Kansas City Royals

This year, the Kansas City Royals have traded beanballs and engaged in on-field fracases with the Oakland A's, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and, most recently, Toronto Blue Jays.

You can argue the particulars of each incident and assign blame accordingly. In the end, though, the common denominator is the Royals, baseball's bad boys.

Or not, if you ask manager Ned Yost.

"We're not the bad boys of baseball," Yost said after the encounter with Toronto, during which Jays sluggers Josh Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki were plunked, per Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. "We didn't do anything that was wrong. We just played the game."

Major League Baseball apparently agreed; the only suspensions handed down after the Jays-Royals donnybrook went to Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez and skipper John Gibbons.

Again, though, a club can only be in the midst of so many benches-clearing incidents before it starts to gain a reputation.

So where is this coming from? What led Kansas City—which last year streaked to the World Series as America's underdog darling—to turn heel?

First off, this is nothing especially new. I wrote about Kansas City's shift from Cinderella to Wicked Stepsister back in April, after they racked up nine ejections over a six-game span. And I wasn't alone. ESPN's David Schoenfield, among others, also noted Kansas City's about-face:

https://twitter.com/dschoenfield/status/591424243503595522

One of the most visible culprits has been young, hard-throwing right-hander Yordano Ventura, as Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star outlined:

In the news business, as the saying goes, twice is a coincidence but three times is a trend.

So after either igniting or escalating tiffs with the Angels and Mike Trout, the A's and Brett Lawrie and now the White Sox, it no longer can be doubted that Ventura has developed an issue with self-control.

And it's an issue that’s tainting the image of the Royals, whose demonstrative style of play is abrasive to some to begin with.

Ventura was in the thick of the latest bad blood with Toronto as well. After Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista took a shot at Yost on Twitter, saying he'd "lost a lot of respect for that man," Ventura fired back, per McCullough:

In a series of Twitter posts that were subsequently deleted, [Ventura] called Bautista a "nobody" and threatened to retaliate the next time the two teams played. Ventura later apologized to Bautista, also on Twitter. ...

Yost had little to say about Ventura’s latest outburst. "Whatever," Yost said. "I'm not a big Twitter fan."

OK, fair enough—Yost can't be expected to police, or explain, all of his players' words and conduct. In the end, though, a manager is charged with setting the clubhouse tone.

It's entirely possible, even plausible, that Yost isn't the source of the collective chip that seems to permanently reside on the Royals' shoulder. But as the man on the dugout's top step, it's his problem.

Unless, of course, it isn't a problem. You can turn your nose up at Kansas City's antagonistic antics, but you can't argue with the results.

Entering play Monday, the Royals sit comfortably atop the American League Central with the best record in the AL. After adding ace Johnny Cueto and super-utility specialist Ben Zobrist at the trade deadline, Kansas City is primed for another deep October run.

Maybe the edge, attitude and bluster act as fuel. Perhaps they're an inexorable ingredient in Kansas City's chemistry.

This is, by all accounts, a tight-knit group, as outfielder Jarrod Dyson told Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star.

"We're all so close," Dyson said. "We joke around in here, but when it's time, we all want to go out and fight for each other."

Sometimes, that also involves fighting the other team, or coming close to it. That may hurt the Royals' standing from a PR standpoint, recasting them as hot-tempered bullies.

Then again—as the old saw goes—if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

All statistics and standings current as of Aug. 9 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

The Oakland Athletics traded infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for pitchers Aaron Brooks and Sean Manaea on Tuesday, the Royals confirmed.

Jane Lee of MLB.com reported that the Royals will receive cash from the A's to help offset Zobrist's salary.

Zobrist was in his first season with the A's after spending nine seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. The two-time All-Star holds a career .264 average, and his ability to play multiple positions has always made him a valuable player. He will start as an outfielder for his new team, per Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star.

The 34-year-old is on the back side of a career that is seeing his power numbers decrease. He hit a career-high 27 home runs with a .297 average in 2009 but followed up that All-Star season with just 10 home runs in 2010. Zobrist came back with 20 long balls in each of the next two seasons, but he hit only 22 home runs combined in 2013 and 2014. He hasn't fared much better in 2015, hitting just six homers to date.

Still, the possibility that he could spark an offense was too good for Kansas City to pass up, as it now has one of the most versatile players in the league. Zobrist split his time between second base and the outfield for Oakland and has played every position except pitcher and catcher in his career.

Zobrist also has shown speed in the past, with 10 stolen bases or more in each of the past six seasons, though he has just one this year.

With the acquisition of Zobrist and the addition of Johnny Cueto over the weekend, the Royals are making a strong push for a World Series crown after losing to the San Francisco Giants in last year's Fall Classic. Kansas City currently holds the best record in the AL Central and possesses an eight-game lead over the second-place Minnesota Twins.

Adding Zobrist gives the Royals a player who can fill multiple positions in various scenarios come October.

In return, the Athletics get prospects for the future, a hallmark of general manager Billy Beane's tenure in Oakland, with Manaea being ranked Kansas City's third-best prospect by Baseball America (h/t MLB Daily Dish).

Beane said he wanted to address pitching in a deal for Zobrist, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, adding, "It's not the preferred side you want to be on. We've been on both sides. What we're doing now is necessary."

Oakland has been unable to do much with Zobrist this year, as the A's trail the division-leading Los Angeles Angels by 12 games in the American League West, and will hope Brooks and Manaea can be part of the club's future as it continues to look for a way to rebuild into a contender.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com

If the Kansas City Royals were the best team in the American League without Johnny Cueto, they're still the best team with him, only better.

That's not exactly a deep thought, but it is a scary one for the other AL hopefuls, who just watched the Central Division leaders and defending league champs add one of the best starting pitchers on the block.

The deal will send a trio of minor league left-handers—Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed—to Cincinnati. But the centerpiece is obviously Cueto, who at age 29 is in the midst of a typically stellar season.

After tossing eight shutout frames against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Saturday (which should really count for double on the stat sheet), Cueto lowered his ERA to a stingy 2.62.

Saturday was also the day Cueto first heard about the impending swap, which was scrapped and reconfigured because of a medical issue with one of the trade pieces, per Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports.

"They said something to me," Cueto told reporters after the game. "I don't want to use a bad word in this location. But it was really bad the way I found out what happened [before the game]. My head went around the whole way. My thoughts were all over the place."

Now, Cueto can wrap his head around this: He's heading from a struggling club that's buried in fourth place to one that's loaded for a second consecutive World Series run—particularly with him in the fold.

After emerging as baseball's darlings in 2014 and streaking to Game 7 of the Fall Classic, the Royals have utilized the same formula—speed, defense, timely hitting and a shutdown bullpen—this season to excellent effect.

But there was trouble brewing in the rotation.

The team recently optioned young fireballer and Opening Day starter Yordano Ventura, age 24, to Triple-A Omaha, though he was recalled when left-hander Jason Vargas went down with a torn ulnar collateral ligament that will require Tommy John surgery.

Insert Cueto, and suddenly a potential weakness becomes a strength. 

So the deal is great news for Kansas City, which just plugged a leak. It's also good for Cueto, who will enter a winning clubhouse and likely get another crack at October baseball.

In three postseason starts with Cincinnati—one each in 2010, 2012 and 2013—Cueto is 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA and has never tasted action past the division series.

That's a tiny sample size, obviously, and not indicative of how he'd pitch in the playoffs this time around, assuming he earns the opportunity. But as long as we're playing out hypotheticals, here's a pitcher in his prime about to get his best shot at a deep postseason run. That's intriguing to everyone, Royals fan or otherwise.

Yes, this is the part where we mention the elbow stiffness that nagged Cueto early in the season. In May, however, his agent announced there was no structural damage.

And the arm has looked more than healthy of late.

While twirling a shutout July 7 against the Washington Nationals, Cueto appeared to get stronger in the later innings, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

As the game went on Tuesday, Johnny Cueto’s fastball got faster pic.twitter.com/Kkj3VAXWtL

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 8, 2015

There will be more trades before the July 31 non-waiver deadline passes. In fact, the Cueto deal—combined with the Houston Astros' acquisition of Scott Kazmir—could well set off an arms race in the AL. 

For now, the Royals have taken a bold step toward becoming the first repeat American League champions since the Texas Rangers in 2010 and 2011. 

They're unambiguously in win-now mode and for good reason, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted: "Kansas City sees its window with its main players in their prime—but also approaching free agency. Alex Gordon can walk after this season, and [Lorenzo] Cain, [Eric] Hosmer and [Mike] Moustakas after the 2017 campaign." 

Sherman continued, "Now, all of the starters get pushed down to more fitting roles, and Cueto fits in as the obvious piece a championship contender needed."

The Royals were the best team in the AL before Cueto. With him on the roster, they look even better. The trick now is to prove it between the lines.

All statistics current as of July 26 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

Johnny Cueto won 20 games last season and has followed up his best year with another outstanding campaign, yet the Cincinnati Reds opted Sunday to trade their All-Star pitcher to the Kansas City Royals.

The Reds confirmed they had traded their ace for Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first reported the agreement, with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports and Jim Bowden of ESPN confirming the deal. 

Jon Morosi of Fox Sports also noted the Reds sent $1 million as part of the deal.

Cueto's first start with his new team will take place on Friday, as the Royals take on the Blue Jays, per Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, who added it's expected either Chris Young or Jeremy Guthrie will leave the rotation to make room for the new arrival.

The trade comes a day after Cueto was nearly dealt to Kansas City. However, a medical issue with one of the players the Royals were sending to the Reds scuttled those plans, per Rosenthal and Morosi.

"They said something to me," Cueto told reporters after the game, via ESPN.com. "I don't want to use a bad word in this location. But it was really bad the way I found out what happened [before the game]. My head went around the whole way. My thoughts were all over the place.

"It was something really bad."

Cueto went on to throw eight shutout innings as the Reds beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-2.

Rosenthal reported as far back as December that Cueto was drawing significant interest from potential trade partners. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on July 14 that the Royals, Blue Jays and Houston Astros were all in hot pursuit.

Cueto is in the final year of his current contract, and Kansas City will hope that the competitive, winning environment the organization has fostered will keep him around for the long haul.

ESPN Stats & Info recently highlighted the power Cueto had in his arm in the latter stages of a two-hit shutout against Washington:

As the game went on Tuesday, Johnny Cueto’s fastball got faster pic.twitter.com/Kkj3VAXWtL

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 8, 2015

The sustained success Cueto has had in recent years has to excite the Royals. In 2014, he made 29 quality starts in his 34 appearances, posting a 20-9 record with a 2.25 ERA.

"I've been around some good pitchers and some guys who have won more games, but that's about as well-pitched a season as I've been around as a coach or manager," Reds manager Bryan Price said of Cueto's 2014 performance, per John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

This is the type of unique talent the Reds are giving up. It's yet to be determined whether the price was right for Cincinnati, which evidently feels its current nucleus can't produce a legitimate contender.

The Reds have had a tough go of it in 2015. Cueto has gotten little run support, evident in his 7-6 record despite a 2.62 ERA and lower WHIP (0.93) than he had in 2014 (0.96).

Cincinnati will be hard-pressed to find an ace of Cueto's caliber to headline its pitching staff after deciding to cash in on his talent. This trade suggests the Reds are waving the white flag on the current campaign and commencing a roster rebuild.

As for Cueto, he may receive more run support with the Royals, a team that will allow him to chase a championship and would love to lock up his services for the long term.

For weeks, the Kansas City Royals have had their scouts out everywhere, looking for a starting pitcher.

No reason to stop now.

No reason for a U-turn like the one the Royals had Yordano Ventura make Wednesday, when a day after announcing on Twitter that he was heading for Triple-A Omaha, they announced he's staying in the rotation and pitching Sunday against the Houston Astros. Jason Vargas, who had taken Ventura's spot, lasted only 1.1 innings and now needs Tommy John surgery.

So the Royals need another pitcher...just as they needed another pitcher before Vargas got hurt. The injury was tough news for him, but it really didn't change much for them.

After all, even a healthy Vargas wasn't going to be a game-changer. The Royals can no doubt win the American League Central even if they have to start Ventura every five days for the rest of the season, even if he doesn't get any better than he was when he convinced the Royals to send him down in the first place.

Heck, at this point, the Royals might win the Central if they had to start Eduardo Villacis every fifth day. Don't worry if you've never heard of Villacis, the poor guy a very bad Royals team once sent to the mound at Yankee Stadium to start his first and only big league game.

Anyway, this is a much better Royals team, a point they keep proving, and did so again Wednesday with a 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's a team many AL executives consider to be the league's best, even with a rotation that is far from the best.

It's a team that has every chance to get back to the World Series, and to win it this time, and that's why a club with a 93.1 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Baseball Prospectus, is also one of the clubs most in need of making a trade before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

The Royals know it. That's why all of those scouts have been spotted in all of those ballparks where any possibly available starting pitcher is scheduled to appear.

It's why you hear the Royals linked with Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake of the Cincinnati Reds, with Scott Kazmir of the Oakland A's and with any number of other starters. It's why one AL scout asked Wednesday whether the Tigers would be willing to trade David Price within the division (assuming they trade him).

In fact, the best news of the week for the Royals might be that the trade market for starting pitchers seems to be expanding, as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com wrote Wednesday.

For now, the Royals rotation consists of Ventura (100 mph fastball, but 5.19 ERA), Jeremy Guthrie (5.36 ERA), Danny Duffy (4.24), Chris Young (3.03) and Edinson Volquez (3.15), who pitched a good game against the Pirates on Wednesday. For the season, the Royals rotation has a 4.32 ERA (even worse than the Blue Jays, another team desperately looking to trade for a pitcher).

Try picking a playoff rotation out of that group.

It may be true that in modern baseball, a strong bullpen matters more in October than a good rotation. It's without a doubt true that the Royals have the most imposing bullpen in the league.

The bullpen may be great enough, and the rest of the team good enough, that the Royals can win without adding a top starter. Just remember when they finally lost last October, it was to the team with the best starting pitcher in the entire postseason.

The Royals can't trade for Madison Bumgarner. They might not be able to trade for their version of Bumgarner.

They can trade for a starting pitcher who is better than what they have now—and they will.

This is no time for a U-turn.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball. 

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jason Vargas suffered a UCL tear during his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday. The left-hander is expected to miss the rest of the 2015 campaign after being placed on the disabled list, and his status for next season is uncertain.  

Continue for updates.

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Vargas Reportedly Needs Tommy John Surgery; Could Miss 2016

Thursday, July 23

The Royals confirmed Vargas' placement on the disabled list and recalled Yordano Ventura, who was just sent down Tuesday, to take his place on the roster.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports Tommy John surgery is the next step for Vargas, which means the recovery period could extend through next season, as well.

“The images show there was nothing left in there,” Vargas said, according to Matthew DeFranks of Sports radio 810 in Kansas City. “We’ll move forward and take care of the problem and get better. I think we did everything we could to put ourselves in the best situation. Unfortunately, when we went out there to compete at the highest level, it ended up giving out. There was really nothing else we could do.”

The 32-year-old veteran had just returned from the disabled list, which necessitated Ventura's demotion, after missing six weeks because of a strained left flexor muscle. He lasted just 1.1 innings Tuesday before leaving the game. He finishes the year with a 3.98 ERA in nine starts.

Instead of receiving a boost to the rotation, Kansas City must now go back to Ventura much quick than it had hoped. Last year's breakout sensation sports an ugly 5.19 ERA through 15 starts and could have used a few starts in the minors to find his comfort zone again.

If everything goes perfectly in Vargas' recovery, there's a chance he could be ready for the latter stages of next season. But pitchers rarely return from that type of injury in top form, which would make it difficult for the Royals to put him in the rotation if they are battling for the playoffs again.

He remains under contract through 2017, per Spotrac, so there's no rush to get back to prove himself, either. He can take a more conservative approach to ensure he doesn't suffer any setbacks along the way.

One day after being sent to the minors, Yordano Ventura is back with the Kansas City Royals. The team announced Wednesday that Ventura was recalled to the majors when Jason Vargas was placed back on the disabled list with a torn UCL.

After a rookie season that saw him go 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 159 strikeouts in 183.0 innings pitched—he also went 1-0 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in the postseason—Ventura was named the team's Opening Day starter this season.

He hasn't lived up to that honor, however, going 4-7 with a 5.19 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 65 strikeouts in 76.1 innings pitched.

And manager Ned Yost thinks his problems this season are pretty simple to identify.

“Mostly his issues deal with command,” Yost said after Ventura allowed six runs, 10 hits and a walk in four innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, per Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. “He’s behind in the count, and then he tries to overpower pitches over the plate. And big league hitters can handle that.”   

"But we are counting on him down the stretch. We need him," Yost said, via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com.

Given his excellent 2014 campaign, many teams may have given Ventura the opportunity to ride out his struggles in the rotation. But the Royals have the best record and are chasing a World Series title, and McCullough thinks this move signals their intent to win above all else:

This is the way championship clubs act. Who cares about bobbleheads, a $23M contract or being the Opening Day starter -- it's about winning.

— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) July 21, 2015

The Royals will be hoping he can turn things around in time for the postseason, when a pitcher of his caliber would certainly come in handy for a team looking to claim a ring this season.   

Kansas City Royals hurler Yordano Ventura was reinstated from the disabled list on July 9 in anticipation of his start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. 

Following a solid 2014 that saw Ventura post a 14-10 record with a 3.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, the Royals' right-handed pitcher has struggled to set down batters at similar rates. 

Through 12 starts this season, Ventura's gone just 3-6 with a 4.68 ERA while striking out 51 batters and walking 21. Yohan Pino assumed Ventura's place in the rotation. 

All this comes after the promising youngster signed a five-year, $23 million deal in the offseason to help solidify Kansas City's pitching staff. 

"I never bought into the theory that guys want to get their money and ride off into the sunset," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said, per the Kansas City Star's Blair Kerkhoff. "They want to earn their contract, prove they deserve it. He’s probably putting a little too much pressure on himself."

Last season, Ventura battled "lateral elbow discomfort," according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, but the injury didn't prove to be anything too serious.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Jason Vargas has landed on the disabled list for the second time this season due to an elbow injury. 

Continue for updates. 

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Vargas Strains Flexor Muscle

Saturday, June 13

According to the Royals' official Twitter feed, Vargas has a left flexor strain, and the team will bring up Brandon Finnegan from Triple-A to take his spot:

#Royals place LHP Jason Vargas on the 15-day D.L. (left flexor strain) and recall LHP @bfinny29 from Omaha (AAA).

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 13, 2015

Vargas missed three weeks in May with the same injury. Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reported on May 8 that the injury can serve as a "precursor for Tommy John surgery" because the flexor muscle protects the ulnar collateral ligament, but he was able to return for three starts after coming off the DL. 

In his most recent outing on June 8, Vargas pitched well against the Minnesota Twins, with six shutout innings in a 3-1 win.  

Finnegan does have MLB experience, appearing in seven regular-season games last year and five so far in 2015. The Royals have used Finnegan as a starter and reliever in the minors, as he's made five starts in nine appearances. He does give manager Ned Yost options to play with as he reworks his rotation without Vargas.