After a good April and keeping up with A.L. Central leading Detroit Tigers, the Kansas City Royals are 3-3 so far this May. But for the rest of the month, they have a tough schedule. They have a game against the Baltimore Orioles, then they play the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, Houston Astros, the Angels again, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Texas Rangers. Except for the lowly Astros and struggling Angels, the other teams are above .500 and possible playoff contenders.

Despite this month’s 3-3 record, there’s reasons for concern. So far this month, the Royals have six errors, with four of them committed in their two losses against the Orioles. The usually strong Royals bullpen lost a 2-1 decision to the White Sox Monday night and Luke Hochevar‘s errant pickoff throw to first in Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles led to a 4-3 loss. And in four of the six games played this month, the Royals offense scored three or less runs.

But it’s not all bad. It took until May 8 and 30 games into the season for the Royals to lose three games in a row. Last year, they lost three games in a row by April 14, eight games into the 2012 season. The starting rotation is pitching well, especially Jeremy Guthrie and Ervin Santana. Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar are playing well. If Tim Collins, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland cut down their walks and settle into their roles, the defense quits making errors and the offense scores more runs, the Royals could get through May with a .500 or above record. Or they could implode and have losing record. Either way, we’ll know by June 1.

Source: Sports Management Degree Hub

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 25, 2013) – The Kansas City Royals today have claimed catcher George Kottaras on Outright Waivers from the Oakland Athletics.  To create room on the 40-man roster, the club designated infielder Tony Abreu for assignment.

The 29-year-old Kottaras (kuh-tar-us) has played for the Red Sox (2008-09), Brewers (2010-12) and Athletics (2012), batting .220 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI in 249 Major League contests.  The left-handed hitter posted a .351 on-base percentage while drawing a career-high 37 walks in 85 games for Milwaukee and Oakland in 2012 while helping the A’s win the American League West after being acquired on July 29.  He blasted six home runs for Oakland in just 27 games and then appeared in four games during the A’s Divisional Series vs. Detroit.  Born in Scarbourough, Ontario, Canada, Kottaras now resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Abreu, 28, hit .257 in 22 games for the Royals in 2012 after spending a majority of the campaign at Triple-A Omaha.

Currently, the Kansas City Royals sit at 29-35 and 5 games out of 1st place in the American League Central. If they can continue streaking, could they actually become buyers at the trade deadline?

Royals fans are all too used to the same story at the trade deadline every year. Let’s see what assets we have that other contending teams might want and see if we can turn those into anything useful for the future. Is it possible, that with the way the Royals have played since ending their 12 game losing streak in April, that they could actually become buyers at the deadline this year? One can only hope. And barring any injuries to position players, the primary need will be Starting Pitching. So as we sit about 6 weeks away from the trade deadline, let’s examine what starting pitchers might be available for the Royals to pursue.

Cole Hamels (Phillies)-The Philadelphia Phillies are currently 9 games out of first place in the National League East. Hamels is a free agent after this season, and all signs point to the Phils not being able to re-sign him. Assuming they don’t agree to an extension before the deadline, and that the Phillies don’t right the ship, you can bet they will be listening to offers.

Zack Greinke (Brewers)-Same situation as above. Milwaukee is 8.5 games out of first place, Greinke is a free agent, and the chances of the Brewers re-signing him are very slim. If they don’t right their own ship, they will be looking to trade him for a similar package of prospects that they traded away to get him from the Royals.

Shaun Marcum (Brewers)-Again, if the Brewers aren’t in contention, they will be looking to move Marcum, who is also a free agent at the end of 2012 and a Kansas City native as well.

Brandon McCarthy (Athletics)-McCarthy is having another very solid season, and will be a free agent after this season. And the Oakland Athletics are going nowhere in 2012, so it would be shocking to see him finish the season in an A’s uniform.

Francisco Liriano (Twins)-While it is not likely the Minnesota Twins would be willing to trade Liriano to a division rival like the Royals, he is also the guy on this list that would command the least in return. There is no denying his ability, so he would be worth a gamble for the Royals or another team in need of starting pitching for the stretch run.

Wandy Rodriguez (Astros)-The Astros are trying to rebuild, and though Rodriguez is signed through 2013, they don’t figure to be contending until after that. So he will likely be made available at this year’s deadline. The left-hander would be a solid addition to the Royals staff not only this year, but next year as well if they could land him.

Ryan Dempster (Cubs)-Dempster has pitched very well this season, but the Chicago Cubs are the worst team in baseball and Dempster will be a free agent after the 2012 season. It is highly unlikely the rebuilding Cubs would be willing to invest in a multi-year deal with the 35 year-old Dempster, so he is bound to be made available.

Matt Garza (Cubs)-Garza will be arbitration-eligible after this season, and a free agent after the 2013 season. Like the Astros, the Cubs don’t figure to be competitive until long after 2013, so they might as well move him while he has value.

So as you can see, there should be no shortage of capable starting pitchers available at the deadline. And the Royals have no shortage of desirable prospects to deal away. It would sure be nice to have the shoe on the other foot for a change.

With inter league play about to be in full swing the Kansas City Royals seem to be in a pretty good position to make a move in the later part of the month of June. With scheduled off days in the right spots Ned Yost will not have to worry about filling out a 5 man rotation for a few weeks, a luxury for him since not everyone has been up to par on the mound lately. The one snag that he could run into is the recent “injury” of starter Felipe Paulino who may or may not miss his next scheduled start.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

On the other hand it may light a fire under one player and one player alone. Eric Hosmer, whom has been showing much improvement over the last couple of weeks, will have to continue to progress or he may get bumped if Robinson comes up and kills the ball. The Royals need one of them to step up and hit for some power for the team to come out in top of their inter league schedule.

The one thing that I know I am worried about and may be in the back of the minds of many of the Royals faithful is if we had another Kila Ka’aiahue on out hands. A guy that displayed a lot of power in the minor leagues and never could cut it in the big league. As we saw even more evident when the offensively challenged Oakland Athletics cut the “slugging Hawaiian” earlier this week. So if he is like Ka’aiahue he would be a bust but the difference is the fact that Robinson has hit for better averages all throughout his career. With Kila it seemed to be extra base hits or bust but Robinson can get the base knock thrown in their with the power to go with.

As a lifelong Royals I always love when the longtime minor leaguers who have paid their dues over years of bus rides and 2-star dining finally get their big chance to shine. Now don’t get me wrong I love the stars that come up after only a few years of development but it’s the guys who had not complained staid by and waited there turn who seem to not let it go to waist. Like fans saw earlier in the season with Irving Falu maybe Robibson can shed some light on a dark offense of the past. In the words of Rex Hudler. “You go ahead, Clint Robinson, you take Kansas Itt by storm.”

The Kansas City Royals began their season just seven days ago but it has been over two months since most of the organization has even sniffed their workplace at I-70 and Blue Ridge Cutoff. Six games in and the team is sitting at a comfortable 3-3, while taking the opening weekend series against the highly touted Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim then one out of three from the Oakland Athletics, a town that the Royals have never found much success in.  But as most fans would agree, a mark of .500 baseball is  exactly where the Royals want to be coming into Kauffman Stadium.  Yes everyone’s season started a week ago but now it is close to home and the early jitters are out of the way just in time for Kansas City to finally get to see their hometown team in person.

One thing both the fans and the organization can agree on is the lack of support from the bullpen in the first road trip of the season.  Known as being the strength of the team coming into the 2012 year, the pitchers in the bullpen showed a little anxiety and maybe were over throwing some in excitement for the season but over time they will settle down and get back into.  The problem with people evaluating the first six games of the season is that it is such a small sample size.  For example, left fielder, Alex Gordon, is not going to continue this beginning of the season slump he is in now.  If he was doing this in mid-June no one would be even talking about it.  Before his ninth inning single on Wednesday, Eric Hosmer was in an 0-11 struggle yet it was not given air time like the struggles of Gordon because Hosmer hit fine in Anaheim.  The sample size is just too small to begin to make assumptions about what will happen for the rest of the season.  By my math, the Royals still have 156 baseball games to play so assumptions truly will not matter once the bulk of the season is gone in late June into early July.

Staying on the same subject, the starting pitching so far has been a surprise to say the least.  Through six starts the Royals starters have a 1.85 ERA which is way under what was expected of them.  While they have thrown out there six quality starts just like the struggles of the bullpen, the success of the starting staff is such a small sample size that conclusions simply cannot be made.

I am not saying to not get excited about the Royals or to get to high on the team.  I am just simply saying let everything play out on the field.  All fans can do is wait and see what the results of the season will be.  But the fact that all us fans now get to watch it in person is so much sweeter.  Watching through the television or listening on the radio is almost like a tease to the season. For Kansas City the season starts tomorrow. Kauffman Stadium will be in rare form tomorrow afternoon as the excitement for the Royals is higher than it has been in years.  As much as fans are excited to see the Royals they are as excited to be able to show us all why this team is in it to win.  Never have I seen a fan base so excited for a team playing at the Truman Complex, or a team that is so excited to be in front of their hometown.  This year we have both and putting these two together could make for one heck of a summer.  Kansas City our team is home.

The Kansas City Royals and the Los Angles Angels will be the last two teams in Major League Baseball to begin their season. The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners have already started theirs. The Miami Marlins and St Louis Cardinals will start theirs in Wednesday evening. Finally, six days from today, after twenty-eight other teams have started, the Royals and Angels will start at 9pm local time. Even though these two teams will be the last to step off, I think they will get the most media coverage, and it’s not because the national media is in love with the Royals.

This guy and the Royals are going to crash the Angels Opening Day Party

It seems that the Angels have signed a couple of big name free agents over the off-season in the name of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. It is a compelling story in the national media. Albert Pujols graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s MLB Preview. ESPN is televising the opener, and FOX added Saturday’s game to their regional coverage. If you live in the Royals television market don’t expect to watch the ESPN telecast. It will be blacked out to protect the FoxSports Kansas City broadcast. In Los Angles, the Orange County Register is hopping on the “mob” fad, and plans to cover the Royals-Angels Opener like never before.

The Royals track record doesn’t lend itself to the Royals being anything more than facilitaters for a game of baseball disguised to be a celebration of Arte Murano’s shopping spree during the winter. The Royals are like the convicted being lead into the Roman Coliseum to be eaten by lions. The cards are even stacked against the Royals liturgically. That’s right, Christian Royals fans will be rooting against the Angels on Holy Weekend.

I think the Angels are a good out of division rival for the Royals. Southern California is a hot bed of baseball talent. George Brett is from there, and so are a bunch of other Royals players. The Angels broadcast team consists of Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza. Mark Gubiza needs no explaining. Victor Rojas is the son of Cookie, and grew up in Kansas City. If you follow him on Twitter you’ll notice he remains a Chiefs and KU Jayhawk fan. The Royals broadcast team has many ties to the Angels. Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler were Angels broadcasters for 11 seasons. Ryan Lefebvre is also from Southern California. If that’s not enough these two teams have seen a lot of each other in Cactus League play. Including a little dust up when Everett Teaford hit Peter Bourjos with a fastball after surrendering three straight home runs. This opening series shapes up to be exciting and hotly contested.

There is always opportunity in adversity. What better time to come out in punch the other team in the mouth than when they congratulating themselves? The Royals have a power hitting first baseman of their own. The Royals have some electric bullpen arms. The Royals have an excellent outfield. The Royals also won the last season’s series 7-3.

Earlier in the winter I was concerned that the Royals were getting too much media attention. It appeared they had become the next trendy pick in the surprise baseball team sweepstakes. I’m sure the Angels organization is not overlooking the Royals. I’m glad to see that for one weekend it appears the national media is. It’s a good recipe for “Chip on our shoulder”. It’s time for the Royals to crash the Pujols Party and shock the world.

In the final piece of this series, we use the WAR data to finish taking a look at the trades that Dayton pulled off in 2010, and try to determine what all of this really means.

August 13, 2010: The Kansas City Royals traded Jose Guillen to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later and cash. The San Francisco Giants sent Kevin Pucetas (minors) (October 14, 2010) to the Kansas City Royals to complete the trade.

By this point in Jose Guillen‘s tenure with the Royals, they were just looking to get rid of him and unload a portion of his salary.  Guillen was in the last year of his deal, had (obviously) cleared waivers, and it was time for the Royals to get a look at some of the guys who had a chance to be part of their future.  And if they could get something in return, well all the better.  Along came Brian Sabean and the San Francisco Giants, who were in the middle of a pennant race and needed a bat.  Pucetas is a 27 year old career minor leaguer, who is unlikely to ever crack the Big Leagues.  However, this trade has to be considered a huge success for Moore considering their desperation to unload Guillen at the time.  It is telling that in Guillen’s almost 3 years with the Royals, he managed to post a cumulative WAR of -1.0.  That’s what $36 million of David Glass’ money bought the Royals in 2007.  Guillen did little after going to the Giants and was not even included on their playoff roster, which was the year they won the World Series.  I’m not sure if Jose has officially announced his retirement, but it is safe to say he is done.

Guillen: -0.7 WAR with Giants (2 months of 2010)

Pucetas: 0.0 WAR (has yet to reach Majors)

Royals win trade by 0.7 WAR

November 10, 2010: The Kansas City Royals traded David DeJesus to the Oakland Athletics for Justin Marks (minors) and Vin Mazzaro.

Yikes!  While DeJesus had a down year in 2011, he did not come close to falling on his face with the fervor that good ole Vinny Mazzaro did.  Royals fans likely have one memory of Mazzaro from the 2011 season and it is this:

IP     H     R    ER    BB   SO   HR   HBP
2.1   11   14   14     3      2      1        0

That was his line as he appeared in relief against Cleveland on May 16.  At least he didn’t hit anyone.  While Mazzaro did appear for the Royals a few more times before the 2011 season came to an end, it is that game and that game alone that Royals fans remember.  It is still unclear what exactly it was that Moore saw in Mazzaro when making this deal.  He showed very little in 2 seasons with the A’s, and managed to make that look amazing compared to what he did in 2011.  As for Justin Marks, he is a 24 year old pitcher who logged a 3.98 ERA in Wilmington, the Royals’ Single A affiliate last year.  Considering how much of a pitcher’s league the Carolina league is known to be, along with his age, it is unlikely he ever has any meaningful impact on the big league roster.  The Royals were shopping DeJesus at the time, and one would have thought they could have gotten more than they did.  So either the market was much softer for him than first thought, or Billy Beane somehow pulled yet another fast one on the Royals.  I would tend to believe the latter, considering that even after an extremely down 2011 season for DeJesus, the Cubs still decided to invest $10 million in him over 2 years to make him their Opening Day right-fielder.  After consistently putting up WAR’s in the 3′s with the Royals (with a 4.4 in 2005), he regressed to a 0.6 WAR in 2011.  I expect DeJesus to rebound nicely in Chicago.

DeJesus: 0.6 WAR with A’s (2011)

Mazzaro: -0.7 WAR with Royals (2011)

Marks: 0.0 WAR (has not reached majors)

A’s win trade by 1.3 WAR

December 19, 2010: The Kansas City Royals traded Yuniesky Betancourt, Zack Greinke and cash to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jake Odorizzi (minors), Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Jeremy Jeffress.

Moreso than any other trade analyzed in this study, time will tell whether this one will work out in the Royals’ favor or not.  And if this trade ends up working out well for the Royals, the impact of it will trump the impact of all of the aforementioned failed trades combined.  But for fun, we will take a look at how it worked out in the 2011 season.

After Zack Greinke‘s 2009 Cy Young campaign, it appeared the Royals had their staff ace that would lead the starting rotation into the youth movement we are watching today.  But in 2010, Greinke was not the same.  At times he would show the stuff that made him so electrifying in 2009, but overall he looked disinterested.  Royals fans were in denial about it at the time, but looking back, it was very clear that with 2 years left on his deal, Zack no longer wanted to be in Kansas City.  So the Royals were faced with a decision: keep an unhappy Zack Greinke around in a clubhouse full of young impressionable players and worry about his negativity rubbing off on them, or trade him.  In hindsight, it is clear that trading Greinke was Moore’s only option.  It is even more clear after reading the following quote from Greinke.  When asked, in Feb. 2011, if he ever asked the Royals for a trade, Zack replied:

“I guess I kind of did right before the Trade Deadline last year because we were trading all our players. … When I signed, I was led to believe we were building around the guys we had, and we were getting rid of all of them,” he said. “So I sort of did then. Then at the end of the year, I sort of did again. And then during the offseason, I sort of did again. And then the media got the one where I think my agent must have said it somehow. … So I guess I sort of did about four times.”

Hence, in December of 2010, the Royals and the Brewers came to agreement on this deal.  Greinke proceeded to go to Milwaukee and pitch (and act) like Greinke.  First, he hurt himself playing basketball during Spring Training and missed the first month of the season.  Then he comes out in May and posts an out of this world K/W ratio while somehow managing to have an ERA hovering around 5.  Eventually though, he settled down and pitched like a Cy Young candidate the rest of the way for the NL Central Division Champion Brewers.  Betancourt, who was a throw-in in the deal after the Royals received Escobar in return, actually had a solid season for the Brewers in 2011. And now, ironically,he will wear a Royals uniform in 2012 albeit as a utility infielder.

As for what the Royals received in return, so much is tied up in the future.  But in just last year, it became clear that Escobar is something extremely special with the glove.  While he wasn’t useless with the bat, he is still a light hitter.  If this part of his game can continue to come around, you have yourself an elite ballplayer.  Cain came up for a quick audition at the end of the year and did fine.  The Royals clearly believe he is ready to take over as the everyday centerfielder, as they have traded away Melky Cabrera to the Giants to make room for an everyday role for Lorenzo.  Jeffress began the season on the big league roster, and while he displayed a very live arm and the ability to strike batters out, he struggled badly with his control and was sent down for the majority of the rest of the season.  It remainst to be seen what his role might be in 2012, but it is likely he begins the season in Omaha.  And after all of that, we have not even discussed the player who was stated to be the biggest grab in this trade for the Royals, 21 year-old righthander Jake Odorizzi.  Odorizzi spent last season split between Single A Wimington and Double A Northwest Arkansas.  He figures to begin this season either in Northwest Arkansas or Omaha, with a chance at a September callup to Kansas City.  So while the Royals clearly gave up a bit of production in the short term in this trade, the long term looks extremely bright.

Greinke: 1.7 WAR with Brewers (2011)

Betancourt: 0.7 WAR with Brewers (2011)

Escobar: 2.0 WAR with Royals (2011)

Cain: 0.1 WAR with Royals (23 September 2011 plate appearances)

Jeremy Jeffress: 0.0 WAR with Royals (2011)

Jake Odorizzi: 0.0 WAR (has not reached majors)

Brewers win trade by 0.3 WAR

So…what does all of this mean?

Strictly looking at WAR, Dayton Moore has clearly come out on the short end of the trades that he made in the years of 2006-2010.  Overall, these trades negatively impacted the Royals performance of the Royals through the 2011 season.  However, having reviewed all of these trades, it is very difficult to find one anywhere that set the fanchise back in the long term.  There are no atrocities such as Johnny Damon for Roberto Hernandez, Jermaine Dye for Neifi Perez, or Carlos Beltran for John Buck and Mark Teahen.  Granted, there weren’t any Damons, Dyes, or Beltrans on the roster when Moore took over.  But the point is that it is clear there was a strategy.  Until the Greinke trade, there is a very conservative theme to the trades that Moore has made.  And it is this Greinke trade that will be the biggest indicator as to whether Moore will be able trade effectively when he needs to.  When Dayton took over the job in June 2006, he stated this his primary mission was to rebuild the farm system so as to get to a point where the majority of the big league roster is homegrown talent.  It has taken awhile, but the Royals are now just about there.  Moore should be applauded for not taking his eye off of the ball.  The Royals are almost there.  “The Process” is almost complete.

ROYALS AGREE TO TERMS WITH THIRD BASEMAN Kevin Kouzmanoff ON A MINOR LEAGUE CONTRACT FOR 2012
Contract includes invitation to Major League Spring Training

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 14, 2012 — The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has agreed to terms with third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff on a minor league contract for the 2012 season.  The contract includes an invitation to Royals Major League Spring Training camp in Surprise, Ariz<

The 30-year-old Kouzmanoff (KOOZ-mah-nahf) combined to play 73 games for the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies in 2011, batting .235 with seven home runs, 33 RBI and 24 runs scored.  The right-handed hitter is a career .255 batter with 85 home runs and 361 RBI over six Major League seasons with the Indians (2006), Padres (2007-09), A’s (2010-11) and Rockies (2011).

He is a career .279 hitter with a .453 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers.  The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder is known as a strong defender, leading all N.L. third baseman with a .990 fielding percentage in 2009, and averaged nearly 19 home runs a season from 2007-2010.

Greetings everyone, I need to start off with that I am not a prototypical Royals fan. I should mention that I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan first and a Royals fan second but that being said, I am a die hard for both teams. I grew up and lived in St. Louis for most of my life but I have lived here in Kansas City for the past three years. Living in Kansas City now, I have noticed an odd hatred that Royals fans have toward the Cardinals and St. Louis but in my eyes, I do not see why I cannot be a fan of both franchises. I am probably too young (24) to understand all the hatred but I digress. Hopefully I have not turned off readers but I think I need to be open and honest. I really want the Royals to get back to their glory days so I can see a Royals-Cardinals World Series someday, hopefully sooner than later.

With that out of the way, time to talk 2012 Kansas City Royals. Before he was traded to the Washington Nationals, I was pretty vocal about the Royals making a serious push for SP Gio Gonzalez. After what the Nationals gave up for Gio, I am relieved that my wish for a Kansas City push for him was just a fantasy and not reality. Washington gave up FOUR B-/B+ level prospects for him which was a big haul for an Oakland Athletics pitcher who Oakland has been known to sell high (curse you Mark Mulder!).

If you could not tell already, I believe the Royals are in desperate need of a frontline starting pitcher and now with Gio Gonzalez off the market, now what? The 2012 Royals rotation right now is made up of entire #3, 4, 5 starters but if Kansas City truly is serious about contending for the AL Central, which I believe is possible, they need to bring in a #1 or #2 level starter. Without one, I view this Royals club as a .500 team that could win 75-83 games but with an ace that win total gets closer toward 84-90 and a potential division title.

That level starting pitching is hard to acquire or luck into via trade or free agency but there are several options that the Royals should be looking into. My trade targets would be James Shields (Rays), Wandy Rodriguez (Astros), or Matt Garza (Cubs). I’m not sure if the Royals would be able to bring in any of these guys but they all fit the mold of one a top of the rotation starter and have been made available in the past. I am not sure what it would take to acquire one of them but I am very curious about what a reasonable offer would look like.

If Kansas City does not wish to make a trade for a starter, there are several free agents that have not been signed yet that would instantly make the Royals rotation much more respectable than it currently is. Roy Oswalt, Edwin Jackson, Paul Maholm, Scott Kazmir, and Brad Penny are all quality starters that would look great in Royals blue and are also looking for an opportunity to show that they are still top notch starters. I truly believe you could get any one of these free agents on a one year deal in the $6-12 million range. That might seem like a lot but if it works out then Dayton Moore looks like a genius and the Royals are contending for a division title. Worst case scenario is that the deal flops and you are not hurt to make a run at the many frontline starters who could be free agents next offseason. I really don’t see what the harm is to bring in one of the remaining starting pitchers. The AL Central is down this year it seems and the Royals need to take advantage of their window to contend which is starting to open up.

The Royals have a great, young offensive core that is ready to compete at the major league level but that will go to waste into another mediocre season if the rotation is not addressed with another starter or if they luck out and someone steps up into that ace pitcher that has been missing in Kansas City for quite some time. Hey Dayton Moore, this team is much improved from the 100 loss teams I have come to grow up with but please address the rotation because this AL Central is there for the taking (also, it is time to trade Billy Butler while his value is high and is only a DH but that is a separate article). Is it spring yet? Go Royals.