The case for Ryan Bergert to make the Opening Day roster

0:00As Ryan Berger made a strong enough case for the opening day roster, I'll give you my opinion next on Lockdown Royals. You are Lockdown Royals. Your daily Kansas City Royals podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. You are tuned into another edition of Lockdown Royals and the Lockdown Podcast Network as always. I'm your host, Jack Johnson, and you can find me on Twitter at Johnny J underscore 15. That is at JOHNYJ underscore one five. You also can listen to us on wherever you download your podcast. That can be Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Odyssey and YouTube. Just be sure to hit that follow button and subscribe. For your first time listeners wondering what to expect throughout the season, well, typically we bring you episodes Monday through Friday that rarely changes though yesterday was not able to get an episode out had a work thing I really couldn't get out of late into the

1:00evening. So I wasn't able to do one last night, but planning to finish out the week strong. And next week, though, I'll be on vacation for my honeymoon, I am going to be lining up five interviews. I'm doing all these pre-recorded over the weekend and actually a little bit throughout these final two days of the week. And you'll have a full collection of episodes is what I'm trying to say, despite me not being here. So if any news breaks throughout next week, well, those interviews might not be as up to date, but you'll love the guests that will have, I will talk all things Royals for 30 minutes, which for you new listeners, that's how long we go each in every episode. Before we get started into today's show, we are going to tell you that today's show is brought to you by MLB the show 26. Is it MLB the dot show slash locked on and used code locked on to unlock a pack or use in diamond dynasty? You can pre-order now available March 17th on PlayStation 5, Xbox and Nintendo Switch

2:01rated E for everyone. The world baseball classic began last night, and if you got up early this morning, you could have seen game number two. Now Team USA doesn't play till tomorrow evening against Brazil, team Italy, if you're interested in watching Jack Caglione and Vinnie Pasquantino, they play on Saturday, and I believe Team USA and Team Italy play each other next Tuesday. Team Venezuela, who has Salvador Perez, Michael Garcia, Lewandar Avala, I don't believe they're playing till Saturday, and Team Dominican Republic, which has Carl Sostez, they'll be playing on Sunday last time I checked. So we're about to get a lot of intense baseball. You know my opinion on the world baseball classic, I absolutely love it, can't wait to see the royals that are participating in it. This first segment is not about that though, this is about the guys that are back in camp and more specifically Ryan Berger. Berger has this unique opportunity with a couple of pictures that are going to be away

3:03in the tournament to showcase how valuable he is starting games and also pitching out of the bullpen, and with Stephen Colett going down with the oblique injury, he's got the chance to take a job and run with it. And I should probably add in too that Lewandar Avala pitching for Team Venezuela, it's not a bad thing and I'm all for Avala going over and pitching because he'll get better competition that he would have in surprise, but this might give the coaching staff a better look at Berger and really be able to define what they want his role to be to begin the year because there's really only two options. He can either pitch out of the bullpen in Kansas City to begin the year and that might hurt his overall value, but he gets the pitch in the big leagues or they can keep him stretched out in Omaha. And going into spring training when I was down in surprise a couple of weeks ago, I went in with my roster projection having Ryan Berger on the outside looking in.

4:06It's not that I don't think he's a great player and has a tremendous future in Kansas City. It's that the bullpen was crowded and we know the rotation is all but set at this point. You're going to have and there's my phone that just was ringing right there. So disregard that if you're not listening on YouTube or I guess wherever you're listening you would be able to catch that audio. But what I'm trying to get at here is the bullpen is crowded, the rotation is crowded. Where does Ryan Berger fit it? You know that Reagan's Lugo Walker Cameron and Boobitch have the five and the bullpen you have Estevez, Ersig, Strong, Mears, Shriver, Cruz, Daniel Lynch for the seven right there. And then this eight spot is open for conversation. Do they give it to Alex Lang who they gave a major league deal to? Do they give it to Bailey Falter who's out of options and you'd have three lefties in the bullpen? Do you give it to Avala who MacRotaro raved about when I asked him about what his role

5:10would be? Or do you give it to Ryan Berger? Now Steven Colick as we all know used to be in that conversation until the oblique injury. And even if he does come back rather quickly they don't need to rush it and it's probably best that he begins the year at Omaha stretched out as a starter. When I heard MacRotaro say we view Lewinder Avala as a front line guy. Now maybe he's just praising him. He's speaking highly of him and he didn't want me to pigeonhole him into just being this long relief guy because he's still young. He's got a tremendous curve ball at his fastball sinker can run anywhere from 94 to 96. That stuff is going to play just fine at the big league level as we already saw last year. But when I heard them say front line starter, it kind of goes against that. That definition of him if you were to begin the year in Kansas City in the lowest possible role you could have in the bullpen still an important one.

6:13But it's long relief. And if you're thinking Lewinder Avala could be a starter long term, really there's no better place to start him out at than in the rotation in Omaha as their true number one. You keep him stretched out, maybe over burger. Now you're doing it the right way. I want to go back to the episode we had on Wednesday or Tuesday, excuse me, where it was very much about spring training numbers. And I'm not going to sit here and stand on on my soap box and say, well, Ryan burger it's pitched so much better than everybody else that's what should get him on the opening day roster. I'm not going to get at that at all. This is more so more so about the bullpen construction and what brings more value to that long relief role because that's what is being competed for. You're looking for somebody that if a start goes awry, you can turn to somebody to give you two to three endings of work. I also want that long reliever to be able to go out there in a one run game in the fifth

7:19or sixth inning and give me one any. And who can do that at a more successful rate right now based on what we saw last year? Truth be told, I'd say it's Ryan burger. Ryan burger is better equipped right now to be in the bullpen in Kansas City than any of the other options. I loved what I've seen from Alex Lang over the last couple of outings because his first outing was really rough and I was concerned about the command. I was concerned about the velocity. Now we are seeing him find his form again. But there's no rush for Alex Lang to be in Kansas City. He still has a minor league option which you can utilize despite him having a big league deal. So if he goes down there in Omaha and pitches really well, the door is going to be open for him in Kansas City. But with that extra option, it allows you to say, okay, he might look good in spring training. But as we said two days ago, it's not always going to correlate to the big league level.

8:20And this is a guy who hasn't been fully healthy in a couple of years. I want this bullpen to be solidified that whenever that door swings open, the guy coming out of the pen is somebody I can trust to get big time outs. Ryan burgers that guy for me. And though for the immediate, we're not viewing him as a starter. He absolutely can be starting games for the royals later on this season. Right now, if you were to ask him, what would you rather have? An opportunity to start in Omaha or an opportunity to pitch out of the bullpen in Kansas City. He would take the bullpen role. You would always take the big leagues over AAA. Even if that meant you having a decreased role, you're not in the limelight. I mean, he was starting games for the royals late last year. It's not the greatest thing in the world to be moved down to long relief, but it's not really a demotion. This, quite honestly, is the opposite in leaving spring training where you go in saying,

9:25there's no spots in the rotation. And the bullpen has a couple of guys that are competing for that last spot. And we want to make sure our starters are stretched out because if somebody's not performing well or they're banged up, we want to be able to pluck Ryan Berger or Stephen Colock from AAA and plug them into the rotation and not worry about them having to get stretched out in a big league game. This would be a man he looks good in spring training. And the more we think about it, he does play better or play up. His stuff will play up better than any of the other options that we have currently fighting for that spot, whether it be lack of confidence in somebody that can build off a good spring training, build off of being healthy. Whether it's the lack of confidence in a young guy who, yes, look good for a short period of time, but didn't look good as long as Berger did last year, there's a couple of options they have to weigh here.

10:26And for a guy like Ryan Berger, man, I mean, he can be that Swiss Army knife almost where he can go out there and give you three to four endings if need be. But if you needed him for one ending, I think he can do that as well. So that'd be the fifth ending or the seventh ending. And maybe it is the right choice to go with Luinda Ovala in AAA, stay stretched out as a starter, join Stephen Colick, you keep Berger in the bullpen, and then if early on somebody is just not cutting it, you could turn to a guy like Luinda Ovala to be a starter. Because now if you have that type of ceiling for him, maybe now is the time to start stretching him out as a starter and give Berger that role that I thought Ovala was going to have going into camp. Do you see Ryan Berger making the opening day roster? Let us know in the YouTube comments below. When we come back, boy, did the royals dodge a bullet in not signing jerks and pro far

11:27all the way back in the off season of 2024? We'll give you our thoughts on it next on Lockdown Royals. Well be opening day is almost here and you can feel it. Fresh starts big expectations and that first crack of the bat. Whether it's a breakout rookie or a division race that goes down to the wire, there's nothing like being in the ballpark for it. The only problem, getting tickets can feel like a grind, long queues, surprise fees, prices jumping it, check out. That's where there's game time. The game time at gives fans the advantage with constant innovation. It's how you unlock amazing tickets and experiences in just a few tabs. It's simple to use. The game time guarantee means you get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time at the best price. And here's the best part. Fees are included in the price you see. What you see is what you pay. Period. Take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets with game time. Download the game time app, create an account and use code Lockdown for $20 off on your

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14:33We are back here on Lockdown Royals and the Lockdown podcast network. I'm your host, Jack Johnson. We're now the number one sports podcasting network out there. And if you're looking for the best way to listen to us, that can be Spotify, Apple podcast, Amazon music, Google podcast, Odyssey and YouTube, just be sure to hit that follow button and subscribe. Jerkson Crow Farm is going to miss the entirety of the 2026 season. He was banned for PED usage. It's now the second consecutive year that he's been busted for PEDs. And he's not going to be playing now on opening day. And that matters to Royals fans because the Royals will be in Atlanta March 27th, 28th and 29th. It'll be their first road series of the year, their first series of the year period. And it's a brave team that is looking for vengeance not on the Royals, vengeance on the national league. Last year was just disastrous for them. Never could stay healthy. You had Jerkson Crow Farm on year one of his deal.

15:34He misses the first half of the season. Injuries piled up for the rotation. Injuries have piled up this off season as well. I don't know what to make of it, Lynn. But I do know when the Royals play him, they could not be playing them at a more perfect time. Shortstop, banged up, Jerkson Crow Farm out for the year. And I go back to the off season following the post season run in 2024. And middle of the order back, impact back was top of the list for the Royals. They had to go out there and get a game changing back. And maybe I shouldn't say top of the list because I know lead off bat was important and they got Jonathan India. But impact bat was very high on the list and they didn't end up landing anybody and it cost them and the 2025 season. Hunter Renfro was not the answer. MJ Melendez was not the answer. The outfield yet again performed very poorly. But Jerkson Crow Farm was somebody they were very interested in. It was Jerkson Crow Farm. It was Anthony Santander.

16:36They offered a contract to Anthony Santander. And though it's not the same situation as Jerkson Crow Farm, they dodged a major bullet there as well. Because that was an expensive five year deal for Detroit, north of 90 million. And he has barely been healthy and win healthy. The power numbers not there. The overall numbers aren't there and we know he's not much of a fielder to begin with. So not making that deal with Santander, good for the Royals. Because those numbers wouldn't have been much better than what they were getting in right field or DH or left field last year. Jerkson Crow Farm, I had gone on record of saying was the best fit for the Royals. This was a guy that for a long, long time, the Royals had liked, had interest in. He was coming off of a great year in San Diego. We knew that he was going to get a lot of money and the braves were the team that swooped in and gave him a three year deal. And when that happened, it was a bummer because you thought, I think the Royals could have

17:37done that price. They had money to spend Jerkson Profile was right there. They need a left fielder and if you would have added Profile to that lineup, imagine how much differently we would have been viewing the Royals going into 2025. Then he gets busted for PEDs and it leads you back to his year in San Diego and you say, well, how much of that impacted his 2024 season. Maybe he wasn't on PEDs. Maybe it was a good year for him. He's now taking those substances. He gets the big contract that he wanted to play well. Whoever his new team was going to be, immediately, or play well for that team. And he got busted as most of these players do. If not all of them, misses half the year has a slower start when he returns to action and then finishes out the year pretty strong. But the braids were just not really a great team anymore to get busted for a second consecutive time because he was speaking in the media and saying, this will never happen again.

18:39I didn't know it was going into my body last time. It's a tale as old as time when a player gets busted for PEDs. They didn't know it was going into their body. They didn't know what they were taking, which I find that hard to believe. These are guys that are playing at the highest level. They know what they're injecting into their body or taking and putting into their body. They know all that type of stuff. And for Jerk's and ProFar, I don't know why, after what you did last year, seeing that you played well to close out the 2025 campaign, you would risk it again. Maybe somebody's in his ear saying, it ain't going to happen again. I've got an undetectable substance that you'll be able to use. You'll feel great. You'll have a bounce back year and nobody's going to question you. Well, that wasn't the case there. For the Royals sake, I can only imagine, because I know they've had a couple of players that got busted. Miguel Tahada had an odd substance when he was with the Royals back in 2013,

19:43and he had missed some time. I want to say that he missed the last part of the season. Eric Skogland, if you can remember the name, I know a lot of you do. He got busted for PEDs, missed some time, and he was very emotional when he spoke to the media, and saying that he didn't know. It was going into his body, that he was only drinking smoothie king to increase his muscle mass and to add more protein to his diet. And Adelbert O'Monese also had a situation with PEDs. But to have it to this length, to have a player on a three-year deal, north of $40 million, you missed half a last year for PED usage. You get busted again, now you're out for the entire year. I'm not saying it's going to go down as one of the all-time bad contract, but I can imagine how angry Braves from an office members are, Braves owner, the Braves fans. You brought this guy in to be an everyday player, a switch hitter.

20:43Somebody that could hit top of the order, middle of the order, bottom of the order. He has that versatility, and he keeps getting busted for legal substances. And if the royals did that and gave somebody a three-year deal, north of $40 million, with the state of the outfield, and then it's not even a performance matter, that's one thing here. And we see guys all the time sign a big contract and then don't live up to that contract. Totally different story when you're not even out there on the field, not because of injury, but because you're doing something illegal to prevent you from being on the field. That it's been for a long time, a rule by Major League Baseball can't put that into your body. And the royals dodged a major bullet there. Rainage is eerily who put this out on Twitter is a great royals follow. And he had said, sometimes, the best deals you make are the ones you never made. And that is one of those moves. The royals have to be thanking their lucky stars. They never made.

21:44They never came to an agreement with Jerkson Profare. Because I know right now that Braves are kicking themselves for giving Profare a deal like that. What did you make of Jerkson Profare getting busted yet again, and now will miss the entirety of the 2026 season? Let us know in the YouTube comments below. When we come back, what can Bobby Whit Jr. earn being on Team USA for the World Baseball Classic? We'll talk about that next on Lockdown Royals. It's tax time, but for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is a lot. Trying to book an appointment. That's not the most convenient sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers, emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. But this year, you're getting a major upgrade. Into it, TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. You can meet face-to-face with a real tax expert, and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot. And just like that, you're done.

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23:45That's FANDUAL.com FANDUAL. Play your game. We are back here on Lockdown Royals and the Lockdown Podcast. Network I'm your host, Jack Johnson. You can find me on Twitter at JohnnyJU underscore 15. Before our final segment, real quickly, I want to tell you about the Every Day or Club. Don't forget to check out the Every Day or Club for ad free episodes and access to a group chat with me and other Royals listeners of this show. All you've got to do is scroll down below and click on that URL link in the show notes and they're going to be able to take you from there. Team USA will have their first game of the World Baseball Classic tomorrow night against Brazil, Bobby with Junior, their lead off hitter, starting shortstop, will be kicking off things for Team USA. And as I was watching the exhibition game against the Giants the other day and watching the exhibition game against the Rockies the other day, there's this indescribable feeling that I'm having in watching this.

24:46Because in previous World Baseball Classic, you go back to the previous one in 2023, Bobby with Junior was a reserve. Brady Singer was pitching out of the bullpen. And though I loved every second of it, loved watching the games, it's different when you have a player on that team who gets a chance to start. And now that they have that and the Royals have one of the top players on that roster, it's this feeling that you don't get to experience many times as a Royals fan. 2017, Eric Cosmer was the starting first baseman. He had had a couple of huge hits in the World Baseball Classic and that was awesome as he gained. He was also pitching and starting for Team USA. This team though, the one that is being argued as the greatest collection of talent on one team that baseball has ever seen, to have the lead off hitter and a guy that some people are placing bets on to win the WBC MVP

25:47I mean, I'd love to hear in the comments how that's making you feel as a Royals fan, but go over the course of your fandom. Go over the course of this franchise's existence. How many times has there been not a great player, but a star player in the sport, an MVP caliber player that now gets to go out there and represent their country? If you were locked in to the Olympics and hockey like I was, to know that you have someone representing your team, your city, maybe you have as Jersey, maybe you don't, that's awesome to see. And that's something that brings an extra element to the World Baseball Classic. And so the big question for me is, what can he earn in doing this? Because I know some of you out there go, I don't really care too much about it. I just want the regular season. Hey, as I've said before, I'm never going to tell you how to be a fan of something. Not going to say you have to cheer for the Royals. This way, you have to cheer for Team USA. This way, this is not my place to do it.

26:49I ain't going to do that. And it's just not a part of my fandom, I would say, where I consider myself a diehard. Therefore, you have to be a diehard and cheer the exact same way I do. But the way I'm looking at the World Baseball Classic, and what he can earn is by going over there and playing and playing well. And not necessarily winning MVP, but has a couple of big hits and gets to be a part of something so cool and so special, it just brings the Royals to a different stage. And they have not had this opportunity since I should probably say by an individual player. Because when the Royals were going to the World Series in 14 and 15, they were nationally recognized. But I would say from a single player standpoint, they haven't had that since George Brett, where other baseball fans, fans of the Diamondbacks and the Twins and the Giants and the Dodgers and the Athletics,

27:55they're going to be locked into these games and we're all rooting for the common goal here. Unless you're not rooting for Team USA, but if you are, you're rooting for them to win it all. And you start loving these other players no matter who they play for. I'll be rooting for Aaron Judge and then when the regular season rolls around, I'm not going to be rooting for Aaron Judge and the Yankees. But to all come together like that and then your player coming from the Royals plays well and dominates. And as a couple of big time hits in these atmospheres, it brings your team back to the national stage. Where for years, think about going to a game at Kaufman Stadium and you bought that ticket because Mike Trout was going to be there or Albert Pooholes was going to be there. Or Derek Jeter was going to be there. And I always love hearing those stories. So for you, leave who that was in the comments section of, you bought a ticket when a Royals team wasn't very good because another team was in town and they had that player that was going to be in the lineup. Bobby's already been doing that over the last couple of years.

28:58But there is a different layer to this now that it's his first true world baseball classic where he's more than just a pinch runner because that's what he was the last time. Now he can be the star of this team or just a top three player on this team. And if he comes through in the biggest moments, he is going to be praised league-wide, nation-wide because it's important. I mean, the World Baseball Classic is the baseball Olympics. And he's the starting shortstop and lead off hitter for Team USA. And if he plays at a very high level, what that can do for him, what that can do for the Royals, it's incredible. And there's little things like this too where next year, you're after that when Bobby's in Kansas City and free agents are available and the Royals might have money to spend. They might be willing to spend more money than they have this offseason. But you'll have those guys that will say, man, I've always wanted to play for him.

29:59I've always wanted to pitch with a shortstop like that behind me. Or I've always wanted to go somewhere where you have that type of star power. And the Royals, as we know, have not had that type of star power for a long, long time. The 14 and 15 teams, great collection of players, perfectly assembled roster. I wouldn't say they had a superstar like this. And we know Bobby's a superstar and he's going to be able to showcase that on a global stage, which begins tomorrow night, seven o'clock first pitch between team USA and team Brazil. That's going to do it for another edition of Lockdown Royals and the Lockdown Podcasts Network. I've been your host, Jack Johnson. If you never missed an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get Lockdown Royals ad free plus members only discord access and more. Head to the URL link below to join the club. And for those of you on video, we send you to the first ever 24-7 National Lockdown Podcast Network YouTube channel. On audio, make sure you make your second listen Lockdown Fantasy Baseball as you gear up for the MLB season. Until tomorrow for a mailbag Friday, you take it easy Kansas City.