Dayton Moore just loves the fact that Jose Guillen slammed his teammates

On Wednesday, Jose Guillen said that the Royals were, fundamentally speaking, “one of the worst teams in all of
baseball.” He also said that “sometimes you want to just punch them [meaning his teammates], but you can’t do that
because they’re your teammates. Respect for the game has been
lost. That pisses me off.”

You’d think that airing that kind of stuff in public would earn Guillen a trip to the doghouse, but apparently not. Dayton Moore loves it:

“I read it, and I took it as a positive. I know Jose’s
spoken this way in the past, but I know for a fact that he’s over that
because we’ve talked about it. I do know from the conversations we’ve
had that he’s happy about being here.”

I guess it’s hard enough to trade Jose Guillen — which is what the Royals are trying to do — without having internal strife, so I can see why Moore would want to minimize the fuss. But really, Moore is taking those comments as a positive?

Former Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi is up for grabs this offseason, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says that as many as nine suitors are interested in bringing the righty aboard. While the Red Sox are eager to retain Eovaldi’s services after his lights-out performance during their recent postseason run, they’ll have to contend with the Brewers, Phillies, Braves, White Sox, Padres, Blue Jays, Giants, and Angels — all of whom are reportedly positioned to offer something for the starter this winter.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the 28-year-old in 2018, however. After losing his 2017 season to Tommy John surgery, he underwent an additional procedure to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in March and didn’t make his first appearance until the end of May. He was flipped for lefty reliever Jalen Beeks just prior to the trade deadline and finished his season with a combined 6-7 record in 21 starts, a 3.81 ERA, 1.6 BB/9, and 8.2 SO/9 through 111 innings.

Despite his numerous health issues over the last few years, Eovaldi raised his stock in October after becoming a major contributor during the Red Sox’ championship run. He contributed two quality starts in the ALDS and ALCS and returned in Games 1-3 of the World Series with three lights-out performances in relief — including a six-inning effort in the 18-inning marathon that was Game 3.

A frontrunner has yet to emerge for the righty this offseason, but Cafardo points out that the nine teams listed so far might just be the tip of the iceberg. Still, he won’t be the most sought-after starter on the market, as former Diamondbacks southpaw Patrick Corbin is expected to command an even bigger payday following his career-best 6.0-fWAR performance in 2018.