KC Royals: Groundhog Day Do Overs For Dayton Moore

Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore has made many decisions in his 10-year tenure in Kansas City. What choices would Moore do over if he was trapped in a time loop like Bill Murray in the iconic 1993 movie Groundhog Day.

Who knows? Maybe the only reason that the Kansas City Royals were able to win the 2015 World Series was because the Baseball Gods allowed Moore to keep trying until he got it right.

First I’ll start with some honorable mentions. One of Dayton Moore’s first moves after officially taking the reigns as general manager of the KC Royals following the 2006 June draft was trading away pitching prospect J.P. Howell for centerfielder Joey Gathright.

While Gathright had loads of speed, and was quite skilled at jumping over cars (watch the video below. It’s pretty cool), he couldn’t hit enough to be a useful player. Meanwhile, J.P. Howell is still an effective reliever in the major leagues with a career ERA of 3.74 for an ERA+ of 110 (10% better than a league average pitcher). Howell posted an 1.43 ERA last season for the Dodgers in 44.0 innings pitched, which followed two seasons with ERA’s under 2.50.

Joey Gathright Jumps Over Car:

While not a good move, you can see Moore’s determination to improve the Kansas City Royals athleticism.

Other moves that didn’t quite make the Groundhog Day cut were trading pitcher Jeremy Affeldt to the Rockies for Scott Dohmann and Ryan Shealy, signing Yunieski Betancourt not once but TWICE, watching Luke Hochevar wallow in the starting rotation for five seasons before converting him to the bullpen in 2013, and signing Omar Infante to a four-year, $32 million deal in 2014 with Christian Colon ready to take over at second.

Next: An Under-The-Radar Rotation Blunder

5). Letting Colby Lewis Walk

On November 2, 2007, the KC Royals claimed pitcher Colby Lewis on waivers from the Oakland A’s. At the time, Lewis was an unremarkable right-hander who had mostly failed as a big league pitcher in parts of five seasons with the Rangers, Tigers, and A’s. In his only extended stint in a major-league rotation, he started 26 games for Texas in 2003 with a deceptive 10-9 record and a horrendous 7.30 ERA.

Calling Colby Lewis a journeyman would have been a compliment.

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Moore, however, saw something in Lewis and claimed him during an era in which the KC Royals fielded an awful rotation. To remind current fans just how bad Kansas City Royals pitchers were in 2008, the Royals regularly handed the ball to Luke Hochevar and Brian Bannister—both of whom sported ERA’s over 5.00.

Yet, Moore released Colby Lewis on December 5, 2007, because Lewis wanted to take a contract to play in Japan.

The Kansas City Royals really should have convinced Lewis that they wanted him to stay. Lewis posted two outstanding seasons with the Hiroshima Carp in 2008 and 2009 in which he went 26-17 with an ERA under 3.00 both seasons.

Lewis’ performance in Japan was impressive enough that the Rangers inserted him in their rotation in 2010, and he rewarded them with three consecutive seasons of solid performance. From 2010-2012, Lewis went 32-29 with a 3.93 ERA for an ERA+ of 113 (13% better than league average). Those five seasons between 2008-2012 corresponded to a rotation Dark Age during which the KC Royals would have KILLED for an above-average innings eater.

Instead, Dayton Moore let one walk away after CLAIMING HIM ON WAIVERS.

Heck, after missing the 2013 due to injury, Lewis started 62 games in 2014 and 2015. He even went 17-9, with an admittedly mediocre 4.66 ERA, last season in which he ate 204.2 innings for an acceptable 91 ERA+ (9% worse than a league average pitcher). Lewis was hardly great, but he is still a viable bottom-of-the-rotation arm.

Next: Choosing The Wrong Outfielder

3). Passing Up Chris Sale In 2010 Draft

Hot draft rumors just before the June 2010 draft indicated that the Kansas City Royals would take Chris Sale with the no. 4 overall pick.

Baseball America draft guru Jim Callis projected Sale to the KC Royals in his mock draft, citing multiple “sources” around major-league baseball linking Sale to Kansas City.

[Note: check out the above link WAY back into Kings Of Kauffman’s early days]

What the KC Royals would do in the draft was a hot question at the time, since conventional wisdom saw Bryce Harper, Jameson Taillon, and Manny Machado as blue chip talents with a significant drop-off after them.

Betsided

Tallion’s career has, so far, been hindered by injuries. Yet, the pundits were very correct about the futures of Harper and Machado. But if the Kansas City Royals had taken the 6’6″ 175lb (at the time) Sale with the no. 4 overall pick, they wouldn’t have regretted missing out on the three “sure things” of the 2010 draft.

Instead, the KC Royals backed off from Sale and picked Fresno State shortstop Christian Colon at no. 4 overall. Colon was seen as a polished player who could move quickly through the system, but whose upside was more average starter than star. Reports have since circulated that Sale’s frail frame made Kansas City Royals officials doubt that he could hold up in a major-league rotation.

Boy, were they wrong.

Chris Sale fell to no. 13, where the White Sox took him. Sale zoomed through the minor-leagues to debut in September of 2010. Sale has only won since landing a full time job with the White Sox in 2012. Sale has four consecutive All-Star appearances from 2012-2015, and has went 53-37 with a 2.95 ERA.

Folk’s that’s an ace.

Had the Kansas City Royals drafted Chris Sale, they might have had the ace to match up with Madison Bumgarner in the 2014 World Series. Conceivably, the KC Royals could have two straight World Series titles rather than just one.

Of course, Christian Colon had key hits in both the 2014 Wild Card game and the 2015 World Series finale that sealed the title. Perhaps, the Kansas City Royals playoff miracles of the last two seasons would have died on the launching pad without him.

Even so, you’d have to expect that the KC Royals would have been better off with a bona fide ace than a guy who profiles as a utility infielder.

Next: Signing The Clubhouse Cancer

Oct 23, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

2). Signing The Clubhouse Cancer

In 2007, new general manager Dayton Moore was determined to land an impact power bat in his first winter running the Kansas City Royals. Newly empowered with money from previously skinflint owner David Glass, Moore chased after Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones.

Unable to land those name stars in free-agency and money burning a hole in his pocket at the winter meetings, Moore settled for former Mariners outfielder Jose Guillen. Guillen signed for three-years, and $36 million—which was a significant deal at the time.

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What a disaster.

Guillen had hit .290/.353/.460 with 23 home runs and 99 RBIs in 2007 with the Mariners in his age 31 season. If you squinted, I guess you could have considered him an impact bat. But, many pundits correctly identified Guillen as fool’s gold.

Guillen promptly was suspended by major-league baseball in February for the first 15 games of the 2008 season for PEDs violations.

Guillen’s time in Kansas City didn’t get any better in the months that followed.

Jose Guillen proclaimed that the KC Royals had “too many babies” by the end of May. In early July, his argument with pitching coach Bob McClure hit the media.

Not only did Guillen fail to produce, hitting .256/.308/.420 for an OPS+ of 94 (6% below a league average hitter) in three KC seasons, Guillen disrupted the clubhouse.

See the picture of a happy team above? That scene wasn’t happening as long as Jose Guillen had a locker.

Next: Hiring The Bush-League Manager

1). Hiring The Bush-League Manager

In October of 2007, Dayton Moore hired Pacific League (Japan) manager Trey Hillman to replace Buddy Bell in the Kansas City Royals dugout.

What a mistake.

The then 44-year-old Hillman had been a long-time coach with the New York Yankees, who then took a job with the Pacific League’s Nippon Ham Fighters. Hillman led them to three straight playoff appearances and one Japan Series title (2006).

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Hillman was young. Hillman seemed to be a winner. But, his Japanese-style management tactics didn’t sit well in the KC Royaks clubhouse. In his first spring training in 2008, Hillman called his team out onto the field after a spring game and lectured them about their failure to execute fundamentals. Many considered the move “Bush League” and felt their coach was showing them up.

Hillman never connected with his players, piling up a 152-207 record in two seasons (and the beginning of a third) before Moore pulled the plug in 2010.

Not only was Hillman’s .423 winning percentage bad, he lost control of the Kansas City Royals. He failed to discipline strong-willed outfielder/DH Jose Guillen. Reliever Jose Cruz turned out to be a guy collecting a paycheck. Worst of all, young prospect Billy Butler got ridiculed by teammates.

Under Hillman, top prospect Alex Gordon almost washed out of Kansas City as a bust (before reinventing himself as an outfielder and a three-time All-Star). Worst of all, Hillman ruined free-agent signee Gil Meche (five years, $55 million) by allowing him to run up ridiculous pitch counts with a sore arm in 2009.

Moore had correctly identified Meche as a pitcher ready to break out as a top-of-the rotation starter in the winter before the 2007 season, and gave him what many considered too rich of a deal. Gil Meche rewarded Moore’s faith when he put up a 9-13 season with a 3.67 ERA in 216.0 innings the first year of his contract (ERA+ of 125).

Meche followed up his 2007 success with a solid 2008 season. Meche was also off to a strong start in 2009 before Hillman demanded too many pitches from an over-worked arm.

Next: Reymond Fuentes Battling Health Issues

Really, there was no excuse. Thank the Baseball Gods that Dayton Moore found a way to escape the wilderness.