Royals Off Season off to a Frustrating Start

. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a sobering week for this Royals fan.

The Good Ship Royal’s biggest leak is at second base, and Detroit just upgraded at that very position.  The Tigers are actually in a position to improve by dealing Prince Fielder.  Don’t think for a second the Tigers are done dealing, because they freed up some cash when Prince was traded for Ian Kinsler.

I think Kinsler should be a Royal, not a Tiger.  The Royals could have traded Eric Hosmer for him.  Move Billy Butler to first base, sign Carlos Beltran as your DH/RF, and pay big for a top of the rotation starter.  Yeah, they should consider dealing Hosmer.  He is the most valued guy on the team, yet very replaceable.  Twenty homer, eighty RBI first baseman actually do grow on trees.  Ask Ned Yost about that tree.

So, what have they done so far? They just signed a younger version of Bruce Chen, Jason Vargas, to a 4 year deal.  He’s a great fifth starter, a pretty good fourth starter.  The Royals will lose their number two starter.  Is this the only move to be made for the rotation?  Why spend that type of money on a very low up side guy?

They just sh*t canned George Kottaras, the only guy on the team who knows what a walk looks like.  Why not boot Brett Hayes?  Why not Chris-Fricking-Getz?

This week’s transactions show just how far the Royals remain behind the class of their division.  When it comes to their talent, the Royals operate with more optimism than they should.  They put together a team that can win with several “IFs” in place.

IF Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar improve offensively, we’ll be ok.  If one of our young pitchers takes the next step, the rotation will round out.  If Emilio Bonifacio plays all year like he did the last couple months of the season, we are ok at second base.  For a team that’s had plenty of hard luck, they sure act entitled to good fortune.

When businesses reach a certain volume, they have to make large changes in order to continue growth. Moore and Glass have the team back from the dead, but that’s not good enough. The Royals need to change their business model if they want to take the next step.  They need to prepare and safeguard against a worse case scenario from their players.  They don’t have many trade chips.  They need to spend some real money, right now.

As of today, the Royals do not have enough talent to win their division.  They need to sign a major bat and another top of the line starter.  I know they won’t sign Shin-Soo Choo and Ubaldo Jimenez, but they should.  I promise if they dig their heels in and stay below the $87 Million payroll ceiling we have hear about, this team only flirts with .500.  (a ceiling that’s been reached with the likes of Vargas!)

What stings is that the money is there.

MLB just had its most profitable year on record, and every team is getting an additional $25 million in cable dollars.

Glass should and can risk losing some money for a few years.  Look, he bought the Royals  in 2000 for $96 million dollars, and they are now worth $457 million.  Maybe it’s time to invest more in the company, Mr. Glass.  Did you know that playoff games are quite profitable? Your efforts will boost attendance and merchandise sales.

How about you take your optimism away from the talent you currently have, and direct it towards your finances?  Spend your money with some of those positive assumptions you have rammed down the fan’s throats for years.