Kansas City Royals: A Look At The 2016 Offseason
By Paul York
The Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 2015, and it was awesome. Now they’ll look to defend their title in the 2016 season, and it all starts with the offseason.
You know what doesn’t get old? Seeing the Kansas City Royals listed by every publication as one of the best teams in baseball, and being referred to as the DEFENDING WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!
Ok, so here we are with Old Man Winter tightening his grip on our region, and we’re left staring out the window half daydreaming about the magical summer of 2015, and half counting the days until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training.
Meanwhile, Dayton Moore has been busy adding and subtracting bodies from the Kansas City Royals roster.
Gone: Ryan Madson, Jonny Gomes, Jeremy Guthrie, Johnny Cueto, Ben Zobrist, Franklin Morales
Added: Alex Gordon (Hell yeah!), Joakim Soria, Ian Kennedy, Chris Young, Dillon Gee (Minor League Contract), and John Lannan (Minor League Contract)
We knew Johnny Cueto wasn’t returning, and he ultimately served his purpose here, so there are no hard feelings about him moving on to greener pastures–in terms of cash (See what I did there? Green…Cash. Okay, if I have to explain it, nevermind.).
Ben Zobrist is a guy we ALL fell in love with as Royals fans. Many made the argument that they’d rather have Zobrist back than hometown hero Alex Gordon. There’s some merit to that argument.
I think the Royals did what they could to retain the services of Zobrist, but the Cubs offered more money, a reunion with a manager (Joe Maddon) Zobrist loved, and a chance to play in his home state. The Royals can’t compete with that, and I certainly don’t blame Zobrist for signing with the Chicago Cubs. His contributions as a Royals player will never be forgotten.
Next: Cue sad song