TORONTO – When the Royals traded for four players in three deals ahead of Thursday’s Trade Deadline, there was a small but very important part of the conversation as team officials welcomed each one to the organization and figured out the next steps.
Do you have your passport with you?
Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, acquired from the Giants, had his passport on hand even as he enjoyed an off-day in New York on Thursday. He was playing golf when he got the call that he was traded.
Having his passport with him allowed Yastrzemski to take an early flight on Friday morning to Toronto and jump right in with the Royals for their series opener against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, hitting sixth and playing right field. Yastrzemski made an immediate impression, hitting a two-run homer off Kevin Gausman in the second inning.
Two more pitchers will join the Royals north of the border soon. Left-hander Bailey Falter, acquired from Pittsburgh, and rookie righty Ryan Bergert, acquired from San Diego, are expected to arrive in Toronto on Friday night and be activated as soon as Saturday.
Falter and Bergert are expected to slot into the Royals’ rotation when the open spots come up Monday and Tuesday in Boston. The club is still deciding which pitcher will get which day.
“[The] message to those guys is, ‘Look, your job is to help us, give us the best chance to win tonight. Go out there and compete your butt off for as much as you can,’” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I have no doubt that [pitching coach] Brian [Sweeney] and the pitching guys will have them feeling welcome in no time.”
Right-hander Stephen Kolek, the other pitcher acquired in the San Diego trade, was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. He’ll continue to be stretched out as a starter there to give the Royals some much-needed depth.
Kansas City also expects right-hander Michael Lorenzen, who has been on the injured list since July 14 with a left oblique strain, to make his first rehab appearance next week, provided he feels OK after a bullpen session this weekend. Lorenzen threw around 60 pitches in a live BP session on Thursday, so he’s getting close to a return.
Yaz’s role
Yastrzemski had No. 18 hanging in his locker when he arrived in the visitors’ clubhouse on Friday, rather than his typical Giants No. 5.
That number is taken in Kansas City.
Yastrzemski was well aware that George Brett’s No. 5 is retired and never to be worn again. So he pivoted to his old college number, which the Royals had available.
“But I think maybe me and George can have a talk, get him to loosen up,” Yastrzemski quipped. “I’ll ruffle the feathers a little bit and see how we can start this thing off.”
All jokes aside, Yastrzemski is ready to get things started with the Royals in whatever role he can fill. Quatraro said he plans to play the left-handed-hitting Yastrzemski against right-handed pitchers “a lot.”
Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk – a right-handed right fielder – aren’t on a strict platoon, as seen Friday when Grichuk played against the right-handed Gausman (who has reverse splits). But it’s a good bet that Grichuk will play mainly against lefties and Yastrzemski against righties.
“We feel like [Yastrzemski is] a great clubhouse guy, veteran presence,” Quatraro said. “When you take him and Grichuk and [Adam] Frazier that we’ve added on the offensive side … we’ve put some really professional at-bats up to make it challenging to navigate our lineup.”
Catching duties
While most of the Royals’ post-Deadline storylines were about the players they added, there was a notable absence in the clubhouse Friday without catcher Freddy Fermin, whom Kansas City traded to San Diego for Bergert and Kolek.
Fermin was a clubhouse favorite and had developed into much more than a backup catcher for Salvador Perez. Fermin had made 51 starts with the Royals this year, while Perez logged 54 starts before Friday night.
It will not be split like that for Perez and Luke Maile, who now moves into the main backup catcher role.
Kansas City will have to figure out the right workload for the 35-year-old Perez, who has played more first base and DH in recent years to help his bat stay fresh.
“Salvy will take the brunt of the load, for sure,” Quatraro said. “But as we all know, we need Salvy’s bat. We have that long stretch of games coming up [13 days in a row from Aug. 15-27], so we’ll do a good job of planning out where we can rest him. And we trust Luke back there a lot. He’s done this for over eight years in the big leagues and understands what his role is and how to invest in the staff.”
