Yaz!
Mike Yastrzemski had quite a debut for the Royals.
On Friday, Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, as the Royals secured a 9-3 victory.
“It was the first time I was able to relax today just getting back on the field,” Yastrzemski told reporters postgame, via FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City. “It was nice to put a couple of good swings on the ball and have a little bit of an impact here.”
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Left-hander Bailey Falter, acquired from Pittsburgh, and rookie righty Ryan Bergert, acquired from San Diego, landed in Toronto on Friday night and could be activated as soon as Saturday.
Falter and Bergert are expected to slot into the Royals’ rotation when the open spots come up Monday and Tuesday in Boston. The club is still deciding which pitcher will get which day.
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Falter is likely to be in the rotation. He was on the Royals’ radar earlier this month and recently pitched at Kauffman Stadium on July 9. The Royals are excited to work with Falter as he has a relationship with pitching coach Brian Sweeney.
“He is a tough competitor, I will tell you that,” Picollo said. “He has a sound delivery and he throws strikes. We feel like there are things we will be able to do with him that may help him continue to develop. He’s got three years of control, which is outstanding for us.”
David Lesky approves of the upgrades to the roster.
In all, I think the Royals did really well this deadline. They didn’t hit a home run, but I think they made some really strong moves to raise the floor of the big league club and the ceiling went up a bit too. I talk about this all the time, but sometimes you can make bigger improvements by simply cleaning up the bottom of the roster. The bench is now balanced and offers legitimate ability. The lineup has fewer holes. It’s still not a great lineup, but it has fewer holes. Ultimately, the stars still need to star for the Royals, which they haven’t done, but they have more help today than they did three weeks ago, and that’s not worthless. If you made me give this a letter grade, I’d go B and trend toward B+, but wouldn’t quite be there. It was a nice return. I don’t think it’ll be enough to close the gap, but I don’t think it’s impossible either.
Craig Brown also sees them as trade deadline winners.
The focus is clear: Compete now and continue to look toward the future. It’s a difficult line to straddle. Are the Royals a better team today than they were a day ago? I think the answer is obvious. Yes, they’re better. Did they, in improving their team, jeopardize their future? I’m a bit edgy about dealing away Yunior Marte, but he’s a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher in High-A. Prospects are speculative. Plus, TINSTAPP, you know. (There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect.) Marte may turn into something down the road. He may not.
So the answer to the latter question is, no, they did not jeopardize their future. The starting rotation has been shored up and the outfield is improved.
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