In a quiet day for the Kansas City Royals, another professional team is heading to the metro.
Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas “continues to push” for the Royals to move to the Washington Square
Park area.
“What I can promise is this: We have already, I think, put out some strong proposals, in terms of what a stadium could look like, what the financing could look like and beyond,” Lucas said. “It’s going to be a responsible one, so taxpayers aren’t blindsided after the fact and, frankly, so that we’re still funding the important basic services that people rely on in Kansas City proper.”
The Washington Square Park site is ideal for many reasons, per the mayor.
“You have a footprint that does not take out any existing business,” Lucas said. “You have a footprint that already itself is largely tourism, entertainment-related and focused. You have tens of thousands of parking spaces nearby.”
Kings of Kauffman’s Mike Gillespie manifests a bounce-back year from Royals pitcher Seth Lugo. He thinks it hinges on one thing.
Can Lugo do it? Yes, but he’ll have to stay healthy. Harming his 2025 effort were the finger injury that sidelined him for two weeks in May (he had a 3.02 ERA when placed on the injured list) and the back strain that ended his season in early September. Missing almost a month and a half certainly had much to do with his diminished numbers.
If he stays away from the IL, Lugo should be well-situated for a good season. Despite those 2025 injuries, his eight wins still tied him with Bubic and reliever Lucas Erceg for third-most on the club, his 12 quality starts ranked behind only Wacha’s 13, and his 2.67 pre-All-Star Break ERA is tough to discount. His eclectic 10-pitch, batter-confusing repertoire won’t hurt.
Jay Jaffe’s Hall of Fame ballot notably contains support for former Royals outfielder Carlos Beltrán, despite his part in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal.
Beltrán might already be enshrined if he hadn’t been at the center of the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing scandal, which nipped his managerial career in the bud. While his own performance didn’t benefit, he did something against the rules, and it continued through a postseason in which his team won a championship. Not every teammate was comfortable with it, but according to various reports, nobody stood up to him firmly enough to derail the scheme. Given that manager A.J. Hinch reportedly destroyed two monitors, it’s worth questioning both his leadership capabilities and the convenient scapegoating of Beltrán as a lone actor. The asymmetry of Hinch and bench coach-turned-Red Sox manager Alex Cora returning to the dugout after one-year suspensions while Beltrán hasn’t even gotten another interview after stepping down from the Mets job ought to raise an eyebrow as well. It’s also worth noting that like spitballing/ball-doctoring, sign-stealing is a behavior that exists along a continuum of baseball history that stretches back nearly a century and a half. The fan in me empathizes with that great 2017 Dodgers team being cheated out of a title, but the industry professional in me knows that the Astros were merely the most extreme example of a team stealing signs electronically, some of which were ultimately reported and others just whispered about.
If the Royals want to make a move for Ketel Marte, the clock is ticking, according to Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen.
“We’re very likely to put an end to this shortly,” Hazen said on Tuesday.
Now, what “shortly” means is less clear.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Hazen said of the exact timeline. “But this isn’t going to continue to linger. We need to focus our offseason. Again, my gut this whole time was that [a trade of Marte] wasn’t going to happen, and I think it seems likely that that’s the case and we want to focus on other things we need to do.”
Ban Johnson Collegiate Baseball League, a Kansas City-based collegiate baseball league, announced its top players and coaches from the 2025 season.
The New York Yankees re-sign utilityman Amed Rosario to a one-year deal.
The Los Angeles Angels restructure Anthony Rendon’s deal, “essentially ending the All-Star third baseman’s problematic tenure with the team,” according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
The Angels also added veteran reliever Kirby Yates on a one-year deal.
CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson predicts the final landing spot for some top remaining MLB free agents.
Culture of Sport’s David Skilling looks at how sports is emerging as a key cog in the luxury brand machine.
The Houston Astros have an interesting program targeted towards aspiring professional baseball coaches.
The Dallas Cowboys cut former All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs before the 2025 season finale.
NCAA has some explaining to do after basketball coaches voice frustrations with eligibility rules.
The ECHL is back on after a new five-year collective bargaining agreement.
Taylor Swift reportedly tipped Arrowhead Stadium workers a hefty $600 for working on Christmas.
A group of Buddhist monks are walking from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C..
Scientists say 2025 was one of the hottest years on record.
Arthur Bryant’s is inching closer to reopening with a daily carryout option starting this week.
A documentary about 2023’s Marion County Record raid is set to screen at the Sundance Film Festival.
Today’s song of the day is Missing Piece by John Michael Howell.
