Mound Talk

That Kansas City Royals finished in last in the AL Central, which was the expected outcome at the onset of the season. Several players had good seasons which give hope to Royals fans that they could compete in the near future. David Dejesus had a solid season for the third season in a row, Joey Gathright showed offensive consistency to take over the center field job, and Mark Grudzielanek was a solid veteran presence at second. Alex Gordon had disappointing numbers, given the hype he had coming in to the season, but overall he had a good rookie season showing flashes of his vaunted talent. Billy Butler got his chance with the big club and took advantage with a very solid season.

Before the season the Royals took a lot of heat for their signing on Gil Meche but their gamble paid off as he had a very good season playing and looks to settle in as their ace for the next few years. Brian Banister had a very good rookie season and even garnered some rookie of the year talk after going 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Joakim Soria showed he could be counted on as their closer, filling in while Octavio Dotel was hurt.

The Royals payroll in 2007 was at $67.1 million, which is $20 million higher than it has ever been. . The Royals have a very young team that will need to continue to develop if they want to be competitive in the near future. The good thing about this team is that they go into the 2008 season with their position players set although they will continue to look to improve where they can. Ryan Shealy at first base had a disappointing season until he got hurt and they may look to upgrade there. There was talk they were in on the Torii Hunter sweepstakes but since he signed with Anaheim they have turned their attention to Jose Guillen. He would be a nice upgrade to right field over Emil Brown. With Joey Gathright likely taking over in centerfield Kansas City will shop David DeJesus to add pitching depth. Former first round pick Zack Greinke could be on the trading block as well if Kansas City decides he isn’t in their starting pitching plans. He has a ton of talent and would be very attractive to teams looking to take a risk in their starting rotation and do not want to pay the high price of other top starters on the trading block. Greinke could bring in a decent package for the Royals to upgrade in other areas.

Potential players leaving

Jason LaRue (C) – $2.5 million
Odalis Perez (SP) – salary ($7.75 million) was paid by the Dodgers
David Riske (RP) - $2.25 million
Reggie Sanders (OF) - $5 million
Mike Sweeney (1B/DH) – $11 million
John Thomson (SP) - $0.5 million
Elmer Dessens (RP) - $1.7 million (ended season with Colorado)
Scott Elarton (RP) - $4 million (ended season with Cleveland)

The Royals will have $26.95 million coming off their books this winter with $19 million to spend after pay increases if they keep their payroll at the same level. Other than the likely signing of Guillen the Royals have also targeted Carlos Silva to plug into their starting rotation. He would give them a veteran presence that could eat innings and take stress off of the rest of the staff. If they lose out on Silva, Steve Trachsel would be a low risk starter to fill in until they are ready to bring up Luke Hochevar. They have also talked with Octavio Dotel about rejoining their bullpen after they traded him to Atlanta last season. To bring him in, however, they will have to give him the closer job and they would be better served leaving that to Soria.

Strengths

Starting Staff –The starting staff for the Royals is a young and talented one that should continue to build upon their 07 season. Gil Meche, while not a true ace, gives them a solid top of the rotation starter to take the pressure off their young guys. They have talent in the rotation with Brian Banister, Kyle Davies, Zack Greinke (if he is allowed to start) and Luke Hochevar when he is ready to take his role in the bigs.

Weaknesses

Offense – In 2007 the Royals had a lack of offense across the board. Their homerun leader hit 18 homeruns (John Buck) and their leader in OPS with enough at bats to qualify was Mark Teahen (he ranked 58th in the league). Many of their hitters are still young and developing and until they start hitting to their potential it will be difficult for them to win games. If they can bring in Guillen, he will bring a true threat to the lineup that the other hitters could grow off of.

Off-season Priorities

The Royals need to bring in a hitter like Jose Guillen to give them a legitimate hitter in the lineup. Jose seemed to mature while in Seattle and could be the veteran presence (along with Mark Grudzielanek) to lead this team with the departures of Sanders and Sweeney.

A starting pitcher and some bullpen depth are needed for this team to continue to improve and give their prospects time to develop. With the likely loss of David Riske they need to bring in someone to fill his spot. They shouldn’t over spend like many teams will this winter on middle relief guys but should go after a cheaper veteran who can eat innings without committing too much salary, Shawn Camp or Brian Moehler could fill this need. They will make an attempt to sign Silva but he is one of the most coveted free agents on the market and is unlikely to sign with Kansas City, Steve Trachsel, Brett Tomko or Russ Ortiz would be smart moves who could become trade bait at the July deadline if Hochevar is ready to move up.

If they decide to upgrade or possibly stock their farm system with more quality prospects they could consider trading DeJesus or Greinke, both of whom would garner a lot of interest due to the needs of several teams this winter.