Royals Rumors: Team could switch from buyers to sellers quickly
Royals rumors recently have been all about the Kansas City Royals being buyers at the trade deadline, but if the team flounders early in this second half, they shouldn’t hesitate to become sellers.
The stakes are much different this year than last year. Last year, the KC Royals had one more season to try and become a playoff team with their group of lovable players. This season, however, a lot of those guys are going to be free agents come season’s end, so it’s critical that Dayton Moore makes the right decision in the coming weeks.
Two games into the second half of the season, the Royals are back under .500. They’ve lost the series to the Texas Rangers (who they’ve yet to win a game against this year) and are in danger of being swept on Sunday.
If the Royals lose to the Rangers on Sunday, it’s not the end of the world, but they HAVE to win their next three series against the Tigers (two series) and White Sox. If the Royals lose another one of their upcoming series, they might have to flip the switch and become sellers rather than buyers.
At this point, it’s not about having a winning record, but staying close for that divisional crown. They would have been close to leading the Central if they could have won both of their games out of the break, but still sit three games back of the Indians for the division lead. They’re also two and a half games out for the second Wild Card spot.
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It’s not bad at the moment, but the Royals have lost five straight games and their offense has seemingly disappeared. They’ve looked like their early season selves in these first two games back, which if you can remember back that far, was not a good look.
With so many guys hitting free agency this offseason, Moore can’t hesitate to pull the trigger and sell guys off. Fans might be mad, but if the Royals continue to struggle in the early half of the season, a decision is going to have to be made quickly.
We all want to see the Royals go for it and make it back to the postseason, but sometimes it just isn’t meant to be. If the team keeps losing and Cleveland and Minnesota keep up their leads, then the Royals might have to realize that they need to get SOMETHING out of their future free agents.
I wouldn’t want to be in Dayton Moore’s shoes right now. If he buys a player and the Royals don’t make the playoffs, then they’re out several prospects and got very little back in return from the key free agents. If he stands pat, then the team still gets little back for those guys. If he sells, the team is broken up and the fans are angry, but the future might be salvaged a bit.
What do you think, Royals nation? How many games do the Royals have to fall back in the playoff race to become sellers?