Kansas City Royals: Front office gut check time for organization
By John McCarty
Power bullpen arm Wade Davis was traded not for a young athletic defensive outfielder or prospects, for a power hitting, injury and strikeout prone Jorge Soler. Very little about Soler’s talents (and he has them) fit with how or what the Royals do. While Soler has been better this year, he still isn’t a great fit and now must hope the consistency he was showing in the early part of the season doesn’t go away when he returns from the foot injury.
Big money was spent on a long term deal for free agent pitcher Ian Kennedy, that raised plenty of questions at the time and has proven to be an issue almost since the day the deal was signed. The signing of a fly ball pitcher made very little sense when you want to have a great defense. Nothing negates defense like a ball flying over the fence into the waiting arms of a dad holding a hot dog.
A long-term extension for fan favorite Alex Gordon appeared to make some sense at the time, but he has been terrible ever since and likely played a part in the Royals being unable to keep Eric Hosmer and/or Lorenzo Cain.
In general, players that strike out a lot in their career don’t age well. Bat speed and quickness leave, and for a player that already displayed issues with the swing and miss in his prime, the strike out can really zap the performance of a player. This is an attribute that likely plays itself out with Salvador Perez in the coming seasons.
The trade of Jarrod Dyson was curious at the time and is still curious. Why would the Mariners trade a starting pitcher with solid mid-rotation ‘stuff’ to acquire a utility outfielder/pinch runner in the last year of his deal? We are finding out, as Nate Karns simply is unable to find the field let alone stay on it.
While Dyson was never a star, he was a solid contributor and depth. His loss hurt more then what the stats would say. That being said, trading a player you likely lose in free agency for a pitcher is never a bad deal, so it’s hard to really criticize the deal. Dyson has moved on to Arizona, so question can be asked of the Mariners as well as the Royals.
The one deal/move I won’t discuss or bemoan is the Jason Hammel contract. Coming off the death of Yordano Ventura and with hopes of contending in 2017, Hammel may have simply been the best arm available. While he has been awful, Hammels hasn’t been overly expensive and was signed out of desperation to fill a spot on the roster.
So how does everything get fixed? How do the Royals find their way? There are a few steps they can take to address the issues.