Kansas City Royals

Quality relief pitchers are always coveted commodities when Major League Baseball's trade deadline rolls around, and this year is sure to be no different.

With that as the backdrop, Jon Heyman of MLB Network said it is "no surprise" that Kansas City Royals closer Trevor Rosenthal is "drawing a lot of trade interest" leading up to Monday's 4 p.m. ET deadline.

Like Heyman suggested, that teams are looking to buy is not a shocking development.

Kansas City sits in last place in a competitive American League Central division and is well behind the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. The postseason is a long shot even with eight available spots for each league this year.

Rosenthal is also under contract through just this season, so the Royals have incentive to trade him and get something back in return before he potentially leaves during the offseason anyway.

The veteran, who has also pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers throughout his career, has been impressive this season. He entered play Tuesday with a 1.59 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, six saves and 15 strikeouts in 11.1 innings and 12 appearances.

The improved play is surely a welcome development for Rosenthal after he struggled on his way to a 13.50 ERA during 22 appearances for the Nationals and Tigers last year. The right-hander also struggled with injuries in 2019 and was nowhere near the All-Star version of himself who posted a 2.10 ERA with 48 saves in 2015 for St. Louis.

Rosenthal's bounce-back efforts may be enough to convince a contender looking for bullpen help to trade the Royals valuable prospects or young players as the American League Central team looks toward a potential rebuild.

Patience. It is a virtue, but it can also be a Royal pain in the neck. Just ask the baseball fans in Kansas City, who have been wondering just when, oh when, will Adalberto Mondesi finally barrel up into the rocket-fueled, switch-hitting, game-changing, Gold Gloved, Silver Sluggered, fence-busting superstar his skills, and his heritage, have long suggested he'll become.

Royals fans have been waiting since 2015, when the kid with the soft voice and warm smile affectionately known as Mondi became the first player ever to make his major league debut in a World Series game.

Baseball fans have been waiting since they first learned of him as a legacy kid, a guy once known as Raul Mondesi Jr., the son of the former All-Star and Rookie of the Year who smashed 271 home runs over 13 major league seasons.

Teammates have been waiting ever since they first saw this lanky blur flash his five-tool skills on the back fields of spring training when Baseball America tabbed him as the organization's top prospect in both 2015 and 2016. Since back when Kansas City leadoff man Whit Merrifield led the American League in stolen bases in both 2017 and 2018 and, after that second title, conceded it likely would be the end of that run, figuring his up-and-coming teammate would swipe that mantle.

"If Mondesi stays healthy and the game situations are right, he'll steal 80 easy," Merrifield told B/R this spring before the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily shuttered the game. "He's that fast."

If and when. They are words that Mondesi is working daily to outrun in this shortened season when the world is different and everything is uncertain. But in a strange way, just maybe the odd feel of all of it will give him that final boost.

See, Mondesi, still just 25, has awakened to a jarringly changed world and numbing uncertainty on far more mornings than anybody his age ever should.

On his left wrist, he wears a black band that reads ACE 30 and is never removed. It is in memory of his dear, departed friend and onetime upcoming Kansas City ace Yordano Ventura, who died in a heartbreaking automobile crash in their native Dominican Republic in January 2017. The two were roommates, best friends, brothers. Mondesi still isn't fully over losing Ventura.

On his uniform, he wears the name Mondesi, though before the 2018 season, instead of Raul Jr., he began going by the first name "Adalberto." Publicly, he says, that's the name everyone knows him by at home in the Dominican, anyway. But it also appears to be a move designed to distance himself from his father, who, a few months earlier, had been sentenced to eight years in prison and fined 60 million pesos (approximately $1.25 million U.S. at the time) for embezzlement and corruption as mayor of San Cristobal, a town roughly 15 miles west of Santo Domingo.

Despite some early separation and the public embarrassment his father's arrest caused the family, Adalberto says his father regularly watches the Royals and that: "I talk to my dad every day. He tells me to keep working hard."

On his back he wore a big coat last winter, the result of remaining in Kansas City to rehabilitate his left shoulder following surgery in September. The injury wiped out more than a month of his long-awaited first full season in the majors.

"He was hurt physically, but he was hurt emotionally too," Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore says. "He was visibly wounded. He wanted to be out there playing. He's worked extremely hard to get back."

His comeback was almost to the finish line this spring when he was scheduled to appear in his first Cactus League game Friday, March 13, but he never made it: Baseball and much of the country closed shop on Thursday, March 12, because of the pandemic, and Mondesi traveled home to the Dominican and continued his work.

"To lose patience is to lose the battle," Mahatma Gandhi once said.

The Royals, and Mondesi, are determined not to lose this battle.

---

Ice-covered windowsills. Snowy roads. Mondesi had heard all the stories, and one look outside his Kansas City home last winter confirmed that, indeed, he was so far from his native Dominican Republic that he couldn't even reach it with a perfect relay throw.

Winter freeze or no, he knew he couldn't go home. His shoulder needed too much work during rehabilitation, which meant spending hours each day under the care of Royals head athletic trainer Nick Kenney, team physical therapist Jeff Blum and strength and conditioning coach Ryan Stoneburg.

"Everybody went home for vacation," Mondesi says. "I wanted to go home with my family. But what I think is, [baseball] is what I love, and you have to put that first.

"It was my only option, to stay here and work and to come back stronger. I think it was the right thing for me to do."

Outrageous talent can be fleeting to those who fail to properly tend to their gifts. And Mondesi's are immense. They are enough to draw natural comparisons to another AL Central shortstop, one who, at 26, already is a four-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glover and Silver Slugger award winner and who darn near led the Cleveland Indians to a World Series title in 2016 before losing an epic Game 7 to the Chicago Cubs.

"Francisco Lindor with some speed," Merrifield says. "I think Lindor at a younger age had a better grasp on a consistent approach. But I think Mondi's tools are as good if not better than Lindor's.

"He's faster than Lindor, and he can probably hit the ball further. I mean, Lindor is one of the best defensive shortstops in the American League, but Mondi's right there with him. I think that's a good comparison."

Pedro Grifol, the Kansas City bench coach who is so close with Mondesi as to have become a father figure of sorts during these past few years, is even more emphatic.

"They both run," Grifol says of the Mondesi-Lindor comparison. "They both steal bases. One thing Mondi was doing was playing Gold Glove defense last year. They both have power. Mondesi is capable of hitting 25-30 home runs.

"Mondesi is faster than Lindor. Way faster. He's a full [scouting] grade faster than Lindor."

Mondesi's break-in period has included several fits and starts, some of them caused by his own overeagerness, some of them simply by misfortune and life's curves.

Months after debuting in the '15 World Series—he struck out as a pinch hitter in Game 3 against the New York Mets' Noah Syndergaard—Mondesi was benched by a 50-game suspension when he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, in 2016. Initially set at 80 games, the suspension was reduced when baseball agreed with Mondesi's explanation that the offending substance was an over-the-counter medication purchased in the Dominican Republic to treat cold and flu symptoms.

At the time, MLB.com ranked him as the top prospect in the Royals' system and No. 33 overall.

He made his first Opening Day roster in 2017 but wasn't ready and was shipped back to Triple-A Omaha ("It got to the point where when we sat him down, he was relieved," former manager Ned Yost says). In 2018, the Royals decided it was best for him to continue his baseball education in the majors, so they recalled him on June 17. He ranked fourth in the AL with 32 stolen bases that season and became the first player in history to produce at least 14 homers and 32 steals in 75 or fewer games.

He's left the crowds wanting more ever since.

"I know it's not my plan; it's God's plan, and I'm OK with that," says Mondesi, who first suffered the left shoulder subluxation while diving for a foul ball against the White Sox last July and then hurt it again in September while diving for a ground ball in Minnesota. "I've been patient. I pray every night, every day, every month. I just have to be ready now, and every day."

His work is not simply physical. What so many others so often take for granted is the emotional trauma an elite athlete suffers when undergoing his first major surgery.

"It's a big deal," Moore says. "When you're expected to make a living with your body and you've got an important part of your body that needs to be repaired, there's a wonder, there's a doubt, if it will ever be the same again. Because it's not the same. You've had a repair. It's different."

One of the silver linings of the delayed season, from Mondesi's perspective, is it allowed extra time for him to strengthen his shoulder even more.

"When I went home, I knew I was going to have a little more time for my shoulder," says Mondesi, who finally returned to the Dominican for the early part of this summer. "And I think that was perfect for me."

The heavy lifting, though, was done over the winter. Mondesi shared a place with his younger brother, Paul, 22, who is a catcher in the Kansas City system. It was a new experience for both of them, but it was good. They cooked—chicken, rice and beans, spaghetti—and they dialed up Netflix. La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) was a favorite.

"It helped me, not being alone here," Adalberto says. "It was nice. We liked it.

"Only thing was, the weather was too cold. I'm OK playing baseball in it because I know we need to play baseball. But in the Dominican, we don't have that weather."

---

There's a companion piece to that black ACE 30 bracelet Mondesi wears in honor of Ventura: a silver chain around his neck featuring a large baseball with the No. 30.

"I never take it off," he told me last May, clutching the necklace with his right hand. "I always think of him. He's always on my mind. It's hard. I play every night … and always have him in my mind."

Over a FaceTime call last month, Mondesi held up his wrist to display the bracelet. But the necklace was in his locker. A new one is on order.

It's been three years since Ventura died, but Mondesi still aches. Even this winter, holed up at home against the elements, there were moments when Paul would visibly see the grief.

"Sometimes, he's crying," Paul says. "I'd see red eyes. Sometimes he talks to me about Yordano because he misses him."

Ventura was four years older and debuted in the majors in September 2013. Mondesi was just 17 and playing at Class A Lexington that summer. But soon they would be living together during spring camps and, eventually, in Kansas City.

"In 2016 when I got called up, they were two peas in a pod," says Matt Strahm, now pitching for San Diego following a 2017 trade with Kansas City. "Any time you saw one, you saw the other.

"They were living in a hotel near the yard. You'd see one, you'd see the other one following, going to lunch, going to dinner."

Their closeness was visible, and touching.

"You could tell from the point when Mondi came up, him and Yordano were the best of boys," says Pittsburgh outfielder Jarrod Dyson, who was with Kansas City from 2010 to 2016. "They'd hang out. Ventura was trying to show him the ropes."

On what turned out to be the last night of Ventura's life, he and Mondesi were together at a festival in San Jose de Ocoa in the Dominican Republic.

Adalberto was traveling back to Santo Domingo, about a two-hour drive, and invited Ventura to come with him. The pitcher declined, telling Mondesi he was going to stay in Ocoa. The next morning, Mondesi woke to news of the fatal one-car crash. Ventura had decided in the middle of the night to visit his estranged wife, Maria, in Constanza, roughly an 80-mile drive. He only made it about 30 miles, as far as Juan Adrian, before losing control of his Jeep on a mountainous and extremely dangerous road.

"I think if Yordano had listened to my brother … my brother told him three times, 'Come with me to Santo Domingo' and Yordano said no," Paul says.

That Adalberto couldn't convince his friend to come with him, Paul says, "I think that's why my brother feels bad."

The night still haunts him.

"I still sometimes wake up and think and can't believe something crazy like that happened," Mondesi says. "I was used to being with him all the time. When I came into spring training, I was always with him. It's difficult. I pray. I ask God for the power to keep going."

He says he stays in touch with Maria and with Ventura's daughter, now six, via texts. Mondesi displays one of Ventura's Royals jerseys on the wall of his home in the Dominican Republic, along with several favorite pictures.

It is a heavy burden for such a young man to carry.

"I don't do that because I want people to see me doing it," Mondesi says. "It's because we were so close, and that thing happened too quick. We didn't have a chance to talk.

"I still remember him, and I do all that because of my heart. I don't know…"

---

Satchel Paige famously said Cool Papa Bell was so fast that he could flip the light switch and be in bed before the room darkened.

After getting his first extended look at Mondesi this season, first-year Kansas City manager Mike Matheny flips another switch.

"It is so much fun," Matheny says. "I think I would run everywhere I went if I could run like that. He's just a joy to watch."

Yet experience has taught the Royals that, sometimes, the best thing they can do is throttle him back. Early in Mondesi's career, he was overeager at the plate. Throw him a slider down and in, and he would hack away every time. Just because you have all of these abilities doesn't mean you have to display them every day, Grifol reminds him. You can bunt, but that doesn't mean you're going to bunt every day. You can run—maybe one day you run the bases, but you don't hit a home run.

"He can impact the game in so many ways," Grifol says.

Awareness, both of himself and of game situations, is a vital point of emphasis. The shoulder subluxation that wrecked 2019? Mondesi hurt it last July in a game in which the Royals were leading the White Sox 6-0. Talk about a painful lesson.

Now, Grifol says, Mondesi knows that maybe the smart play when a game is in hand and a Mike Trout is running a 3.9 down the first base line is to make sure you're healthy for the next game.

Grifol's go-to analogy is that of a Ferrari.

"You don't just take it right off of the lot with no miles and go zero to 60 mph in a second and then hold it at 100 mph for 200 miles," Grifol says. "You prepare it. You take care of it. You make sure you're constantly maintaining it.

"That's him. His speed and explosiveness is at another level. When he kicks it into fifth gear, it's a gear few people have."

Despite playing in just 102 games last year—his career high—Mondesi tied for the league lead in triples, becoming the first American League player with 10 triples in 102 or fewer games since Glenn McQuillen (12) in 1942.

For a guy sprinting to catch up to expectations, it hasn't been easy.

"One of the first things I asked him was his goals, and he said, 'I want to hit .300,'" Grifol says. "I said, 'I don't think you're a machine; you're a professional.'"

So Grifol asked: Is .300 your ceiling?

Well, no, Mondesi replied.

So, then, Grifol asked, why set that as a goal?

"There's no cap," Grifol says. "I told him, 'I'm not sure if you'll hit .400 with 10 home runs or .280 with 25 home runs, but you have the ability to do both. Get better physically, mentally and emotionally every day. Those are your goals.'"

The process continues: After hitting .095 with nine strikeouts in his first 21 plate appearances this season, Mondesi then went on an 11-for-24 rip that included two three-hit games. Still, a little more than one-third of the way through this abbreviated season, Mondesi is hitting only .227 and has been dropped from the top of the lineup to the bottom third.

Like that Ferrari, the fine-tuning is never-ending.

"The other part with Mondi is the switch-hit thing is a very interesting skill," Moore says of a fading art in the game. "It requires a lot of naturalness, and it also requires a lot of work to maintain a swing from both sides at the highest level when you're trying to compete in the major leagues. Some of his injuries in the past have put a wedge between him and what he needs to continue to do from an offensive standpoint."

Catching up to a tantalizing future sometimes takes longer than expected, even for a young man in a hurry. The World Series debut? The Royals strategically thought his speed might have been a key in the battle with the New York Mets, and he aches to return.

"It was something beautiful," he says. "I want to be part of a World Series again."

His jersey from that day is with his mother. As for his famous father, he's made it clear to both the organization and outsiders, from the name change to the uncomfortable silence when the topic comes up, that he doesn't want to go there.

"I'm not going to waste my time explaining to people what they want to hear," he says. "I don't talk about those problems."

Instead, with light feet and, at times, a still-heavy heart, he is determined to gallop forward. There is ground to cover, at shortstop and beyond. It was Aristotle who is credited with saying, "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."

"He's learning," Grifol says. "I don't know if the kid will figure it out at 24 or 27, but his body and explosiveness is so good that when his game comes together, you have a potential MVP. That's how I feel."

Mondesi smiles when thinking back to that World Series at-bat against Syndergaard, his first time on the big stage: ball one and then three straight strikes blowing in at 96, 96 and 98 mph.

His eyes twinkle and his smile gleams.

"I will face him again one day," Mondesi says, "and we'll see what happens."

   

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.

Baseball Hall of Famer and Kansas City Royals legend George Brett said Thursday that he is excited about Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes joining the Royals' ownership group.

During an interview with TMZ Sports, Brett discussed why he believes Mahomes will fit in well with the Royals organization:

"They do things a little bit different here," Brett said. "Your family is No. 1, baseball is No. 2. And, I think he's going to fit right in with the ownership group and with the Royals culture that they have within the ball club."

Brett, who is the Royals' vice president of baseball operations, added: "I'm sure everybody in Kansas City is real excited. Because, like me, they've adopted Patrick Mahomes."

On Tuesday, the Royals released a statement announcing that Mahomes was the newest member of the team's ownership group:

Welcome to the #Royals family, @PatrickMahomes!#AlwaysRoyal pic.twitter.com/mRJE0sgzMl

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 28, 2020

Mahomes signed a 10-year contract extension worth as much as $503 million earlier this month, and he quickly put some of that money to work by investing in the Royals.

Just like Brett did as a member of the Royals in 1985, Mahomes brought a championship to Kansas City, as he led them to a win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV last year and was named Super Bowl MVP in the process.

Mahomes is just 24 years old and has only three NFL seasons under his belt, so the expectation is that he will bring many more championships to the city in the future.

Perhaps that winning mentality can help turn things around within the Royals organization as well since the team hasn't reached the playoffs since winning the World Series in 2015.  

The Kansas City Royals announced Tuesday that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has joined their ownership group:

Welcome to the #Royals family, @PatrickMahomes!#AlwaysRoyal pic.twitter.com/mRJE0sgzMl

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 28, 2020

Royals principal owner John Sherman said the following about Mahomes' addition to the group: "We are very proud and excited to have Patrick as our partner in the ownership group of this franchise. Along with the rest of Kansas City, I have watched Patrick compete and become an extraordinary leader, both on and off the football field." 

After leading the Chiefs to a win in Super Bowl LIV last season, Mahomes signed a 10-year contract extension worth as much as $503 million earlier this month.

It hasn't taken long for the 24-year-old Mahomes to become an icon in Kansas City, as he has already accomplished more in three NFL seasons than most quarterbacks do in an entire career.

Mahomes largely sat on the bench behind Alex Smith as a rookie after going 10th overall in the 2017 NFL draft, but he hit the ground running as the starter in 2018, as he threw for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns and 12 interceptions en route to being named NFL MVP.

He followed that up last season by leading the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl championship in 50 years.

Mahomes is a good fit in the Royals ownership group not only because of how beloved he is in Kansas City, but also because he is deeply rooted in Major League Baseball.

Mahomes' father, Pat Mahomes, was an MLB pitcher for 11 seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The younger Mahomes grew up around MLB clubhouses as a result, and he was also a 37th-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers in the 2014 MLB draft, but he didn't sign since he decided to focus on football instead.

Mahomes figures to bring some much-needed excitement to a franchise that hasn't reached the playoffs since winning the World Series in 2015.

As a member of the New York Mets, Matt Harvey was one of the biggest reasons the Kansas City Royals won Game 5 of the 2015 World Series en route to capturing the title. Now he may help the club get back to the postseason. 

Harvey is joining Kansas City on a minor league deal, the club announced Tuesday. 

Harvey was a key player for the Mets when the club battled the Royals in the 2015 Fall Classic. During a masterful Game 5 performance, Harvey convinced then-manager Terry Collins to let him attempt a complete game in the ninth inning with a 2-0 lead despite already exceeding 100 pitches. 

The righty allowed a leadoff walk and an RBI double before being promptly pulled. Kansas City would tie the game before winning in the 12th inning to capture its second World Series in franchise history. 

The 31-year-old hasn't been the same pitcher since. His 2016 ended in June because of thoracic outlet syndrome, and injuries only continued to pile up over the years. 

The Mets finally designated him for assignment in May 2018 after a brief stint in the bullpen. 

The Los Angeles Angels gave him 12 starts last season, but he recorded a 7.09 ERA, 1.542 WHIP and 39 strikeouts in 59.2 innings. 

Kansas City isn't expected to contend for a title this year, but with Major League Baseball expanding the playoffs to 16 teams in 2020, a shot at the postseason is at least more realistic. That becomes more probable if Harvey is able to regain his form.

In the meantime, it's a low-risk move for a Royals team in need of healthy arms in the short term.

The Kansas City Royals announced Saturday that catcher Cam Gallagher tested positive for COVID-19 following an intrasquad game Friday during team summer camp.

Gallagher gave a statement as part of the announcement:

"To say this caught me by surprise would be an understatement. I played in last night's intrasquad game and felt great, then received the news this morning that my most recent test had come back positive. I am asymptomatic and will continue to work as hard as I can to stay ready while I quarantine. The first couple of weeks of workouts have just made me that much more excited about our ballclub and I can't wait to rejoin them and compete as soon as I'm allowed."

Gallagher is the fourth Royals player known to have tested positive for COVID-19 since summer camp began, joining catcher Salvador Perez, pitcher Brad Keller and first baseman Ryan O'Hearn.

In addition to having coronavirus-positive players go into self-quarantine, MLB teams have taken to isolating those who have come into close contact with those who were diagnosed with COVID-19.

As pointed out by Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated, the could pose a major issue for the Royals since many players were likely in close proximity to Gallagher during the intrasquad game because he is a catcher:

If the team isolates everyone who came in close contact with him last night until they can do more testing (which is what the manual says to do)... is that going to be every player who had an at-bat while he was behind the plate? Every pitcher he threw a ball to? Yikes. https://t.co/TbG7Fzzt5H

— Emma Baccellieri (@emmabaccellieri) July 11, 2020

With the start of the 2020 MLB season now less than two weeks away, the Royals can ill afford a widespread case of COVID-19 within the team. Should several players be diagnosed, Kansas City would likely have to dig deep into its pool of 60 eligible players for the 2020 campaign.

Gallagher and all other coronavirus-positive players are required to have two consecutive negative tests before they are allowed to rejoin the team.

Several MLB players have opted out of the 2020 season thus far because of coronavirus-related concerns. Some of the most notable ones include San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price and Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

The 27-year-old Gallagher had been slated to serve as the Royals' backup catcher this season behind Perez. With Perez missing all of 2019 because of Tommy John surgery, Gallagher hit .238 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 45 games.

If neither Perez nor Gallagher are ready for the start of the 2020 campaign, the Royals may be forced to go with some inexperienced options behind the plate.

The candidates include 23-year-old Meibrys Viloria, who hit .211 with one homer and 15 RBI in 42 games with the Royals last season, and 26-year-old Nick Dini, who hit .196 with two home runs and six RBI in 20 games for Kansas City in 2019.

Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny said Saturday he had COVID-19 but has recovered from it.

Matheny told reporters the following about his status:

"I had this stuff about a month ago. It's given me more empathy but also the urgency to understand that we can be really careful [and still get it]. This thing's for real. It's a real deal and we have to be on top of our game to protect each other.

"I did have symptoms. We knew. We had a family member test positive, so we knew even before the test because we had exposure, so my wife and I took off and we quarantined just the two of us. And it was just the way they said it might happen, about three days [after exposure], I started feeling it.

"But we laid low and quarantined and stayed away from people and it ran its course. Fortunately I've been tested with the right antibody and looking forward now to donating some plasma to help out however we can."

MLB players began reporting to team training camps this week to begin preparations for the start of the 2020 season July 23.

Not every player is with their team, however, as several have tested positive for the coronavirus. On Friday, MLB announced 31 players were diagnosed with COVID-19. MLB tested 3,185 people, including staff members, and 38 of them—or 1.2 percent—tested positive.

The Royals announced earlier Saturday that catcher Salvador Perez was one of the 31 players who tested positive for COVID-19.

Players who tested positive will be required to test negative twice in order to rejoin their teams for summer camp. During the season, there will be a coronavirus list, similar to the injured list, but players won't have to be on the list for a set amount of time.

MLB is playing a truncated season in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic caused the scheduled start of the season in late March to be delayed. MLB and the MLB Players Association couldn't come to terms on a deal, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred implemented a 60-game schedule, and the players agreed.

Matheny, 49, said Saturday he spoke to some of his players about the dangers of COVID-19:

"I didn't tell all of them I'd been through it. But I did tell some. But I told them we're going to cover each other's back to take care of ourselves and each other. I think to be able to personalize it, for them to see with Salvy—'Hey, that's our captain [and he had it]'—that's the conversation you have with the guys. Many of them feel bulletproof, and they are very low-risk. But don't deny the risk of taking it home to somebody. ... Just take it seriously, that this thing is real."

Matheny is set to begin his first season as Royals manager. The former catcher managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 2012 to 2018, but he was fired during the 2018 season following a 47-46 start.

Matheny went 591-474 during his tenure and led the Cards to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons, including a World Series berth in 2013. Matheny never had a losing record in St. Louis.

He served in an advisory role with the Royals last season and was hired as manager following the retirement of Ned Yost.

Matheny is taking over a team that went just 59-103 last season and hasn't reached the playoffs since 2015, when it won the World Series.

The Kansas City Royals announced Saturday that catcher Salvador Perez tested positive for COVID-19, according to Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star.

Per Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star, the Royals noted Perez is asymptomatic and isn't with the team. Grathoff reported Perez has been in Miami and will be able to join the club once he receives two consecutive negative tests.

Players began reporting to training camp in their respective cities this week in preparation for the start of the 2020 MLB season July 23. MLB and the MLBPA announced Friday that 31 players tested positive for the coronavirus in the first round of testing this week.

Including staff, 38 of the 3,185 people tested were diagnosed with COVID-19, which is a 1.2 percent rate.

The 30-year-old Perez missed the entire 2019 season after suffering a partial UCL tear in his throwing elbow shortly before the start of the campaign. Perez underwent Tommy John surgery to repair it.

Before that, he had firmly established himself as one of the top catchers in Major League Baseball.

From 2013 to 2018, he was named an All-Star in six straight seasons. During that run, he hit .260 and averaged 21 home runs and 74 RBI per season. Perez also won a pair of Silver Sluggers and five Gold Gloves.

Perez played a key role in the Royals' World Series runs in 2014 and 2015. When they beat the New York Mets to win the 2015 title, Perez was named World Series MVP, as he hit .364 with two RBI and three runs scored.

In 2017 and 2018, Perez set and then matched career highs with 27 home runs and 80 RBI both seasons, and the Royals missed his production in 2019.

Kansas City had one of MLB's worst records last year at 59-103, but with teams playing only a 60-game schedule this season amid the coronavirus pandemic, the door could be open for some surprise playoff entrants.

A healthy, productive Perez would likely go a long way toward giving the Royals a chance to compete in 2020.

One of the best pitchers in the 2020 MLB draft is off the board after the Kansas City Royals selected Texas A&M pitcher Asa Lacy with the No. 4 overall pick.

Video: A&M lefty Asa Lacy reacts to hearing his name called at No. 4 overall to the Royals... pic.twitter.com/chLCu2t0w2

— Gabe Bock (@GabeBock) June 10, 2020

Lacy has a strong case as the best player in the 2020 class, regardless of position. The left-handed starter racked up 178 strikeouts in 128 innings over his first two seasons with the Aggies.

The coronavirus pandemic ended Lacy's junior season after just three starts, but he made it count with a 1.06 ERA, 33 strikeouts and nine hits allowed in 17 innings. The 21-year-old boasts electric stuff that backs up those numbers.

Per The Athletic's Keith Law, Lacy "might have ended up at No. 1 overall" if he had been able to pitch all spring, and he made New Mexico State shortstop Nick Gonzales, a fellow first-round prospect, "look like a little kid" in a March 6 game.

Lacy is listed at 6'4" and 215 pounds alongside his MLB.com scouting report, which read as follows:

"Lacy has boosted his fastball from 87-91 mph in high school to 92-97 these days, using his 6-foot-4 frame to create downhill plane, and hitters just don't seem to get good swings against it. He employs two distinct breaking balls, a downer curveball and a harder slider in the low 80s, with the slider surpassing his curve this spring and becoming a plus pitch. His changeup fades and sinks and grades as a well above-average pitch at its best, and it should become more consistently plus as he uses it more often."

That is the package every team dreams of from a potential No. 1 starter. Lacy does need to refine his control to reach that ceiling. He issued 27 walks in 70.1 innings over the past two seasons.

If Lacy is able to put it all together, he could pitch at the front of the Royals' rotation for many years.

The Royals added to their strong stable of pitching prospects by selecting Lacy. Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar and Kris Bubic all have the ability to be, at worst, mid-rotation starters in the big leagues.

Lacy gives Kansas City another power arm from the left side as the team continues to stockpile assets for its next window of contention.

Even though the Royals are still in the early stages of their rebuilding effort, having so many top-level starting pitchers coming up through the minors could make them competitive sooner than expected in an American League Central in a state of flux.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield believes the Houston Astros cheating scandal cost him multiple accolades during the 2018 season.  

Speaking to Dave O of Clubhouse Conversation (h/t USA Today's Chris Bumbaca), Merrifield said he should have been an All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award if not for the Astros' wrongdoing.

"I'm going to consider myself an All-Star [for that year] with all this stuff that's come out," he told Dave O. "Because MLB player: Astros cheating kept me from being All Star that game. We'll put an asterisk by 2018. And on top of it, we'll go ahead and throw in a silver slugger for good measure." 

When Major League Baseball announced its findings into the Astros' cheating, the investigation determined the scheme was used throughout the entire 2017 season and a portion of the 2018 season until players "no longer believed it was effective."

Astros second baseman Jose Alutve started the 2018 All-Star Game. He led all players with a total of 4.8 million votes; the No. 2 overall vote-getter was Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts (4.29 million). 

Gleyber Torres of the New York Yankees was initially the reserve second baseman but was replaced by Jed Lowrie of the Oakland Athletics due to injury.

Merrifield had the best season of his career in 2018. The 30-year-old finished 17th in AL MVP voting with a .304/.367/.438 slash line and an MLB-leading 192 hits and 45 stolen bases. 

Even though the 2018 All-Star Game won't officially go on Merrifield's record, he did receive an invite to last year's Midsummer Classic as Kansas City's representative. He took over for Mike Trout in center field, going 0-for-2 with one strikeout.