-19.
Strong finish
The Royals finished tied for the best record in the AL in the final 18 games (12-6), but it wasn’t enough to vault them into the eight-team playoff field.
“Hopefully we can remember the kind of ball we’ve been playing the last couple weeks and carry that into the start of next year and have that confidence, keep some guys healthy and have some stuff go our way,” Royals outfielder Whit Merrifield said. “I can probably count on one hand how many games we played poorly this year, and that’s a good thing.”
Examined in segments, there are nuggets of encouragement an optimist might take from the Royals results.
When star catcher Salvador Perez played, the Royals were 19-21. With the regionalized schedule, the Royals played a MLB-most 44 games against teams that finished above .500.
For what it’s worth, the Royals would’ve finished above .500 had they just gone .500 against the Chicago White Sox instead of 1-9.
Of course, those segments didn’t add up to enough for the Royals to extend their season.
“I really think we’re a good team,” Merrifield said. “I know our record doesn’t exactly reflect it. We played the first two weeks and we had two starting pitchers, one of them was a rookie. (Hunter) Dozier was out, had COVID. (Adalberto Mondesi) got off to a slow start. Then Salvy got hurt, and then Soler got hurt. Throughout the league, guy, teams, had stuff like that.”
Merrifield pointed to the absence of ace pitcher Brad Keller and workhorse starter Jakob Junis at the start of the season due to COVID-19 as contributing factors to a slow start and a bullpen that got taxed out of the gate.
“I really feel like we’re a couple healthy guys away and what Mondi is doing right now from being right in the thick of things. Hopefully next year we can build on it and come out blazing. We’re due to come out on a heater. I really hope that happens.”
Mondesi won AL Player of the Week honors on Monday. In the season’s final seven days, he led the majors in runs (10), hits (16), stolen bases (5), batting average (.615), on-base percentage (.655), slugging percentage (1.154) and OPS (1.809). he also tied for the AL lead with eight extra-base hits.
A unique challenge
Coronavirus outbreaks on teams such as the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals and the demotions of Cleveland Indians starting pitchers Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger mid-season for violating health and safety protocols underscored the microscope under which players lived for the 60-game season.
Playing in front of empty stadiums, having to limit and account for their daily activity away from the ballpark as well as game day changes like not having in-game video available to analyze at-bats and potentially make adjustments were also aspects that took a toll on players.
“My biggest takeaway is hopefully this is the last season that’s formatted like this,” Royals veteran pitcher Danny Duffy said. “It was a very challenging deal for all of us. There’s a lot of people on this planet right now, literally everybody, that are going through something related to COVID-19.
“So we are all extremely fortunate to be able to go out and do what we do, have a job, have the medical care that’s readily available for us. There’s not a healthier place on this planet. We’re very fortunate. That being said, it wasn’t normal. Looking back on the way this season unfolded, for me it was different but you’ve got to be able to adapt to change. We did our absolute best.”
Merrifield said the theme of his summation of the 2020 season was simply, “I Iook forward to 162.”
The uncertainty of the spring months weighed on players as the season itself was in doubt, but the isolation and abnormality of day-to-day life during the season meant personal sacrifices that likely can’t be quantified easily in examining player performance.
“I think we thought we knew what we were getting into, and we really had no idea,” Merrifield said. “It’s hard for me to explain what this year was like with everything I mentioned with no fans, no video, no doing anything. That stuff is important, and I realize now more than ever how important that really is.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 4:51 PM with the headline "OK, so how did it go? Royals GM weighs in on his club’s performance in 60-game season."
