MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan spoke to Royals manager Ned Yost following emergency surgery to repair a “shattered” pelvis that he sustained when falling an estimated 20 feet out of a hunting stand nine days ago. Yost, who just returned home from the hospital yesterday and is expected to be confined to a wheelchair for the next two months, tells Flanagan in a lengthy interview that he feels lucky to be alive. “There’s no doubt I would have bled out if I didn’t have my cellphone with me,” says Yost, who was helicoptered to a nearby hospital after his fall.
Surgeons told Yost after he had awoken that this type of injury comes with a “25 to 30 percent mortality rate” and that the doctors had grown genuinely concerned as they were initially unable to stop his internal bleeding. Thankfully, however, Yost is now hopeful that he can be on his feet again by the time Spring Training begins. It’s an enormous relief to learn that the 63-year-old Yost, who is entering his ninth season as the manager in Kansas City, is seemingly out of danger and on the road back to full health. Best wishes to him on what will hopefully be as quick a recovery as possible, under the circumstances.
A couple more notes pertaining to the 2015 World Series champions…
- Royals director of analytics Mike Groopman is leaving the club to take a new role with the Brewers in their international scouting department, reports Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Groopman had been with the Royals since joining the team as an intern in 2008, and he played an integral role in expanding the club’s implementation of data and analytics prior to the team’s consecutive World Series appearances. Kansas City also made a front office addition, though, welcoming Albert Gonzalez back to the organization as an assistant GM specializing in international operations. Gonzalez, a Miami native, worked for the Royals for 13 years before accepting a job with the Marlins back in 2006, according to Dodd. He’ll now be tasked with overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Royals’ international department.
- MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that outfielder Cameron Maybin is among the Royals’ potential targets as they search for a new center fielder. The Royals are set to lose Lorenzo Cain as a free agent, and it was reported over the weekend that they see little chance of a reunion. Maybin brings plenty of baserunning value and reasonable contact skills to the table (19.2 percent strikeout rate over the past six seasons), both of which are areas the Royals have emphasized with great success in the past. Defensive metrics soured on his glovework in 2015-16, but he graded out as average or better in 450 center field innings per Defensive Runs Saved (neutral), Ultimate Zone Rating (+3.1) and Outs Above Average (+2). Maybin hit .228/.318/.365 with 10 homers and finished second in the American League with 33 stolen bases in 2017. (Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield led the AL with 34 swipes.)
Possibly signing Cameron Maybin shows me two things from the Royals:
1) They don’t think Jorge Soler can play the field and he’s strictly a DH.
2) Bubba Starling might as well end his career and go play football because the Royals have no faith in him ever making it. Granted, he’s shown no sign of hitting, but if the Royals are going to stink it up (and they are) they might as well open the door for him and see what happens.
Bubba Starling was so 2011. People actually think he will still do anything?
Jorge Soler has never been projected as a center fielder, but is a right fielder or at least a corner outfielder. Cameron Maybin is a center fielder. Don’t understand your logic.
Precisely…
I don’t think the Royals believe soler can do anything, not a huge part of the future tbh
Don’t the Royals have Cam Maybin already in the form of Billy Burns?
Target J-Dy, Revere, or even L. Martin who can platoon with Burns but the thought of CM with over 500 AB’s is somewhat unsettling IMO…
He can strike out a lot
I wouldn’t see Cameron Maybin as a full-time option if he does get signed. And Jorge Soler isn’t exactly a full time option himself (neither in the field or at DH). Cameron Maybin has played 10 games in right field and 60 games in left field in a 900 game career. He’s a center fielder and his signing wouldn’t really affect the Royals plans with Jorge Soler either way.
Cameron Maybin is also not a good hitter. It seems like they’re going to have plenty of those at is, so if they don’t go out of their way to seek another one, that’d be great. They still have Billy Burns, basically a white cameron maybin.
As for Bubba Starling, he has high quality, or at least good MLB defense. He’s basically ready to play the field. And there are some good offensive signs there:
BUBBA STARLING SPLITS BY MONTH (AVG/OBP/OPS)
62AB, 129/217/411 – APRIL
83AB, 289/330/715 – MAY
86AB, 291/322 /811 – JUNE
31AB, 290/333/753 – JULY
16AB, 188/350/788 – AUGUST
He dealt with some injuries in the second half which really hurt cause he was on his way to having a really good season (by his standards).
If you don’t count April, he had a 760 OPS on the season. If Bubba Starling does that in the first half 0f 2018 and stays healthy, he will be in the major leagues.
But lets not hold out any hope. If it happens, it’s a benefit to the club. Can’t expect anything out of him though.
Jarrod Dyson is a free agent again, I’ll much rather they go that route than Cameron Maybin. And maybe a Curtis Granderson to go along and split some time between RF and DH (looking at bottom of the scrape FA, there’s much better options (Jon Jay, Jay Bruce, even Melky..again would all be serviceable players.
I think it’s time for Bubba to play CF. Defensively he is ready and very good. It just all depends on his bat. Buy why pay Maybin, a 31 yr old who hit .228 last yr millions of dollars to do the same thing Bubba could do. Luckily it’s all just media non sense that floats around this time of yr. Just like the Royals are going to bring back Hoz and Moose lol. If anything, Bring back Hoz and Cain and let Cuthbert or Dozier man 3rd base.
The opening day 2018 starting CF is already on the roster. Bubba will get every chance in spring training and if he is too horrible it will be either Orlando and/or Burns.
The organization’s immediate future rests squarely on the shoulders of Soler and Mondesi. Soler was never going to play CF.
Best wishes goes out to ya Ned. Hope ya get up and about really soon.
Best line in Stripes is by Ox when Sgt Hulka gets blown off the viewing stand during war games: “Does this mean we’re through for the day, Sarge?”
Get well soon, Ned!
Also wouldn’t be surprised to see Melky come back and Gordo is the everyday CF. Morosi and Sherman always have random “The Royals are looking at…” tweets that rarely if ever come to pass. Moore, like every GM, is kicking lots of tires. The Royals should only be looking at cheap, veteran bounce back candidates at positions that don’t block someone who we can flip at the deadline if we hit on them.
Best wishes to Ned, always enjoyed him as a coach in Atlanta.
Deer stands are no joke, I’ve had a couple friends seriously injure themselves due to them tipping over or collapsing.
They should try for Maybin, put Soler in Right and Gordon in Left. They should also try Zack Cozart for SS, and go after Frazier for 3rd, and spend the rest extending Hosmer and Perez’s contracts.
Most likely it is Soler in LF, Gordon in CF, and Bonafacio (sp?) in RF. Not great defensively but it seems to be what’s in the cards.
Love to trade Jacoby Ellsbury for a couple of middling pitching prospects and pay all but 4 or 5 million per year on his contract. But I would be willing to give up Tyler Austin and Chase Headley plus 8 mill, and pitching prospect Taylor Widener and pitcher Luis Cessa for Danny Duffy, if they would take Ells for 10 mill a year.