Kansas City Royals Dayton Moore Executive Of The Year Candidate

Aug 9, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Ryan Madson (middle) gets water dumped on him by catcher Salvador Perez (13) after beating the Chicago White Sox 5-4 at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Dayton Moore’s Bargain Moves

However, where Dayton Moore has truly earned his bones has been with his bargain moves. Moore made a series of signings for barely more than league minimum to improve the Kansas City Royals depth. Almost all of these additions have yielded significant help for his club.

Moore grabbed pitcher Chris Young the moment he became available, despite lack of interest from other teams. The 36-year-old Comeback Player Of The Year for 2014 has merely posted a 11-6 record, 3.17 ERA in 117.0 innings in 17 starts and 16 relief appearances. Young became an important fill-in for the rotation when Danny Duffy, Edinson Volquez, and Jason Vargas all missed starts in May. Chris Young also seems poised to play a significant role in the playoffs, either as the KC Royals fourth starter or top long reliever. 

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Moore added Kris Medlen, who was coming off his second Tommy John surgery with Atlanta. Medlen who had been the no. 1 starter for the Braves, has responded with excellent bullpen outings combined with seven starts after joining the the rotation in mid-August. While Medlen’s ERA is a mediocre 4.30, he’s soaked up innings and earned wins when the rotation really needed help.

Dayton Moore found a dominant relief arm in former Phillies closer Ryan Madson. The 34-year-old Madson had not pitched since 2011 after suffering a series of injuries that included Tommy John surgery on his elbow. All Madson has done in 2015 is post a  2.24 ERA in 65 innings pitched with a 8.1 K/9. More importantly, Madson has now stepped in as the seventh-inning man in the Kansas City Royals three headed bullpen monster when closer Greg Holland went down with an elbow injury.

Moore also plucked Joe Blanton off the bonepile after missing the 2014 season due to lack of interest. Blanton made four starts for the KC Royals in May, and posted a solid 3.89 ERA in 41.2 innings pitched. Joe Blanton has gone on to pitch another 30.2 innings for the Pirates after a July trade to the tune of a 1.76 ERA working exclusively as a reliever.

When backup catcher Erik Kratz suffered and injury in May, Dayton Moore replaced him with Drew Butera. While Butera hasn’t hit (.557 OPS), he’s played well enough defensively that manager Ned Yost had the confidence to sit starter Salvador Perez more often.

These moves helped the Kansas City Royals to an American League best record of 61-41 on at the deadline.

Next: Dayton Moore's Deadline Deals