Kansas City Baseball Vault

This time around, we talked about the bullpen battles and how the roster is starting to round into shape two weeks from opening day, including the optioning of Brandon Finnegan to Double A.

The bulk of this week's show, though, was spent guessing at the production of various Royals in 2015 via our first annual KCBBV Royals Over/Under Jamboree. Will Kendrys Morales hit more than or less than 15 homers? Will Danny Duffy throw more or less than 200 innings? We brought up a handful of other benchmarks and tried to peg which Royals would exceed or fall short of that number.

There was also at least one Pitch Perfect reference.

The topic of the day became injuries.
Tim Collins is hurt. Omar Infante is hurt.
How does the Collins injury impact the bullpen and its construction? Do the Royals go with an 8 man bullpen as they've promised/threatened?

If Infante can't be ready for Opening Day, is Christian Colon good enough to carry it, and if so, who's the utility guy?

These questions plus some talk of the March 14 Westport race showdown between Michael Engel and The Fake Ned, plus some random TV discussion because we wanted to.

With spring training starting up, we got caught up on the latest news out there, but mostly talked about prospects and minor leaguers. Every team needs depth and the Royals are no different.

We discussed which players might get the call this year, which ones might have an impact, and which prospects are the most intriguing for the next season and beyond. The usual suspects were brought up (Kyle Zimmer, Raul A. Mondesi, Sean Manaea) but we picked out some lesser known names too.

And then at the end Jeff wanted my take on the Oscars, I talked about an upcoming bet I have in Westport, and general hilarity was had.

This week, we welcomed ESPN writer and Fangraphs contributor Dan Szymborski to the show. Szymborski is the creator of the ZiPS projection system geared towards projected each player on each team during the winter.

We talked to Dan about what ZiPS is trying to do and the nature of statistical evaluation and its pitfalls and successes, including long-term trends, different WAR calculations, and those who may dismiss such tomfoolery.

We also talked about the prognosis for this year, and what may be in store for the Royals including his most likely choice to breakout and to bust.

There was also some nonsense in the outtakes and a dynamite Lee Judge impersonation. You can (and should) follow Dan on Twitter at @DSyzmborski.

(Editor's note: Some technical problems cut out about three minutes in the beginning, so let me summarize Dan's explanation of ZiPS: it's a computer program geared towards projecting the future with multiple factors in play and multiple simulations, trying to get as close as possible with information available.)

So James Shields finally signed. After a week where we talked about how the Royals might have a slim chance to re-sign him, Shields agreed to a deal with San Diego.

We looked at the fallout now that it's official and talked about the comparisons to the players the Royals signed ahead of Shields, as well as presented a theory on why two Royals starters - Shields and Ervin Santana - have had to play the waiting game in each of the past two offseasons.

Then we discussed the bullpen and some of the factors in play in Spring Training. The primary roster is pretty well set, but the bullpen can have some intrigue to it.

As always, the Kansas City Baseball Vault is brought to you with the support of Kelly's Westport Inn in Kansas City, Missouri.

As the Royals settled some arbitration cases, we talked about some of the potential changes to the game - pitch clocks, shifts, adding offense - that have come up recently and been pitched by new Commissioner Rob Manfred.

We also talked about why James Shields hasn't signed yet and the potential that he could end up back on the Royals. He'd be welcomed back by most, but could they fit him in the payroll at this point?

We're still a couple of weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting, so Jeff and Mike talked a bit about what TV shows are killing time for them until baseball returns.

As always, check out Kelly's Westport Inn anytime you're in Westport - their whole team is crazy about the Royals and they'll take care of you if you're looking for a fun night out in KC.

This week Royalman Troy Olsen joined Mike to talk about the offseason and general impressions, the Royals payroll surpassing $100 million, and what Jarrod Dyson might bring in a trade (and if there's a viable replacement in the system if something might happen). We also discussed Brandon Finnegan's future and how he might fit as a starter or reliever.

After a break, we then discussed the Royals Hall of Fame candidates, including Gil Meche, Kevin Seitzer, Mike Sweeney, and the phenomenal Bo Jackson.

After the holidays, we had to play quick catchup and talk about the signings of Edinson Volquez and Kris Medlen from December. Volquez is important, but more of a complementary piece. Two other pitchers are much more important. Medlen, though, is a small risk for a big reward.

We also tiptoed into the Hall of Fame voting question. On Tuesday, the inductees will be named, but this year, the process has been up for debate more than the players themselves. We discussed that and some of the candidates who might emerge from the logjam, including Jeff reading off Pedro Martinez's stats from the steroid era while Mike giggled uncontrollably.

Then we took a break from baseball to talk TV. You may have seen the Twilight Zone-esque BBC show Black Mirror, so we talked about some of the elements from the series and our impressions in general.

After some winter hibernation, the Royals finally got things going on the transaction front, and we talked about the Royals' moves to fill out the lineup.

So we compared Kendrys Morales and Billy Butler and the general market for hitters, including the Royals shift from their goal of a floating DH to settling on Morales.

We also discussed Alex Rios and his down 2014. The Royals found themselves with limited options after other teams picked the outfield free agent class clean, but is there still hope for a rebound?

We've talked in the past about how the Royals lean towards hoping for improvement rather than what looks like hard analysis, and their offseason moves reflect that.

We wrapped up by discussing the Wil Myers trade rumors. Two years after the Royals dealt him for James Shields, Myers may be on the move again. Is that the market playing out, or is there something about Myers causing another move?

We'll keep tracking the Royals moves this offseason, including what may be a couple of pitching acquisitions (Jeff thinks a trade is the most likely route; Mike thinks the Royals will fill from free agency). And finally, for anyone interested, Mike gave a real-time review of the Royals-themed beer from Boulevard - Crown Town Ale.

We knew this day would come but it was time to say goodbye to Billy Butler for his years of service in the Royals organization. We discussed what his move to Oakland may mean for him and what the A's saw in him that the Royals weren't going to pay up for.

We also covered the Yasmani Tomas signing by Arizona and what the Royals may have missed out on. Along with that, we caught up on some of the big transactions of the offseason so far, including the trade of Aaron Crow to Miami - a good move in our opinion.

Finally, we talked about tickets, awards, and odds and ends.