Rebuilding the Royals
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by user Timothy Moreland(Bball3345)
Although the Royals recently swept the Pirates (not quite the rarest of feats), they sit at the bottom of the American League with a 24-50 record. According to Baseball Prospectus' Playoff Odds Report, they are the only team with a 0.00000% chance of making the playoffs. Even the Pirates have a .00738% chance of heading to the postseason this year. Only once since 1994 have the Royals had a winning record (2003/83-79), while losing at least 100 games three times. Since the franchise's World Series win in 1985(no, I am not making that up), the Royals have failed to make the postseason.
After such a long tradition of failure, the Royals used the 2006 offseason to again display why they cannot win. Here is the current Royals starting lineup with the new additions in caps:
Pos Player Age C John Buck 25 1B DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ 32 2B MARK GRUDZIELANEK 36 3B Mark Teahen 24 SS Angel Berroa 28 LF Emil Brown 31 CF David DeJesus 26 RF REGGIE SANDERS 38 DH Matt Stairs 38
These three players and Stairs are the only players on this list who have no value to the team moving forward. The rest of the starters, outside of maybe Berroa, could actually form a solid, fairly youthful, core. The Kansas City Royals' Minor League rosters have a slew of B to B+ offensive players ready to make a contribution at the Major League level. Twenty-four-year-old Justin Huber, while somewhat embarrasing with the glove, could hit like a firstbaseman needs to, unlike the weak-hitting Mientkiewicz. At second base, prospect Donnie Murphy, who is a year younger than Huber, could potentially be one of the top second baseman in the majors for years. He should be able to hit 15-20 HRs with a .350 OBP in his prime with Gold-Glove caliber defense. His presence makes Grudzielanek disposable right now. For next year, twenty year-old Billy Butler waits in the wings. His restrictions on defense will surely confine him to a DH spot, but Butler can flat out produce on offense.
Here are the players on offense who represent little or no value to the team moving forward, with yet another offseason acquisition in Bako:
1B Doug Mientkiewicz 32 2B Mark Grudzielanek 36 DH Matt Stairs 38 RF Reggie Sanders 38 2B Tony Graffanino 34 OF Kerry Robinson 32 1B Mike Sweeney 32 C Paul Bako 34 SS Angel Berroa 28
Kansas City should attempt to move all of the players on that list by the deadline or this offseason. They are old, mediocore players who are taking up roster slots and payroll flexibity on a franchise who needs to go young and good. Here are the players who represent the core of the Royals, including a rare positive acquisition in Esteban German:
C John Buck 25 1B Justin Huber 24 2B Donnie Murphy 23 3B Mark Teahen 24 SS Esteban German 28 LF Emil Brown 31 CF David DeJesus 26 RF Joey Gathright 24 DH Billy Butler 20
Heading into the 2007 offseason, those should be the top guys on the depth chart at each position. Ridding themselves of the expensive, underachieveing veterans on the first list will give them the ability to add players to this foundation. They also have Minor League trading chips in 1B Kila Kaaihue, CF Chris Lubanski, and LF Shane Costa. First and foremost, the Royals need to find pitching, which will have to come from outside the organization. A return to form by Zack Greinke seems necessary, although increasingly unlikely. The Royals increased their payroll for 2006 to $47,294,000 from only $ 36,881,000. Unfortunately, they spent their money on resources they did not need. Kansas City must model their rebuilding off of the successful Marlins' method of completely restarting; instead, their method of bringing in veterans, who hinder any progress, more closely resembles the Pirates troublesome way of running a team. With this year completely lost and a new General Manager, now is the time for a serious attempt at heading for a postseason birth in the near future.
Date
Tue 06/27/06, 8:54 am EST
