The Kansas City Royals have certainly had some historically terrible acquisitions over the years

Anyone who has been a fan of the Royals for any extended period of time has seen it multiple times. The off-season acquisition of a player another team was dying to get rid of (usually a malcontent), being sold to the Royals fanbase as a game-changing pickup. Every team acquires players that don’t pan out. But no team seems to pick guys up that they pencil in as top/middle of the rotation starters, middle of the lineup bats, or closers that end up embarrassing themselves and the rest of us like the Kansas City Royals. Here, we take a look at the worst of the worst, position by position.

Use the buttons below to scroll through the worst acquisition at each position for the Royals.

Catcher: Benito Santiago (2004)

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Santiago came to town with about as much excitement for playing in Kansas City as Juan Gonzalez did at the same time. He made it 49 games before coming down with his own phantom injury, and was then shipped off to Pittsburgh after the 2004 season.

Runner Up: Jason Kendall (2010)

The Kansas City Royals 2012 season is about to begin, but some questions still remain.

Friday night in Anaheim, the Kansas City Royals begin their 2012 season against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. After a relatively quiet off-season, spring training featured the signings of Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon to long-term contracts. But the spring also featured a major knee injury to Salvador Perez and season-ending Tommy John surgery for Joakim Soria. As the 2012 season begins, some questions remain for the Royals.

How will the starting rotation fare?
The Royals starting rotation is LHP Bruce Chen, RHP Luke Hochevar, LHP Jonathan Sanchez, RHP Luis Mendoza and LHP Danny Duffy. They’re not going to strike much fear in the hearts of opposing teams, but it should be a better rotation than last year. Bruce Chen is the Opening Day starter and while he’s not an ace, he’s a better Opening Day starter than Scott Elarton (ahh, those were the days). Hochevar improved during the second half of the 2011 season and hopes to improve in 2012. Sanchez should be a solid contributor if he cuts down on his walks. Luis Mendoza played his way into the rotation with a good spring. Duffy is a work in progress, but still has a lot of upside.

The starting rotation is the weak link of the Royals. But if the starters can pitch deep into games and not give up a lot of runs, the bullpen and offense have a chance to win games. And if any of the starters falter, pitchers like RHP Felipe Paulino, LHP Mike Montgomery and RHP Nate Adcock could join the rotation sometime in 2012.

Who will be the Royals closer now that Soria is gone for the year?

The loss of Soria isn’t good, but it’s not devastating. RHP Jonathan Broxton, RHP Greg Holland and RHP Aaron Crow have the ability to close games. Broxton closed for the Los Angeles Dodgers and has the experience. Holland hopes to improve on his successful rookie season and Aaron Crow hopes to bounce back from last year’s second half struggles and regain his first half All-Star form. And some believe RHP Kelvin Herrera has the stuff to be a closer and may have an opportunity to close this year. Yost is non-committal about choosing a closer, preferring to let the guys decide who plays their way into the role.

Who will be the backup catcher when Salvador Perez returns?
It’s likely to be around the All-Star break before Perez returns as the starting catcher. Meanwhile, Brayan Pena and Humberto Quintero will share catching duties, with the possibility of catching for certain starting pitchers. Pena did a serviceable job behind veteran Matt Treanor last year and Quintero makes up for his weak hitting with good defense. Yost will likely give both players a chance to play their way into the backup catcher job or end up catching in AAA Omaha.

Will Johnny Giavotella stay in the Omaha gulag forever?
No, but he needs to improve his defense at second if he wants to stay in Kansas City. Many fans see the “power” of Chris Getz fading quickly and if Giavotella’s defense is in the same neighborhood as Getz, Giavotella will be back. Unless Yost falls in love with Yuniesky Betancourt and makes him the starting second baseman. Well, let’s hope not.

Will the Royals outfield repeat their success of 2011?
Not exactly, but unless injuries come up, Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Jeff Francoeur should play close to their 2011 levels. Gordon has found his position in left field and Cain’s strong spring shows what he could do in center. Of the three, Francoeur is the most likely to regress but if he stays consistent, he’ll be fine. And the Royals have the capable Mitch Maier and the speedy Jason Bourgeois to back up Francoeur, Gordon or Cain if needed.

So how will the Royals fare in 2012?
Many baseball pundits believe the Detroit Tigers are the team to beat in the A.L. Central. The Cleveland Indians might be a good team, or they might not. The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins are in a down year and aren’t expected to do much.

If the Royals starters don’t give up a lot of runs, if the bullpen doesn’t blow leads, if the defense is solid and the offense plays up to their expectations, the Royals have a chance to win the A.L. Central. But if the Royals stumble in April and May like they have in the past and the other Central teams stay around .500, the Royals might find themselves in a hole they can’t get out of.

My optimistic prediction: 89-73, winning the A.L. Central by a couple of games over Detroit and making the playoffs. The Royals become the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, shocking the baseball world with a game seven walk-off home run by Chris Getz, winning a World Series Championship over the St. Louis Cardinals. (ok, the Getz home run might be a bit too optimistic).

My realistic prediction: 82-80, second place in the A.L. Central behind Detroit and missing the playoffs. Not a World Series Championship, but still a good season and something to build on for the future. Even that may be too optimistic, but after many years of futility, I’m ready for the Royals to be a competitive team. Whatever happens, I’m ready for the 2012 season to begin.

If you are not aware: The Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder a nine year, $214 Million contract this past week. Adding Fielder not only makes the Detroit Tigers the undisputed favorite to win the AL Central. It makes the divide between where the Kansas City Royals are, and where they need to be, to win the AL Central much greater than before.

The Tigers are just one of the Royals’ four divisional opponents. With the unbalanced schedule they will play each opponent 18 or 19 times. The divisional opponent I despise the most is dependant upon who is having the most success. In 2003 that team was the Twins. The Indians and White Sox have at one time been my most despised divisional opponent. Right now, I really don’t like the Tigers. Who ever the Tigers are playing 2012, I’ll root for them.

The Divide between the Tigers & the Royals might be bigger than this.

This is a new realization for me. Even last year when the Tigers won the division by 15 games I did not despise them as much as I despise them now. Maybe it was the horrendous 2003 season. Maybe it’s that the Tigers seem to draft a lot of players from Wichita State. Maybe, deep down I like the demeanor of their chain smoking manager Jim Leyland. I’m not sure why I had a soft spot for the Tigers until now. In fact the Royals Franchise should have a soft spot for the Tigers. After all, that 119 loss 2003 team is the only thing separating the Royals from being the WORST TEAM IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL this century! In the end the joke was on the Royals. The Tigers won the American League Pennant three seasons later. Meanwhile the Royals lost another 100 games, fired their general manager a week before the draft, and had a pitching staff so terrible an over the hill Scott Elarton was the Opening Day starter.

Because of Detroit’s separation from the rest of the AL Central I no longer have a soft spot for them. The White Sox and Twins have entered rebuilding mode. If the Royals are an improved team they should beat these two teams like a rented mule. I’m not sure I can feel sorry for them. Even there are repeated trips behind the woodshed. The Cleveland Indians are in the same place developmentally as the Royals. They might be ahead. They have already pulled the trigger for an ace pitcher to supplement their farm system. Something the Royals seem reluctant to do. If the Royals are ever going to make the playoffs they have to get through the Indians to do it. No love for the Indians, here.

This is how see the AL Central shaping up for the 2012 Season. The Tigers are miles head of the rest of the division. The Royals and Indians will fight for second and third. That is a fight the Royals need to win if they are going to seriously contend in 2013. The Twins and White Sox will be scrumming in the basement. I guess you could call it progress that the Royals are not being picked to finish last. Progress is good, but there is a great divide between the Royals and the Tigers. Dayton Moore and the Glass Family need to find a way to build a bridge.

Hi. You don’t know me or anything about me. But if you’re reading this column, I’m pretty sure I know plenty about you.

You are obviously a Kansas City Royals fan, and are for the first time in a very, very, very, very long time, feeling legitimate optimism for the upcoming season. However, for the better part of the last 20 years, you have endured year after year of baseball misery. You have cursed every player, manager, pitching coach, general manager, owner, trainer, and groundscrew captain that has passed through the orgainization during this time, using your entire repertoire of colorful language many times over. You have watched Scott Elarton, Brian Anderson, Runelvys Hernandez, and Jose Lima trot out to the mound to start Opening Day, and nearly been forced into regurgitation over it. You allowed yourself to get excited about the arrival of washed up, non-roided versions of Juan Gonzalez and Benito Santiago. You watched the All-Star games and cringed when Mark Redman and Ken Harveywere announced as the Royals’ representatives.

And as you know, this doesn’t even come close to scratching the surface of what you have endured being a Royals fan. Yet for some reason, you have continued to come back. Oh, I know, you have considered walking away many times. There are so many other things to focus your energy on in the summertime. You are sick of being laughed at and dismissed by fans of other teams. But your hope is that your loyalty would be rewarded eventually. You say that when the Royals finally do win again, the celebration will be unlike any other that anyone has ever seen (of course, nobody reading this has likely seen the Cubs win the World Series). Could that eventually be now? You are optimistic, but we will forgive you for guarding your optimism with an armed militia. You know you have been burned before, but you also know that now just feels different. Actually, it doesn’t just feel different, you are sure it is different. But you’re trying not to talk about it, because you remember when you argued with your friend who is a Cardinals fan, that OF COURSE Reggie Sanders was the missing piece in the Royals lineup. Or that one time, when you got into it with someone in the bar, saying ABSOLUTELY Calvin Pickering has what it takes to hit big league pitching. Haven’t you seen what that guy has done in AAA??

The difference this year, of course, is that you, as a Royals fan, don’t have to argue on behalf of your team anymore. The national media, and people in other baseball towns are hip to what’s going on with the Royals. They are the ones drooling over Eric Hosmer as being “can’t miss” and Mike Moustakas having terrifying power. They are saying Alcides Escobar may be the best shortstop in baseball and Salvador Perez might be the next Pudge Rodriguez. And now it is you that is either keeping quiet, or even taking the other side… reminding everyone that people spoke of Alex Gordon when he came up the same way they speak of Eric Hosmer today. And, you also say, while it is possible that Escobar could be a perennial Gold Glove winner, he could also regress into the second coming of Angel Berroa. As a Royals fan, you are now trained to think that way.

In just over 3 months, the time for talking will be over. You and I will get to know each other much better throughout this time, and together, we will watch the story of Project 2012 unfold. Will it be another self-depricating comedy? Or a dramatic thriller with a joyous ending? Who knows? Maybe in 3 months the time for talking will be over…or maybe the time for talking could finally have arrived.

The Royals are a little over two weeks into their Cactus League Schedule. The prospects we’ve heard so much about have been making an impact. Lorenzo Cain is making diving catches. Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have been abusing baseballs. Jeremy Jeffress is hitting 100 mph and wiffing people. Salvador Perez is gunning down would be base thieves. Mitch Maier is making a case that we should change his name March Maier, which would be awesome if he played college basketball.

There’s a lot to be excited about if you’re a Royals fan keeping track of the activity in the Phoenix Metro Area. But then, like waking up from your spring break hangover you realize none of these games mean anything. I defy any Royals fan to remember Eric Hosmer’s grand slam off some Cubs farm hand when the Cubs visit Kauffman Stadium to play real games in the middle of June.

I’m not a big statistics person. But the statistics people I have talked to tell me there are two sets of statistics that you can throw out: September statistics among non playoff teams, and spring training. There are plenty of reasons for this that I won’t get into here. But I want to share one of the most blatant examples concerning the Royals. In 2006, the Royals won the Cactus League and then proceeded to win 5 real games in April on their way to another 100 loss season. Somehow you knew things would not end well when your Opening Day starter was a rehabbed Scott Elarton.

Is it better that the Royals are winning games in Surprise instead of losing them. But is there anything we can take away from spring training performances? I think about the big picture and questions that will determine when the Royals will emerge from the basement. Is Luke Hochaver finally going to pitch like a first round draft pick who held out? Is Vin Mazzaro worth being part of the David DeJesus trade? Does Jeff Francis have anything after Tommy John surgery? Is the bullpen flying under the rest of baseball’s radar?

The Royals aren’t close enough with their award winning farm system to make a difference this spring. Sure there are a few questions like: Who will make up the bullpen and rotation? But the major questions can only be answered during the regular season. I know Royals Fans don’t want to hear this, but it’s almost like the Royals have been playing spring training games continuously since August of 2003.

Royals fans seeing the young prospects flash their brilliance in March might be the highlight of our season. But, there is one difference between now and 2006. When the Royals break camp later this month they will have the second youngest 40 Man Roster in the majors. Division rivals Cleveland Indians are the youngest. This is the first season I can remember that a Royals official glossed “youth movement” actually corresponds with youth on the field. Watching young players get better while losing will be more entertaining than watching scrapheap players get worse as they continue to lose.

As to the original question; is there anything we can take away from spring training 2010? Maybe confirmation that Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus aren’t just trying to sell subscriptions to Royals Fans when they say the farm system is the best in baseball. (There so many of us left) There really is talent coming, and it’s fun to watch and listen to. But I fear that the spring break from losing will end Opening Day. Many of the players creating the buzz will be off chasing tornadoes and roaming the Ozarks this April. But for now, borrow some sunscreen and enjoy some winning.