- 7 weeks ago
Royals Insider Jaylon Thompson checks in.
Category
đŸ¥‡
SportsTranscript
00:00The teams you follow, it's another Sports Daily Insider interview on KFH.
00:09Alright, and we welcome you back in here, and we welcome in our Kansas City Royals insider,
00:16find his work at KC Star, Jalen Thompson. Jalen, we've made no progress since the last time we
00:22talked. The Royals come into the day seven and a half games back, despite, you know, going six
00:28and four in their last ten, but the timer is ticking. Only three more losses allowed the
00:34rest of the way, if they're going to get to 500, which again, I don't think 500 is going
00:38to be good enough anyway. So how do you approach this now? Do you want them to lose some games
00:43so they can protect a potential draft pick here? How are we supposed to approach this?
00:49This is all evaluation. Every single game from here, well, really since July was evaluation,
00:57but now you can get to a point where you just want to see who's going to make the team
01:02next
01:03year. That's really where you're at right now. If you're the Royals, you see they got rid of
01:09John Schreiber, goes to the Yankees, gets a chance to be on a playoff team. You see the bullpen
01:16really has a bunch of guys, which is funny because they took their team photo earlier this week,
01:24and you don't really know who's going to be on the team five years from now because there's so many
01:31different faces and players they're just trying to get through this season. So that'll be a fun
01:36drinking game for Royals fans. Who was this Royal five years from now? We joked about that in the
01:42press box, but yeah, it's an evaluation season. And if you're a Royals fan, you should be happy that
01:48Carter Jensen is performing like he's performing. The guy could have 25 home runs by the end of the
01:54year, which is incredible for a rookie first year catcher. Jack Caglione could hit 30 home runs by
02:00the end of the season. So honestly, you're happy. And you don't really have the Bobby Wade Jr.
02:07superstar season either this year. And you still got guys that are carrying their weight offensively.
02:13So I think you can be happy about that. Jalen, we were just talking about the whole Louisiana stuff
02:20going on with LSU and that whole court case. How thankful are you that at least definitely job
02:26wise for you, biggest thing you got to worry about is just a good old fashioned lockout.
02:32Exactly. Exactly. Right. And that's, that's going to be on the horizon too. So that also brings into a
02:39very important point for the Royals where you kind of want to get your stuff done before you get to
02:45December 1st, because when that lockout hits, it's going to be new rules, new adjustments, do new
02:52everything, right? When it's over with. So if you want to get a lot of your business handled, getting
02:59pitchers, getting guys, making trades, you might want to do that before December 1st. So that's a very
03:04good point, Brady. I think that in the Royals case, it's just a matter of trying to see who's
03:12going to be a part of that pitching staff next year. I think that's the most important thing they
03:15have. I know they want more slug. I know they want another bat, but they've been wanting that
03:20since I've been on the beat and they haven't found that. So I think all their energy should be into
03:25the
03:26pitching staff because in reality, that's going to make or break their team. I think they have enough
03:31offense with the core to be good, be better and next year, but it's just a matter of can they
03:38pitch?
03:39Yeah, I agree with you on that, Jalen, for sure. I just with, with the lockout coming, by the way,
03:47I mean, it feels inevitable to me. I don't think we see another season after this one, a baseball
03:54without a salary cap. Do you get that sense? Are the owners finally willing to take it to that point?
04:01Because it feels inevitable. You know what? It's going to be another fight. It really is.
04:10You got to remember too, that the owners have been wanting a salary cap for a long time. I mean,
04:16going back 40 plus years, they've been wanting a salary cap. Never have been able to get one.
04:22And baseball is the only sport that does not have one. And on one is I see both sides of
04:29the issue
04:29here. If you're on the player side, the game is unique because you can make fully guaranteed money.
04:36And no matter how much they pay you, you're going to get every single dollar of that. And I think
04:42that's always the best way to look at it. If you support like the best players being on the best
04:48teams
04:48and making it happen and be impossible. But you also got to look at it from the other side.
04:52If you're on the owner side of say, you got small market teams that don't spend money.
04:57They take prospects, they develop them, and then they move them. And if you're a fan of those teams,
05:04you're like the Miami Marlins from 97 and 2003. You win two titles and then they destroy the whole team
05:10after that. They can't pay those players to keep them. So the whole thing has to be resolved.
05:16I'm more sure I've resigned to the fact that it's not so much, in my opinion, the salary cap is
05:23more
05:23of a salary floor. I think that's what needs to be instituted where you have to make those small
05:28market teams pay to keep their players and pay up to the floor. I think the NBA does it the
05:36best
05:36because they have a salary floor. We have to spend 90% in the cap. And if you go over,
05:42you can go over
05:43that. You can get into the luxury tax. But if you get to that first or second apron, there's severe
05:47and harsh penalties. But it allows the talent to be dispersed throughout the league, right?
05:52I think MLB needs to do something of that similar ilk.
05:57Jalen, with that cloud on the horizon, did that kind of give Manager Mac MacCutero maybe a little
06:03bit more cushion this season for management? Because that's on the horizon. That's kind of something
06:09like, again, like when you're getting your team organized, you got to get hit by that deadline
06:14because that's a big issue that needs to be figured out.
06:18You know, I think Q is going to be safe regardless. He was going to be safe if they lost
06:23115 games
06:24this year. He just signed the contract. But this team rallies around him and we finally saw him get
06:32really animated and upset and fiery, which that was shocking to me because I've never really seen
06:39him get upset right there, right? But I think with the development of Carter Jensen and Jack
06:44Caglione, I think with Bobby Wade Jr. and the pitchers that they had, Michael Walker's been great,
06:50Noah Cameron, best pitcher in the American League in August. There's talent there. And Q has shown that
06:57he can win with a talented core. He took them to the playoffs when nobody thought they could make the
07:02playoffs in 2024. So I think there's stuff to work with. The injuries from the aside with the
07:09pitching staff that tanked the season, but that's not the only reason why they tanked because the
07:13offense was also not good in April and May and June. The offense is just now finding his rhythm
07:20the last six weeks. So I just think that you put those two together, you got to give them one
07:26more
07:26chance. But I will say this, Brady, I think that the hot seat will be getting warm if they come
07:31out
07:32next year. And they look exactly like they did this year with a slow start in 15 games under 500.
07:37Jalen Thompson, our Royals insider, KC star at Jalen Thompson on X. It's a good question
07:43from Brady there. And I guess I wonder, and you touched on this a little bit, Jalen,
07:49is Q popular in the clubhouse? We know Ned Yost was. He's the guy I'd like to go back to
07:55because
07:57Ned Yost was kind of in the same boat, right? They felt people felt like they were underachieving,
08:02but man, there was no question. The players loved playing for Ned Yost, at least in my experience in
08:10that locker room for two and a half seasons. Do you get that sense that that Q has that kind
08:16of clout
08:17in the locker room to these guys? You know, is he the guy that they want in their heart?
08:23I think they love playing for Q. I think they really do. I think the way he gives them leeway
08:31to
08:32authentically be themselves and, you know, go out there and play free and play loose.
08:38The whole today mantra that he has, the ability to help guys when they go through different
08:46struggles and things of that nature. You got to remember, he was a catcher too, so he understands
08:50just the rigors of playing that position and, you know, leaning on the guys like Salvi and Bobby
08:56Wood Jr. and Vinny Pasquantino to lead the locker room. Michael Wapka said Lugo, right? He really
09:02leans on those guys and he really puts his coaches in positions to be successful. So I think there's a
09:07lot of
09:08support different Q in that locker room, but I also understand too that they got to win and
09:15you can say all the different phrases and key solutions and all you want, but you got to win
09:24at the end of the day. It's wins and losses. That's what matters in this league and if the Royals
09:28don't
09:29win next year, they might have to consider looking at someone else because you can't have a playoff run
09:34in 2024 and then two seasons of not making the playoffs, being 10 games under 500 on your resume.
09:42You just can't do that.
09:44Well, and you know, another thing looking kind of at the future, since we're kind of getting more and more
09:49accepting that that is the future, that is what we're talking about as far as the season's concerned.
09:55How about Salvi? How many, it seems like every year, every off season, we're kind of talking about,
10:01you know, how much longer does Salvi have left? Where are we at there, Jalen?
10:06I think we're at the point, Brady, where Salvi is going to be next year. When he comes back,
10:11he's going to be a part-time catcher. That's what he's going to be. Really, that's what he is now,
10:15a part-time catcher. If you really think about it, because Carter Dixon is that full-time role.
10:20So you're going to see him probably a little bit more at first base, mostly at DH. And that's where
10:25that's going to be his a lot in life with the Royals next year, as he continues to play out
10:30the last
10:30year of his contract. I mean, to be honest with you, Salvi is now entering into that nostalgia act,
10:38right? That Yadier Molina type, where you don't really count on him to lead the team,
10:44but he's there to help when, if you have a, like, need some advice or you have a question or
10:50you need that big moment, that big hit or something like that, you can lean on Salvi, but
10:54make no mistake about it. This team is going to move forward as Bobby Wood Jr.'s team,
11:00Jack Caglione's team, Carter Dixon's team. That's what it should be.
11:03And that's what it has to be.
11:06So, I mean, that's the only way they're going to go in the future and win and make it back
11:10to the
11:11playoffs. It's got to be on those three guys.
11:13I wish Garcia was healthy with him right now. I feel like he could and maybe should be a part
11:18of that group. Jalen, I have been, I think, if I recall correctly, you were too, a proponent of
11:25trying Daniel Lynch as a starter. It has not gone well. Daniel Lynch now has started five games.
11:32He's only been able to pitch 15 and two-thirds innings. He's got a 689 ERA as a starter.
11:41He was arguably the best reliever in baseball as a reliever. How far and how long do they continue
11:50to try this? I assume at minimum through the end of this year, but how beholden are they to that
11:57for a team that's going to be starved in the bullpen?
11:59I think he goes back to the bullpen next year. You gave him a chance.
12:05It's been bad, bad.
12:07It's just not working out, right?
12:09But he's been great as a reliever.
12:11And I think that he wanted the opportunity to prove he could be a starter again, and it just hasn't
12:16worked.
12:17You know? It's like when you go to a restaurant that you didn't like the first time, and you want
12:22to try something new.
12:23It's given another chance. Maybe they changed the formula. The ingredients are different.
12:28Still the same, right?
12:30But it's really good, like, if you're late night and you're hungry, it's the only thing that's open.
12:36You go pick it up and you eat it, right?
12:38That's kind of like with Daniel Lynch. He's like one of those guys where he's really good in short spurts.
12:43He's really good in specific roles, which is facing left-handers out of the bullpen.
12:49And I think that's where he's going to find his best lot in life as a reliever.
12:54And he's really good at it. He could be an all-star as a reliever.
12:57So I just think that that's where he should be next year.
13:00Jalen, I got a football question for you.
13:03Yes, sir.
13:04A college football question, actually.
13:06Who should be LSU's future Big 12 rivals?
13:10I got to think that the LSU-UCF conference game is going to be lit.
13:18Honestly, they might go independent.
13:20I would not be shocked this season when the SEC boots them out for what they're doing right now.
13:28Do you think they'll boot them out?
13:30Hmm?
13:31Do you think they'll expel them?
13:34I mean, if I'm reading it correctly, then they have a lawsuit out against them already.
13:39Yeah.
13:41I mean, you can't have an NFL player playing on a college team.
13:46What are we doing?
13:47That's my whole thing about it.
13:49It's like, when I was in school, it was really simple.
13:52You go to the NFL, you ain't coming back.
13:55Coach Calipari, this is Kentucky, he's always saying, you're going to the NBA.
14:01And your spot's not going to be back.
14:03We got a high school kid coming to take your spot.
14:06But it's just not fair to the high school kids.
14:09The transfer portal to me, this is my soapbox.
14:11Transfer portal to me has ruined college football in a way that it shouldn't have been ruined.
14:18Now, high school kids can't even live out their dreams of, like, I'm going to be a freshman All-American
14:22or walk on to the team.
14:24Because the coaches are not looking for that.
14:27You're going in a portal and getting a veteran that's been at three schools to be on their team.
14:32Is that fair to those kids coming out of high school?
14:34You're crushing dreams.
14:38Agreed.
14:38Amen.
14:39It's a mess.
14:40It's a mess.
14:41We'll see if your Bulldogs can, you know, can get it done in punishment form and rally the troops.
14:53Kirby Smart has made his opinions on it well discussed.
14:58This isn't a baseball problem.
14:59Could you imagine if we had this in baseball?
15:01And I will say this.
15:02I think LSU's going to comply with the SEC.
15:05They're not stupid.
15:06They got the court freedom last night, Jalen.
15:10But you want that national championship.
15:12Hang on, hang on.
15:13You say they're not stupid.
15:14You don't think Lane Kiffin?
15:16You think Lane Kiffin cares about what happens five years from now?
15:19If those players play on Saturday, that's going to be wild.
15:23I'm just telling you, that's going to be wild.
15:24It's going to be wild.
15:25Follow Jalen's work through the end of the season at the KC.