Kansas City Royals: Two Years or Three Months

This, to me, is the time to see what Dayton Moore can really do.

I’m not saying what he’s done isn’t good enough. Not by a long shot. What I’m saying is building a program up from the depths of despair that this organization was in, reaching the pinnacle, and then having to start tearing it back down is an incredible challenge.

Returning to the cellar will be an awfully tough pill for baseball fans around here to swallow. We endured roughly 30 years of that.

While these last three winning seasons, back-to-back World Series, and a World Championship have been amazing, I worry what a re-build might look like. A necessary evil for a small-market team like the Royals, I suppose.

You can’t argue that the White Sox and Detroit Tigers haven’t made improvements. This crown is not going to be easy to defend.

The key will be how 2016 is handled, should it not unfold the way we think it ought to. Right now, we’re the defending champions, and are still the top dog in the American League Central, and maybe the entire American League. On paper, the Royals didn’t lose much, and return their core players — which happens to be a large core.

What if, however, we get to the All-Star break, and the Royals are limping into the break, under-performing (be it due to injuries or otherwise), and struggling to stay in the race?

You can’t argue that the White Sox and Detroit Tigers haven’t made improvements. This crown is not going to be easy to defend. Additionally, the Royals have been remarkably fortunate with regards to major injuries.

This is why I’m suggesting that the “two-year window” may actually be a “three-month window”. If the Royals are struggling, I think Moore would have to look long and hard at unloading some of the team’s premier players.

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