Sunday Notes: Dispatches From the GM Meetings in San Antonio

When I talked to him at last year’s GM meetings, J.J. Picollo told me that an offseason priority was to add “guys with experience” to a Kansas City Royals roster that was long on promising young talent but short on veteran presence. Picollo did just that — Seth Lugo, Hunter Renfroe, Will Smith, and Michael Wacha were among those brought on board — and while the additions only told part of the story, the end result was a best seller. One year after winning just 56 games, the 2024 Royals went 86-76 and played October baseball for the first time in a decade.

What does the AL Central club’s Executive Vice President/General Manager see as the top priority going into next season?

“We need to be a little more dynamic offensively, and by that I mean we need to get on base at a higher rate than we did this year,” Picollo told me earlier this week in San Antonio. “We’re trying to target players we can lengthen out our lineup with, whether it’s someone at the top, in the middle, or toward the back end. Our identity is more pitching and defense, base running, and situational hitting, so how can we add some guys that can complement what we already have that will allow us to score more runs?”

The Royals crossed the plate 735 times in 2024, the sixth-highest total in the American League. Their .306 on-base percentage was ninth-highest, while their .403 slugging percentage and their 170 home runs ranked sixth and tenth respectively. As power obviously helps provide more runs, I asked Picollo if OBP is indeed the priority.

“For what we need, yes,” Picollo replied. “We think it could lead to more run production based on who else we have on the team. We’re still banking on guys that maybe haven’t turned the corner yet and can become better major league hitters. Whether that’s Maikel Garcia, Michael Massey, MJ Melendez — they have tools to play the game, so consistency on offense is the next step for them. If we can add guys who will take some pressure off of them by getting on base, and from there be a team that puts the game in motion, I think we have a better chance to score more runs.”

In Picollo’s view, just how the added OBP is arrived at isn’t particularly important.

“It come in different shapes and sizes,” Picollo agreed when I brought up how Luis Arraez does it differently than, say, a LaMonte Wade Jr. “Arraez is a very unique player in that it’s all in batted ball. He gets a lot of hits. And then there are guys who have the propensity to walk more. I don’t think it matters which way they do it, it’s just that they’re able to get on base, and that’s what we need to be a more consistent offense.”

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Al LeBoeuf will be the lead hitting coach in Milwaukee next year, the 64-year-old Putnam, Connecticut native having been promoted by the Brewers from Triple-A Nashville last month along with Eric Theisen. A former Phillies prospect who began his coaching career in 1988, LeBoeuf will be supported by Theisen and the returning Connor Dawson.

According to Matt Arnold, LeBoeuf is a mix of progressive and traditional when it comes to working with hitters.

“Buffy has experience,” Milwaukee’s GM said in San Antonio. “He’s been a hitting coach — a really good hitting coach — for a very long time. Somebody with that kind of experience who is able to blend the old school and the new school approaches… he’s been introduced to a lot of new school ideas, and he’s super receptive to all that. He also has a lot of ingredients that I think help our hitters in ways that have been tested over the course of time. His ability to bring both of those schools together is something we’re excited to have at the major league level.”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Willie McCovey went 18 for 33 against Bob Moose.

Willie Stargell went 24 for 57 against Joe Niekro.

Willie McGee went 25 for 44 against Mike Scott.

Willie Mays went 25 for 60 against Roy Face.

Willie Davis went 32 for 75 against Bob Friend.

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The Cleveland Guardians hit 185 home runs this season, the sixth highest total in the American League. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is a big improvement over the past two seasons. In 2022, the Guardians went deep 127 times. In 2023, they went deep 124 times.

To what extent was the uptick in dingers a targeted goal, and to what extent was it simply organic?

“I’m not sure of your definition of organic, but a lot of the increased power came from guys who were on the roster the prior year and it was part of their growth and development,” Chris Antonetti said in reply to that question. “Some of it was new faces, but a lot of it was guys who were already here.”

The truth is in the numbers. José Ramírez jumped from 24 to 39, while Josh Naylor went from 17 to 31, Steven Kwan from five to 14, and David Fry from four to 14. Is Cleveland’s President of Baseball Operations satisfied with the current balance of contact and power?

“I don’t think we can ever be satisfied with the results we achieve,”said Antonetti, answering my question indirectly. “We weren’t the best offensive team in baseball, so there is clearly room for us to improve. We’ll work to try to figure out ways that we can improve on that in the winter.”

The Guardians’ 708 runs scored were seventh-most in the American League. The team’s 100 wRC+ ranked ninth.

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A quiz:

Dwight Evans had 605 extra-base hits in the 1980s, the most of any player. Who led MLB in extra-base hits in the 1990s? (a hint: like Evans, he is not in the Hall of Fame.)

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Friday that they are promoting Preston Mattingly, who had been serving as farm director, to Vice President/General Manager. Sam Fuld, who has been the team’s GM, will be transitioning to President of Business Operations. A Stanford grad and former big-league outfielder, Fuld is currently pursuing an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

The 25th annual SABR Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference will be held in Louisville, Kentucky from Thursday, August 7 to Saturday, August 9, 2025, More information can be found here.

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The answer to the quiz is Albert Belle, who had 711 extra-base hits in the 1990s. If you guessed Barry Bonds or Rafael Palmeiro, they had the third- and fourth-highest totals. Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. had the second-highest.

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Will Pennyfeather had a bunt single in the first of his 47 big-league plate appearances, all of which came with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1992-1994. The Perth Amboy, New Jersey native would log just eight more hits at baseball’s highest level, but his professional career was far from over. After a few seasons in Triple-A, Pennyfeather moved on to the independent Atlantic League where he played from 1999-2006 (he also spent part of 2003 in the Northern League). Pennyfeather was a wide receiver and kick returner at Syracuse University before turning his attention to baseball and signing with the Pirates as a non-drafted free agent in 1988.

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The Cincinnati Reds underachieved offensively last season, while not exactly stellar, their pitching showed a lot of promise. Is pitching currently the team’s strength? According to Nick Krall, the answer isn’t entirely clear.

“I think we have some really good, dynamic starting pitching,” Cincinnati’s top executive told me. “I think we also have some really good, dynamic position players. It’s just trying to get those guys healthy. We had guys who got hit by pitches and broke their hands and wrists. We had guys that hurt their shoulders, starting with Edwin Arroyo who is a top prospect, to Matt McLain, to TJ Friedl diving for a ball, to Blake Dunn in Triple-A. We had a lot of position player injuries that impacted us.”

As for the Reds’ projected starting rotation, it comprises five pitchers between the ages of 22 and 27. Is the staff primed to come into its own? Krall wasn’t about to give a definitive answer to that question, but he is certainly bullish on the chances.

“I mean, you look at what Hunter Greene did last year, the steps he took,” said Krall. “You look at where Nick Lodolo was before he ended up getting hurt (a sprained finger on his pitching hand) at the end of the year. Rhett Lowder pitched really well at the end of his Double-A season, went to Triple-A and threw a shutout, then came up here to the big leagues and pitched really well. Andrew Abbott was solid before he got hurt (shoulder strain) as well. It’s a matter of these guys staying healthy.”

Graham Ashcraft is the other pitcher that Roster Resource projects to be in the Reds rotation.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The WBCS Premier 12, which comprises 12 teams from around the world, got underway yesterday. The tournament can be followed here.

The Dominican Winter League season began a few weeks ago. Hitters off to a good start include 22-year-old (used to be Oakland) Athletics infield prospect Euribiel Angeles, who is slashing .323/.354/.371 over 65 plate appearances with Estrellas Orientales. Angeles split the 2024 season between High-A Lansing and Double-A Midland.

The Fielding Bible named Chusei Mannami their NPB Defensive Player of the Year. The 24-year-old outfielder plays for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

The Yokohama DeNA BayStars, who won this year’s Japan Series, are owned by Tomoko Namba. The 62-year-old Harvard Business School graduate is NPB’s first and only female owner.

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Per reports, Roki Sasaki will be posted to MLB this winter as an international amateur free agent. Japan’s highest-profile (albeit not statistically best) pitcher, the recently-turned 23-year-old right-hander went 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 111 innings for the Chiba Lotte Marines this season.

Sasaki has been mentioned numerous times here at Sunday Notes in recent years, including on November 14, 2021 when I shared quotes from former MLB hurler Frank Herrmann, who had been the then-20-year-old phenom’s Chiba Lotte teammate. Herrmann agreed that Sasaki could be NPB’s next superstar, adding that “If he was in A-ball he would be a Top 10 prospect in MLB for sure.”

The previous year, Herrmann, who now works in player development for the Toronto Blue Jays, had asked Chiba Lotte pitching coach Masato Yoshii how Sasaki compared to Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani at the same age (19). Yoshi said that Sasaki was better.

The next young Japanese pitcher to come stateside as an international amateur free agent? If MLB teams had their druthers, it would likely be Hiroto Takahashi. The Chunichi Dragons right-hander, who turned 22 in August, went 12-4 with a 1.38 ERA and 130 strikeouts, with just 107 hits allowed, in 143-and-two-thirds innings this season. While chances are small that Chunichi will post him any time soon, you can safely bet that every MLB team has their eyes on him.

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FARM NOTES

Garrett Martin won the Arizona Fall League’s home run derby on Friday. The 24-year-old New York Yankees outfield prospect outslugged 22-year-old Milwaukee Brewers third base prospect Brock Wilken in the final round.

The Fall Stars Game was played last night, with the American League beating the National League 6-5 thanks to a ninth inning, 437-foot bomb by Detroit Tigers catching prospect Thayron Liranzo. The 21-year-old native of San Francisco de Macori was acquired by Detroit from the Los Angeles Dodgers along with Trey Sweeney in exchange for Jack Flaherty at his summer’s trade deadline.

With the AFL season winding down, I want to give props to this year’s media coordinators. I was there for a week in October, and both Michael Marcantonini and Julia Walter went above and beyond. They were professional and attentive throughout.

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Tony Blanco, Jr. is a prospect to watch in the Pittsburgh Pirates system. The 19-year-old son of former MLB and NPB infielder/outfielder Tony Blanco slashed .305.385/.505 with four home runs and a 138 wRC+ over 109 plate appearances this year in the rookie-level Florida Complex League. Listed at 6-foot-7, 243 pounds, the Boston-born, Dominican Republic-raised slugger can do big-time damage when he connects. Earlier this summer, our prospect analyst duo opined that Blanco “had the most present raw power in the January 2022 international signing class.”

Earlier this week, I asked Pirates GM Ben Cherington about the raw-but-promising first baseman/outfielder.

“He’s a massive human being,” said Cherington, whose résumé includes scout and farm director. “The exit velo is already at the highest percentile of major league quality — it’s elite — but what was impressive this year was the quality of his at-bats. The contact [Blanco’s strikeout rate was 28.4%] was better than we expected for a guy in his first year in the States.”

Health has been an issue.

“He’s had a series of nagging injuries since we signed him, and that’s the piece we have to get him past,” explained Cherington. “He’s not getting the amount of at-bats he needs because of the time he’s missed. Probably the biggest goal going into 2025 is to keep him on the field.”

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Of the eight players on the Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot, four played into at least the 1980s. If you could vote for any (but just one) of the four, who would it be? I asked that question in a Twitter poll on Friday, the options being Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Dave Parker, and Luis Tiant.

The results were more or less what I expected. Garvey predictably trailed the field, garnering just 6.9% of the votes cast, while Tiant led the pack with 41.6%. In between were Parker and John, who received 29.6% and 21.9% respectively.

Count me among those who feel that Tiant is the most deserving of the four. Moreover, he definitely belongs in the Hall of Fame.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

On July 19, 1933, Hall of Famer Rick Ferrell homered off of his non-Hall of Fame brother, Wes Ferrell, who also homered that day (and was arguably more deserving of a plaque in Cooperstown). Richard Cuicchi chronicled the 13-inning contest between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox for SABR’s Games Project.

At Popular Science, Laura Baisas wrote about how the “magic mud” used to rub up baseballs has finally been analyzed by scientists.

Trey Mancini is hoping to return to MLB after not playing this past season. Andy Kostka has the story at The Baltimore Banner.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Max Fried is a combined 11-0 with a 1.15 ERA in his career against the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bill Voiselle, a right-hander who pitched for three teams from 1942-1950, grew up in Ninety-Six, South Carolina. He wore uniform number 96 in some of his MLB seasons.

Dennis Lamp went 96-96 with a 3.93 ERA. Mickey McDermott went 69-69 with a 3.91 ERA.

Ken Griffey Jr. had 2,781 hits, 524 doubles, 1,662 runs scored, and a .284 BA.
Johnny Damon had 2,769 hits, 522 doubles, 1,668 runs scored, and a .284 BA.

Larry McKeon went 18-41 with a 3.50 ERA for the American Association’s Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1884. One year earlier, John Coleman went 12-48 with a 4.87 ERA for the National League’s Philadelphia Quakers.

The Chicago White Sox acquired 21-year-old left-hander Billy Pierce from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for 33-year-old catcher Aaron Robinson on today’s date in 1948. Pierce, a Detroit native, went on to play 13 seasons on the South Side, winning 186 games and making seven All-Star teams.

Players born on today’s date include Bill Southworth, a third baseman whose MLB career comprised three games with the Milwaukee Braves in 1964 when he was just 18 years old. The Madison, Wisconsin native had two hits, one of them a home run, in nine trips to the plate. His much older cousin, Billy Southworth, played in the big leagues from 1913-1929.

Also born on today’s date was Cal Ermer, a second baseman who in 1947 went 0-for-3 with the Washington Nationals in his only big-league game. Ermer went on to manage the Minnesota Twins in 1967 and 1968 as part of a lengthy post-playing career that included 26 years managing the minors, four coaching in the majors, and five as a scout.

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