Royals Chen Music May Doom Moore and Yost

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

It is official.  The Royals have cornered the market on mediocre starting pitching.

"A steadfast, resilient, laser-like focused process for stock piling number five quality hurlers has been key.  In a way, I feel we have won the mediocre starting pitcher World Series.  Make Believe GMDM"

I will hand it to the Royals, they really got my attention when they signed Bruce Chen, and designated Emilio Bonifacio for assignment.  Sometimes somebody or something becomes so blah, so amazingly ordinary, it becomes interesting.  Let’s hope this latest Royal intrigue has more depth than the Dilbert like quality now on its menu.  Let’s hope the Bruce Chen signing, and Bonifacio jettison, trigger a bigger and better move.  Let’s not hold our collective breath.

Maybe the Royals understand Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar are rotation risks this team, this year, just can not take.  If the Royals want to have Chen as the opening day 5th starter, who keeps the seat warm for Yordando, this looks decent.  Decent as long as they also know Davis and Hochevar carry a price tag this team, any year, can not justify.  If you add up the salaries for those two, the now departed Bonifacio, and Chen, you approach Ervin Santana money.  Could it be those two are also on their way out, and the Royals will spend that extra cash on a real number two arm?  Maybe the plan is to sit on that cash in case they need it mid-season?  Let’s all hope.

Bruce Chen as a fifth starter is not a bad thing.  Not a bad thing for last year’s team.  Last year’s team had a true number one and number two starter.  This year’s team has James Shields, a deep collection of 4’s, and a couple wild card, high upside, young guns.  Unless the Royals make a move that clears space to re-sign Santana, they have failed to resolve his departure, while lowering their team’s overall ceiling.

As is stands, the Royals have a jumbled rotation and outfield.  That just means they don’t have adequate major league talent for these key pieces.  This is not a good thing for any team.  It’s a disaster for a Ned Yost managed team.  Yost is old school.  Yost goes with his gut.  Yost lets personal feelings and preference guide his roster moves.  Yost consistently makes awful decisions on personnel.

Giving Yost ambiguous starting roster challenges is like giving a bottle of whiskey to a recovering alcoholic.  Not cool, and very dangerous.  The whole baseball world will watch Yost predictably fumble and stumble, and Moore will actually be surprised.

If the Royals stand pat with this roster, they will not reach the post season.  If there isn’t another strong move made, Moore will clearly display the ceiling he has hit as a MLB General Manager.  Baseball will  have seen all it needs to from Ned Yost and Dayton Moore.  Neither will reach the tops of their profession again.