On Wednesday, MLB.com Royals beat reporter Anne Rogers held an Ask Me Anything on Reddit with Royals fans at r/KCRoyals. This mailbag features questions and answers from there. The full AMA can be read here.
Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Can we have a Cole Ragans update? Any chance he comes back this year?
We got an update this past weekend on Ragans, with the team saying he is "on track with his throwing progression" and close to being able to throw his first bullpen (meaning he could be off the mound in the next week, if everything goes well the next few days). We should get another update either Wednesday night or this coming weekend on what exactly that looks like.
But team officials continue to express their optimism that Ragans will return this year. It's still going to be a bit, though, because Ragans has to go through a full build up -- bullpens, live BPs, and then a rehab assignment. The season schedule is definitely going to come into play here as they map out that return.
I'll say this, too: given the nature of the injury and what Ragans means to this team now and in the future, they are not going to push him back before he's ready. This is about the long-term plan -- they need him healthy and pitching like he did last year for many years to come.
I'm curious as to how the boys felt about trading Freddy [Fermin], but also getting a lot of new players on the roster moving forward. Also, what's some stuff we should know about [backup catcher] Luke Maile?
Trading Freddy was hard for everyone involved. In the clubhouse, there was a mix of sadness of having to say goodbye while understanding the move and that this is a business. I also think there was a lot of excitement about what it means for Freddy: Going to San Diego means he's going to get a chance to be a starting catcher, addressing what was a major weakness for the Padres.
It says a lot about Freddy's growth, as well as the mentorship of Salvador Perez and bench coach Paul Hoover, that the Padres were targeting Freddy and gave up what they did for him. There's no doubt the clubhouse misses him, though.
Luke Maile is a total pro. … He's been around the game, knows exactly what his role is and puts in a lot of work to make sure he's ready. His personality fits in well with this clubhouse and I think has helped quite a bit with the [overall] vibe relaxing a bit after the All-Star break (and translating into more wins). Pitchers have really enjoyed throwing to him, too.
It'll be interesting to see just how much playing time Maile gets now. Salvy is going to take on most of the workload, but the Royals are going to have to be careful with that. They need him to be fresh, and that was a major benefit of having Freddy here, to have a nearly 50-50 workload setup between him and Salvy.
Were any attempts made at acquiring a longer-term solution for the outfield at the Deadline or were they content with rentals?
There were a ton of conversations about acquiring the "big bat" the Royals have said (and shown) they needed going back to last offseason. But nothing ever progressed significantly. The rentals the Royals got all filled a very specific need, like Adam Frazier giving a versatile lefty bat (and important voice in the clubhouse) and Randal Grichuk/Mike Yastrzemski giving a professional right-left platoon in right field.
I'd also point to the trade market in general. The Royals were very clear that if they were to make a "big" move for offense, it would have to be for years of control. There were not a lot of hitters available who fit in that circle. Who wasn't traded? Kyle Stowers, Jarren Duran, Steven Kwan ... all were rumored to be available but ended up not leaving their current team. That says a lot about the market.
I'd expect the Royals to be looking for an impact outfield bat yet again this offseason.
Are you privy to any information that suggests that, if Ragans, Kris Bubic, and Michael Lorenzen had not all been injured at the same time, the Royals had planned to pursue a different Trade Deadline strategy (e.g., selling, or acquiring young bats rather than -- mostly -- pitchers)?
I don't know if they would have been as busy as they were if their rotation was intact and healthy. What strategy they would have taken is hard to say, but I don't think it would have changed much from trying to thread the needle between now and the future.