Kansas City Royals

Nobody told the residents of Kansas City that the Royals had a baseball game on Wednesday afternoon.

Jeff Passan of ESPN shared an image of a near-empty Kauffman Stadium for the first leg of a doubleheader with the Tampa Bay Rays:

If Adalberto Mondesi hit a two-run homer during the game (he did) but nobody was there to hear the crack of the bat, did it even make a sound?

Philosophical queries aside, the Royals won the first game of the doubleheader 3-2, behind a gem from starting pitcher Jakob Junis, who gave up just two runs on six hits in 6.1 innings of work. He gave up about as many hits as there were fans in the crowd.

The Kansas City Royals have received bad news regarding catcher Salvador Perez, who will reportedly miss the entire 2019 season with an elbow injury. 

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, doctors have recommended Perez have Tommy John surgery, and he's expected to undergo the procedure next week. 

Per MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan, the Royals announced Friday their All-Star catcher will be out indefinitely after an MRI showed damage in his UCL.

The Royals said in a statement Perez suffered the injury during Wednesday's spring training workout. He will visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles for a second opinion next week.

Perez has been hit by injuries in each of the previous two seasons. He missed two weeks in August 2017 due to an intercostal strain and the first 20 games in 2018 with an MCL tear.

With Perez expected to miss the entire season, Cam Gallagher will likely take over behind the plate. Kansas City will host the Chicago White Sox in its season opener March 28.

Since taking over as Kansas City's starter in 2013, Perez has established himself as one of MLB's best catchers. The Venezuela native ranks sixth among all players at the position with 14.2 FanGraphs wins above replacement over the past six seasons and tied his career high with 27 homers last season.

The Kansas City Royals and starting pitcher Homer Bailey reached an agreement on a contract Saturday following his release by the Los Angeles Dodgers in December.

Per The Athletic's Rustin Dodd, Bailey received a minor league deal from the Royals with an invitation to spring training. 

Bailey spent the first 12 years of his MLB career with the Cincinnati Reds before getting dealt to L.A. in December as part of a blockbuster trade that saw outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig and starting pitcher Alex Wood head to Cincy. He was immediately released.

The 32-year-old right-hander has been one of baseball's worst starters in recent years. He finished the 2017 season with a 6.34 ERA and 1.69 WHIP across 18 starts and only slightly improved on that poor performance last year, posting a 6.09 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in 20 outings.

In September, Bailey was dropped from the Reds' rotation and turned down an opportunity to join the bullpen because he wasn't comfortable with changing roles amid an ongoing season, per Joe Kay of the Associated Press. The starter also lamented his consistent struggles.

"It was frustrating in April," he said. "It's like normal now."

Bailey's overall track record is better. He has a 4.56 career ERA, including a career-best 3.49 mark in 2013, but he's failed to make much of a positive impact since 2015 because of injuries and lackluster numbers.

Signing Bailey is nothing more than a long shot flier for the Royals. He never developed into the ace the Reds expected when they selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2004 MLB draft, and he's struggled mightily as of late.

A team such as the Royals is the best fit for Bailey. They are still in the early stages of rebuilding mode after going 58-104 in 2018. Their starting rotation heading into spring training, which begins Tuesday, is a mess, with Danny Duffy, Brad Keller, Jakob Junis and Ian Kennedy in the top four spots. 

Bailey should compete with pitchers such as Jorge Lopez and Heath Fillmyer for the final spot in Kansas City's rotation to start 2019.

Second baseman Whit Merrifield will reportedly remain with the Kansas City Royals for the foreseeable future.

According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Merrifield and the Royals agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $16.25 million with $2 million in performance bonuses. Jon Heyman of Fancred noted the extension will include a fifth-year club option that could bring the deal to more than $30 million if it is completely maxed out.

Merrifield is 30 years old but is relatively inexperienced seeing how he didn't break into the major leagues until 2016. He tallied a career-best 19 home runs in 2017 and was then one of the better offensive players in the league in 2018 when he slashed .303/.367/.438 with 12 home runs, 60 RBI and a league-best 45 stolen bases.

He led the majors with 192 hits last year, and Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star noted he joined Dee Gordon and Ichiro Suzuki as the only three players to lead the majors in hits and stolen bases in the same year since World War II.

It wasn't just his bat that stood out in 2018, though, as he played second base, first base and all three outfield spots as a versatile defender who allowed manager Ned Yost to mix-and-match the lineup on a daily basis depending on opponents and team needs.

He was also particularly impressive at second base and was responsible for eight defensive runs saved above average, per FanGraphs.

The fact that the Royals were able to lock up the player who led the majors in hits and stolen bases while playing plus defense in 2018 on a team-friendly deal is notable, especially as major free agents such as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado remain unsigned.

Kansas City missed the playoffs the last three seasons and is looking to turn things around, and it now has Merrifield as a centerpiece to build around for the next few years.

Kansas City Royals pitcher Eric Skoglund will miss half of the 2019 season after being suspended for violating Major League Baseball's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. 

Per MLB.com, Skoglund received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for androgen receptor modulators Ostarine and Ligandrol.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore issued a statement about Skoglund included in the official announcement:

"Unfortunately when something like this occurs I immediately think about how much work and dedication our medical staff does communicating to the players about the importance of being careful about what they put in their bodies. I'm appreciative that professional baseball players are tested more frequently than any professional athlete and we should all be thankful that testing is working. Eric is a tremendous young man and he unknowingly made a mistake and he will have to accept his suspension, work hard and be ready to go after the suspension is served. We remain proud of who Eric is as a person and will support him as an organization."

Skoglund was going to enter spring training next month competing for the final spot in Kansas City's starting rotation. 

A third-round pick out of Central Florida in 2014, Skoglund made his MLB debut in 2017. The southpaw appeared in 14 games last season, posting a 5.14 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 70 innings. 

The Royals placed Skoglund on the disabled list in May with a sprained UCL in his left elbow. He was effective upon returning in September with a 1.33 ERA in 20.1 innings across five appearances. 

With Skoglund out for the first 80 games, Royals manager Ned Yost still has plenty of options to choose from during spring training to fill out his rotation. Heath Fillmyer, Jorge Lopez, Glenn Sparkman and Trevor Oaks all started games in 2018. 

Kansas City will report to spring training for its first workout on Feb. 13. It will open the 2019 season on March 28 against the Chicago White Sox.