Rise of the Sit-Outs

 

So. Here's what went down.

On July 14th, prior to a series in Toronto, the Royals placed the following players on the restricted list: Brad Keller, Brady Singer, Kyle Isbel, Michael Taylor, Andrew Benintendi, M.J. Melendez, Cam Gallagher, Whit Merrifield and Hunter Dozier. 

So...if you are keeping track, that is two crucial starting pitchers, the entire outfield including a backup outfielder, both backup catchers in the absence of Salvador Perez, and altogether SIX CRUCIAL MEMBERS OF THE LINEUP. 

Ten guys altogether. All out because none of them wanted to get the COVID vaccine. 

I've had my rant on here about this, and I don't like making it because I don't like getting into political stuff on here because the blogosphere is large and represents the entire makeup of America, and therefore lots of different beliefs and religions and upbringings, and I don't like coming on here and going 'people abstaining from the vaccine is wrong', because a lot of people have justification for it, and I don't wanna sit here and tell people how to live your life.

But.

If your job requires you to do something...you should probably do it. If the one thing that comes between you and a win over the Blue Jays is a vaccine, I get that vaccine every time because I want to win. It saddens me that ten Royals didn't have that same belief. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just saying it's not what I'd do. It saddens me that people I root for like J.T. Realmuto and Anthony Rizzo haven't gotten it either. And I will say that two of these Royals that didn't make the trip to Toronto, Michael Taylor and Andrew Benintendi, were among the potential deadline targets that Brian Cashman was looking at. And if they're not gonna want to make the trip to those crucial divisional matchups against the Blue Jays, I don't want 'em on the Yankees. I didn't want Taylor on the Yankees anyway because I thought he'd be a disappointing choice, and I worried a lot of the same habits that stopped him from completely dominating in Washington and KC would strike in New York. But now I really don't want either of 'em. Go to the NL, you'll be safe there.

What's most interesting about the '10 guys miss the trip' gate for the Royals is that they actually took a game away from the Jays. Lost the other three, yeah, but of the guys they brought up for this trip, people like Dairon Blanco, Angel Zerpa and, yes, super-prospect Nick Pratto, do point towards the next era of Royals baseball, and it doesn't look half bad. I think it'll be a little while until we get a team that is ready for full MLB stints from these guys, but I think they'll help a lot.

It will be interesting how the rest of the Royals season goes. I think if Scott Barlow sticks around, which is likely but not 100%, they'll keep their standard of strong bullpens in the wake of disappointing teams. Barlow has, in addition to being an excellent reliever, become a great closer, and is helping them out quite a bit this year. If Benny leaves, Barlow will be the top WAR earner on the team, AND he got vaccinated. So maybe the Royals will be alright. 

Coming Tonight: A guy I'm hoping enjoys every last second he can of his career before it ends.