Can I interest you in an embedded Bluesky post to set the mood?
The Royals return to action this afternoon to take on the San Diego Padres in a surprise game. They’ll be facing off against MLB The Show contestant but real-life underachiever Matt Waldron, the last known (at least to me) knuckleballer in MLB. Here is the lineup they will use:
Kyle Isbell’s fifth hit in today’s game could earn him a third start before heading to the golf course. Don’t worry, it’s not Cookie Rojas, who is nearly 87 years old (his birthday is March 6th. Happy birthday, Cookie!), but former White Sox infielder Josh Rojas taking third place, trying to recapture the success he had with the Diamondbacks three or four years ago. Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez were the only Royals players to start for the second straight game. This is fitting as they are the core of the lineup and the team as a whole.
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Ryan Burget will take the mound in semi-competitive action for the first time since he exited a game against the Cleveland Guard in early September with forearm tightness. We’ll keep a close eye on him to make sure he stays healthy heading into the season. He might not even be in the Opening Day rotation, but he could become very important as time goes on.
They announced who would pitch after him on yesterday’s broadcast, but like a rookie, I chose not to write it down, assuming I could easily find it somewhere today. Don’t worry, I’ll have it cleaned up before opening day. The Royals do have the following pitchers listed on their roster for today’s game, and I imagine most of them will get a chance to pitch:
Of the bunch, I’m most interested in Morgan and Black, as they both appear to have outside shot opportunities heading into the bullpen in spring training. I had forgotten that Sisley returned last August on a minor league deal, and even if I had remembered, I wouldn’t have realized he was still with the organization this spring. Colleran is another one to keep an eye on, even if he’s unlikely to make the Opening Day roster. He had a 1.83 ERA in A+ ball last year, despite a FIP over 4.00 and not enough strikeouts.
(Editor: Anne Rogers is here!)
The outfield situation should be interesting as well; the Royals have Tyler Gentry, Gavin Cross, Cameron Misner and Carson Rockafort on the roster outside of the starters, all of whom have something to prove to the team, although only Misner seems unlikely to break away from the big club.
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Today’s game will be available as an online audio only, but can be streamed for free via the Royals website or the MLB app. In the past, on these types of broadcasts, they would not run commercials and instead let us soak in the sounds of the ballpark during the breaks. Hopefully we can enjoy it again this year.