KANSAS CITY http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , Mo. (AP) —progress under Ned Yost, and his manager in turn had seen enough progress in some promising young players, that there was no reason to delay what had become inevitable.So, with a simple statement issued before the Royals closed their 50th season with an unsightly 58-104 record, Yost announced he had signed an extension to return next season.The biggest question surrounding the club heading into the offseason had been answered.“We’re at a point in time right now where we think continuity is even more crucial than it has been in the past,” Moore said. “We’ve seen the improvement of a lot of the players that are on the field right now. We’re really pleased with the coaching staff. Most importantly, Ned’s been a huge part of the success of this organization and we feel it’s important to keep that together. … I’m excited about next year.”Most times, there would be little reason to feel good about a season that ended with 100 losses for only the fifth time in franchise history. But after some late-season moves, including a conscious decision to play young prospects every day, the Royals suddenly became quite competitive.They won five of their last seven and went 21-14 over the final five weeks.“I knew this was going to be a long haul. But I also know how to go about,” Yost said. “You have to show up every day with energy. When you get these young guys, you have to know when to step on the gas and when to lay off the gas. The best thing we did all summer was not to put pressure on them. To let them show up every day and to work their tail off.“As a group, you saw them start to believe in each other, start to believe in themselves and then here we go. Now we’re starting to have some success and the game is exciting again.”WHO’S GONEShortstop Alcides Escobar, a fixture on the 2014 and ’15 World Series teams http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , will become a free agent after he returned to Kansas City on a one-year deal. The Royals are also likely to pay $2 million to rid themselves of ineffective right-hander Jason Hammel.HE’S STILL HEREThe Royals probably wish they had a similar buyout for outfielder Alex Gordon, who is owed $20 million next season, or right-hander Ian Kennedy, who is due $33 million over the next two seasons. But both veterans will be back alongside a plethora of promising young players, including breakout star Adalberto Mondesi, improving outfielder Jorge Soler and longtime backstop Salvador Perez.“I’ve learned a lot this year about my game and the way I need to play,” Mondesi said. “I’ve stayed focused and working every day on those things to help me this year. I plan to keep working on those little things and stay focused and just work for next year.”OFFSEASON MOVESDon’t expect the Royals to do much in free agency as they trim payroll in the hopes of fielding a more competitive team a couple years from now. That said, keep an eye on utility man Whit Merrifield, who remains under club control with three years or arbitration eligibility. The Royals held onto him at the trade deadline, but they might be enticed to move him with the right offer.ON THE HILLMoore likes to say that pitching is “the currency of baseball,” and if that’s the case the Royals should feel good about their wallet. Brad Keller was a rookie of the year candidate, and Jakob Junis and Heath Fillmyer both flashed late in the season. Throw in veteran let-hander Danny Duffy, promising young Jorge Lopez — who nearly threw a perfect game — and that’s a solid rotation foundation.THE YOUNG GUNSThe Royals brought a wave of youth to the big leads about eight years ago, and it produced back-to-back pennants. They’re aiming to do it again with a wave led by first basemen Hunter Dozier and Ryan O’Hearn, Mondesi and Ramon Torres in the infield Domingo Santana Jersey , and Soler, Brian Goodwin and Jorge Bonifacio in the outfield. If most of those guys pan out, the Royals should improve.“I was up here in April, it was a way different atmosphere than it is right now,” backup catcher Cam Gallagher said. “You see guys like Mondesi who are doing terrific. It shows the kind of guy he is and how much he has progressed over the few months, and it’s good sign for a lot of guys going into next year.” Nothing but respect for my first baseman"Carlos Santana is not a fan of Fortnite. More specifically, he’s not a fan of his teammates on a disappointing team playing Fortnite while a professional baseball game is being played, and he showed it last season when he smashed a TV towards the end of his tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies. On the surface, a report early this morning from Jeff Passan might make it sound like Santana overreacted just a bit — breaking property to prove a point is rarely a good idea, especially something electronic and probably expensive. But at least he didn’t use his fists like most annoyed pitchers do; he used a bat because he’s Carlos Santana and that’s what he does, dangit. He’s also not a fan of losing, as he told ESPN. Assuming Santana didn’t just do it because he prefers Apex Legends over the mechanics of Fortnite that has your opponents recreating the Taj Mahal out of wood every time you fire at them, he might have had enough of a baseball point to warrant the outburst. The alleged smashing happened with two games left to go in the season, meaning the Phillies were already well eliminated from postseason contention and the team looked ready to pack it in for the winter. Assuming the smashing happened prior to their September 29 game against the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies were on a nine-game losing streak — including five losses by five or more runs — before Santana ended the in-game Fortnite shenanigans. The Phillies won their final two games of the season by a combined score of 6-1. Passan’s full report goes into detail about how dysfunctional the Phillie clubhouse was last season Eric Sogard Jersey , and there are several quotes that show how frustrated Santana himself was with some of the younger players and how little control the manager, Gabe Kepler, had over the whole situation. While Kepler himself stuck to generic public relations answers, Santana laid it all out there. Santana’s teammate, fellow veteran and 2018 free agent addition Jake Arrieta, seemed to agree with Santana’s thought process of not playing video games while a game is going on. As Arrieta told ESPN: For the Indians, this should hopefully quell all the talk that they need to pay some veteran to come in ala 2016 Mike Napoli or 2013 to provide veteran leadership. They have that already in Santana, clearly. Not to mention Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, Leonys Martin, and others already in the clubhouse. Plenty of leadership already exists in that clubhouse. Fortnite during games (probably) does not. It should also be noted that the Indians are fans of video games, but there doesn’t seem to be any indication that they play them during games. Jose Ramirez’s reign as king of Mario Kart should be safe from Wreck-it-Los’ watchful eye.