AL Central Notes: Royals Pitching, Rodriguez, Manning

MLB Trade Rumors

With Michael Wacha retained on a three-year deal worth at least $51MM, “we don’t expect to be in the market for a starter moving forward.  We’re going to focus on some other things,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters during the Winter Meetings.  Picollo cited the projected top five of Wacha, Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, Brady Singer, and Alec Marsh, and said that the Royals continue to view Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch as starters even though both pitched primarily as relievers in 2024.  All in all, the GM is “very comfortable with our starting pitching right now,” and added that “we feel very good about the depth of our bullpen right now” as well.

As noted by MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, it is possible the Royals could still add a veteran arm as depth, so the door probably isn’t closed entirely on Kansas City’s starting pitching plans even if re-signing Wacha checked a major box on the to-do list.  There were some reports earlier this week suggesting that the Royals could consider moving Marsh or Bubic in order to land lineup help, and such a trade would in all likelihood lead to K.C. pursuing some extra pitching to shore up the depth chart.  Some level of relief additions are also probably likely, even if these might take the form of minor league signings if Picollo is really as set as he claims about the bullpen mix.

More from around the AL Central…

  • Twins outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez underwent a “cleanup procedure” of a right thumb operation after the season, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters.  Rodriguez is expected to be recovered and ready for the start of Spring Training in February.  Even with thumb problems limiting him to 47 games and 209 plate appearances across four minor league levels in 2024, Rodriguez was still a force at the plate, hitting .280/.459/567 with nine homers.  This has essentially been the story of Rodriguez’s young pro career, as his potential has stood out despite playing in only 230 games over parts of four seasons due to multiple injuries.  Baseball America ranks Rodriguez as the 14th-best prospect in the sport, and assuming he can stay healthy, the outfielder should be making his Major League debut at some point in 2025.
  • Speaking of careers hampered by injuries, Matt Manning has yet to really take off as a big leaguer since being drafted ninth overall in 2016.  Manning has a respectable 4.43 ERA in 254 innings with the Tigers since making his MLB debut in 2021, but with only a 16.4% career strikeout rate.  Despite the lack of a breakout to date, Tigers president of baseball ops Scott Harris told Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that the team still views Manning as a starting pitcher, and expects him to compete for a rotation job in camp.  Harris feels Manning’s splitter can become a quality secondary pitch for the right-hander, as Petzold observes that Manning has had trouble developing a true second offering beyond his solid four-seamer.  Detroit has been rumored to be looking for pitching additions this winter, but for now, Manning will be vying for one of the two open rotation spots behind the top three of Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, and Casey Mize.

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