The optics of this are...not great"One of the oddest stories of

this young Kansas City Royals season has centered around Brian Goodwin. The Royals traded for Goodwin last July Ryan Rua Jersey , and while Goodwin suffered a foot injury that sidelined him for weeks, Goodwin grabbed some more playing time in September and seemed a lock to make the 2019 roster.But on March 25, the Royals cut Goodwin and simultaneously selected the contract of Lucas Duda. It was a curious move for numerous reasons. First, it didn’t fit at all with the so-called ‘Process 2.0,’ as the Royals replaced the speed and defense of Goodwin with the plodding, bat-only contribution of Duda. Second, it didn’t fit at all with the youth movement, as the Royals jettisoned a 28-year-old with multiple years of control in favor of a 33-year-old on a one-year deal. Third, it left the 25-man roster in bizarre sorts, with the bench consisting entirely of one backup catcher (Cam Gallagher), two backup first basemen (Duda and Frank Schwindel), one superutility player (Chris Owings), and one pinch runner and emergency fielder (Terrance Gore).Early returns have been biting. Goodwin has a fantastic triple slash of .333/.385/.500 in 13 games with the Los Angeles Angels, who snatched him up to help fill in for the injured Justin Upton. Meanwhile, Duda has a .340 OPS in seven games with the Royals, and Owings has a .452 OPS in 13 games with the Royals.Moreover Drew Robinson Jersey , it sure seems like the Royals screwed over Goodwin—at least that’s what an April 11 article by the Los Angeles Times seems to report. Baseball is a business. Nobody will blame a front office for making personnel moves that may have negative ramifications for some players. That is simply a result of a variety of factors, some of which—maybe even most of which—are out of a player’s control at any given time.With that being said, the optics here are awful for both the Kansas City front office and coaching staff. General manager Dayton Moore has a reputation for doing right by his players as humans and earning their loyalty. Letting go of Goodwin is, on its face, reasonable, but really bizarre once you dig in. First, the Royals traded for Goodwin—not merely picking him off the scrap pile—insinuating that the organization valued him. Then, the Royals led him to believe that he would be a part of the 2019 team, a very reasonable assumption considering how bad the Royals were in 2018 and how thin their farm system was in the upper minors. Goodwin was even comfortable with his roster spot enough that he tinkered with his swing in spring training. None of that mattered. The Royals then cut him, instead turning towards a combination of Duda, Owings, and Gore to fill Goodwin’s spot. All we can do here is read between the lines. But if Goodwin thought that the Royals might have released him, the LA Times story wouldn’t basically be “Goodwin was surprised at being cut.” And if the Royals thought that they might potentially release Goodwin, you would think they would have told him so he could make a case for himself in spring training rather than playing mad scientist with an important part of his game.The jury’s still out on whether or not releasing Goodwin was a baseball mistake, as 13 games does not a season make. But it sure seems like it. Either way, it’s hard not to come away from this thinking that the Royals http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey , at the very least, intentionally misled Goodwin here. MILWAUKEE (AP) — Chris Archer blamed nobody but himself for the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ loss to Milwaukee.Mike Moustakas and Manny Piña each hit a two-run homer in the third inning, Jonathan Schoop went deep in the seventh and the Brewers beat the Pirates 7-4 on Sunday.The Brewers rocked Archer (4-7) for six runs and six hits in the third, when two close calls in the outfield started the trouble for Pittsburgh.“I didn’t execute,” Archer said. “Five consecutive hits. I didn’t throw the ball where I wanted to, and they capitalized on every single one. One or two mistakes, that’s OK. A six-run inning is inexcusable.”A pair of fine defensive efforts by the Pirates came up short and set the stage for the Brewers’ big inning.Right fielder Gregory Polanco had the ball pop out of his glove on a long sacrifice fly by Jesus Aguilar. Center fielder Starling Marte raced and dove for Travis Shaw’s sinking liner, but the ball trickled free for a double. Ryan Braun followed with an RBI single.“There are tipping points in the game every day,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Those were a couple of them, for sure.”Still, he praised the defensive effort.“The one that cracked my heart a little bit was Marte laying out in center field, catching the ball, but it rolled out of his glove,” Hurdle said. “He gave his best effort. It was everything you want to see from a guy who’s won a Gold Glove.”Even Brewers manager Craig Counsell tipped his cap to Marte.“He made a great attempt to make a great play,” Counsell said. “Travis hit a ball hard, and Marte made a great effort.”Schoop hit a solo shot in the seventh off Nick Kingham http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey , recalled Saturday from Triple-A Indianapolis.Chase Anderson (9-7) cruised through the first four innings for Milwaukee. He allowed Adeiny Hechavarria’s two-out RBI double in the fifth, then fell apart in the sixth.Adam Frazier, who hit a three-run homer in the Pirates’ 9-1 win Saturday night, teed off on Anderson for a two-run shot and Polanco followed with a solo drive that pulled the Pirates to 6-4. A single by Francisco Cervelli chased Anderson with nobody out and brought on Josh Hader.Corey Dickerson grounded to second baseman Schoop, who tossed to shortstop Orlando Arcia at second. Cervelli slid into Arcia as he made the relay throw to first. Second base umpire D.J. Reyburn called Cervelli out for interference and gave the Brewers a double play. Elias Diaz grounded out to end the inning.Hader followed up with a 1-2-3 seventh, and Joakim Soria worked around two infield throwing errors in the eighth. Jeremy Jeffress, who blew a save Friday night, pitched the ninth for his seventh save.Archer, who exited his previous start against Atlanta after four innings with left leg discomfort, walked two and struck out five in his second career start against Milwaukee. His first, a 2-1 victory, came as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays last August.TRAINER’S ROOMPirates: INF Josh Harrison wasn’t going to play in a precautionary move, but he did pinch-hit in the fifth. He’s been dealing with a left hamstring issue and left Saturday night’s game in the eighth after hustling from first on a double by Kevin Newman. “Everything was fine up to that point,” Harrison said. Asked if a trip to the disabled list was possible, he said: “I don’t plan on it.”Brewers: In the seventh, Pirates reliever Kyle Crick hit Shaw with a pitch just above the right knee. After a brief delay Curtis Granderson Jersey , Shaw trotted down to first. He had a huge red mark on his thigh after the game, but said he’d be ready to go Tuesday.IT’S A FIRSTThe victory gave the Brewers their first series win against Pittsburgh this season. Milwaukee improved to 4-9 vs. the Pirates overall with two three-game series remaining between the NL Central rivalsNO COMPLAINT FROM HURDLECervelli aimed for Arcia instead of the bag while trying to break up the double play. After a slight delay, Reyburn signaled Cervelli out for interference.“It’s a book rule,” Hurdle said. “If he doesn’t call it, they’re going to review it and get the call in New York. You have to make an attempt to get to the bag. It’s a rule. Unfortunately, we didn’t make an attempt to get to the bag on the slide.”RED HOTFrazier is batting .354 (29 for 82) with 11 doubles, four homers, 17 RBIs and a 1.034 OPS in 26 games since being recalled on July 25. His seventh home run of the season was his fourth in seven games against the Brewers dating to last September. During that span, he’s batting .429 (12 for 28) with 12 RBIs vs. Milwaukee.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Ivan Nova (7-8, 4.20 ERA) pitches against RHP Jack Flaherty (7-6, 2.97) and the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game road series.Brewers: RHP Junior Guerra (6-8, 3.72) makes his fourth start this season against Cincinnati on Tuesday as the Brewers begin a six-game road trip.