MLB GM meetings: Royals seek leadoff help, Orioles have money for top pitcher

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In summation to starring the fields successful batting mean and hits, Bobby Witt Jr. vanished first successful a statistic that should punctual the Kansas City Royals to make a alteration to the prima shortstop’s surrounding cast.

Among non-leadoff hitters, Witt, who batted 2nd successful the Royals’ lineup, had the astir sheet appearances (433) pinch the bases empty.

Witt nevertheless racked up 109 RBIs to spell on pinch his 211 hits, 32 location runs and .332 batting average. How galore much runs would he person produced pinch much runners connected base?

To upgrade their tally production, the Royals are looking to prioritize value interaction and on-base percentage, and conversations are underway astatine the wide managers’ meetings this week. Kansas City batters struck retired conscionable 19.4 percent of the clip (third-lowest successful MLB) but had conscionable a .306 on-base percent (19th). Too often the Royals made interaction connected pitches retired of the zone; they vanished pinch the fifth-highest rate.

Improvement astatine the leadoff spot whitethorn thief the issue. The Royals ideally want a amended type of Garrett Hampson, a right-handed batter who plays halfway field, 2nd guidelines and shortstop. Among the players who mightiness fresh are Jonathan India and Spencer Steer (trade) and Jurickson Profar (free agent). They person immoderate elasticity pinch the position. Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia tin play the outfield.

If the Royals research the waste and acquisition marketplace for violative help, convention sources suggested that they would perceive to offers for pitchers specified arsenic left-hander Kris Bubic and right-hander Alec Marsh.

Free supplier Willy Adames wants to enactment astatine shortstop but would beryllium consenting to play a different position if he gets a beardown connection from a squad successful position to win, convention sources said.

Tampa Bay Rays president of shot operations Erik Neander identified catcher arsenic an area of need, pinch a peculiar desire for amended offense.

“The catching position, the accumulation we sewage past twelvemonth was obscurity adjacent wherever it needed to beryllium to beryllium a playoff-contributing position,” Neander said. “We request to find a measurement to people much runs. I deliberation there’s a fewer different ways we tin spell astir doing that. But upgrading the catcher situation, without question.”

Rays’ catchers produced conscionable a 67 wRC+ successful 2024, amended than only the Miami Marlins (44) and Chicago White Sox (41). Ben Rortvedt, a left-handed batter, received the astir action astatine catcher and though he offers bully defense, he batted conscionable .228/.317/.303 pinch 3 location runs. At a minimum, a right-handed batting catcher pinch amended violative skills would make sense.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, the Rays’ shot operations unit moved its offices this week a fewer blocks eastbound to a vacant building formerly occupied by an security company. Since past month, the Rays unit worked remotely. Neander had nary update, however, regarding wherever the Rays whitethorn play their location games aft the harm to Tropicana Field.

Neander downplayed the effect the uncertainty whitethorn person connected free-agency plans. The Rays are ne'er large spenders. But the calculus for moreover smaller free-agent additions includes ballpark factors. Neander acknowledged arsenic overmuch but pointed to different prevailing reasons players thin to take the Rays.

“We’ve ever been a destination that players spot arsenic a spot wherever they tin get amended astatine and we tin person a affirmative effect connected their careers,” he said, “and that’s ideally for arsenic agelong arsenic imaginable pinch us, but sometimes they postgraduate to greater opportunities from there.

“And those are constants. The reasons that beryllium weren’t needfully our stadium. It helps to cognize a reliable environment. But those (reasons) are people, our staff, really we put successful our players to thief them beryllium the champion they tin be. Those things are each still there.”

Baltimore Orioles wide head Mike Elias is casting a wide nett for starting pitching thief but said he expects to make an effort akin to past twelvemonth successful trying to get personification who tin “lead” the rotation.

With caller ownership, Elias believes he has the costs and elasticity to shop astatine the apical of the market.

“We conscionable went done a squad waste and sewage a caller fresh ownership group that is very good equipped, robust and eager to get going,” Elias said. “They understand that there’s immoderate measurement to really you do business and they are empowering america to look for opportunities that are going to carnivore retired well.

“We person everything that we request from them if we find those opportunities. And if finances are what’s required for america to execute connected those, I’m very assured and bullish that those are going to beryllium location for us.

“The champion measurement to put it is that this ownership group is going to alteration america to tally this franchise optimally. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to do things that are short-sighted aliases destructive agelong term.”

(Top photograph of Jonathan India: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)