Kansas City Royals: Five Reasons 2017 Became a Down Year

1.) Not Enough Talent

Sometimes it really is just that simple. The Kansas City Royals had several key players underachieve in 2017, and the remaining guys could not pick up the slack enough to make up the difference. It clearly wasn’t the only reason they missed the playoffs, but it’s the biggest one.

If you looked around the diamond and compared the Kansas City Royals players at each position to the league average, it would go something like this:

• Catcher: Above-average
• First baseman: Above-average
• Second baseman: Above-average
• Third baseman: Above-average
• Shortstop: Below-average
• Left fielder: Below-average
• Center fielder: Above-average
• Right fielder: Below-average
• Designated hitter: Below-average

That’s a fairly even split, which is not what you should have in your everyday lineup. No major league team can survive with below-average production out of 44 percent of its lineup. If even one or two of those positions had produced league-average latent, the Kansas City Royals might be in the ALDS right now.

That’s just the hitters. The pitchers—in a lot of ways—were even worse. At least with the lineup, you generally knew what you would get. With the pitchers, especially the bullpen, the volatility was ridiculous.

The starters seemed to either turn in one solid start after the other, or they each struggled just getting through the lineup twice in consecutive games. There was no in between. That, in turn, put a strain on a bullpen that already was a significant downgrade.

Combine that with the offense, and it was a recipe for disaster.

2.) Second-Half Injuries

Having players suffer injuries is a surefire way to struggle during the season. When those injuries—for the most part—come around the same time, it’s difficult to overcome. But when they happen to a few of the only truly great players on the team, it’s virtually impossible to get past.

For the Kansas City Royals, Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas had the bad luck of getting banged up in the second half of the season. Entering August, the team was in a playoff position. But those injuries helped lead to a steep decline.

Then came the late-August injury to Danny Duffy. The best starter on the team had to miss several starts with a forearm injury. That only accelerated the decline.

Those early season injuries set the team back, but the ones at the end of the year clearly hurt more.

Other late-season injuries forced the likes of Ian Kennedy and Joakim Soria to miss time. Those two pitchers hadn’t exactly lit the world alight during the season. However, it could be argued the pair—or at least Soria—would have been better than the alternatives.

There were other injuries that hurt the team throughout the season. Paulo Orlando suffered a severe leg injury that cost him a vast majority of the year. Newcomer Nate Karns also missed a large portion of the campaign. Those early season injuries set the team back, but the ones at the end of the year clearly hurt more.

Considering how healthy the Kansas City Royals were able to stay in 2014 and 2015, it makes sense that the past two seasons have seemed to include an above-average number of injuries.

3.) Trades That Didn’t Pan Out

There can be a number of reasons why a given trade is seen as a mistake in hindsight. Injuries, underachieving players received or overachieving players sent away could each lead to fans questioning the general manager.

It’s impossible for any GM to hit on every trade. But Dayton Moore had hit on enough over the years that the Kansas City Royals seemed to be in good hands heading into the offseason. That’s when Moore’s luck started to run out.

Among high-profile deals, it’s impossible to say the Royals won their offseason trades with the Cubs and Mariners—at least as it pertains to 2017.

Among high-profile deals, it’s impossible to say the Royals won their offseason trades with the Cubs and Mariners—at least as it pertains to 2017.

Sending closer Wade Davis to Chicago left a gaping hole at the backend of the bullpen—one the team never could fill this year. The team’s return, Jorge Soler struggled mightily in the big leagues. Karns seemed to be a good addition to the rotation in exchange for fourth outfielder Jarrod Dyson. However, Karns’ season-ending injury curtailed his impact on this campaign.

Moving ahead, both could be seen as good deals. Soler would need to become a solid contributor to make fans forget about the missed opportunity this season. If Karns recovers fully from his injury, his trade could easily be seen as a success. The struggles of the right fielders in the Royals organization showed the impact Dyson, who also got injured in Seattle, could have had on the team.

That’s not to mention the midseason trade with San Diego that failed to pay off. But more on that later.

4.) Bullpen in Disarray

Now, we’ll talk about that disastrous trade deadline move that seemed like a good idea at the time. Firstly, Ryan Buchter has been a solid addition. Let’s get that over with, but Brandon Maurer and Trevor Cahill were massive disappointments.

Cahill was counted on to be the fifth starter. That didn’t go well. Then he was counted on to be a long reliever out of the bullpen—a role some fans thought he was better suited for anyway. But that didn’t go well either.

Maurer, meanwhile, had appeared to be a backend of the bullpen savior. Kelvin Herrera and Soria had been highly ineffective as the closer and eighth-inning guy, respectively. Maurer seemed like the answer to at least one of those problems.

However, he never truly impressed. Maurer only got put into high-leverage situations for two reasons. Firstly, Soria got injured. Secondly, Herrera got demoted from the closer role. Maurer did nothing to change initial impressions with poor performances throughout the months of August and September.

To be fair, Maurer was far from the only problem with the bullpen. Soria and Herrera struggled to hold leads. Mike Minor excelled most of the season, as did Scott Alexander. But the two lefties also gave up a few crucial leads, too. The rest of the bullpen seemed to be engaged in a season-long game of musical chairs. A game with no winners.

Couple that with a manager who struggles at, well, managing even good bullpens, and you have a dumpster fire on your hands.

5.) Yordano Ventura’s Void

The death of Yordano Ventura was the elephant in the room all season. Nobody wanted to mention it, but everyone seemed to silently acknowledge the impact it had on the Kansas City Royals in 2017.

The January death of Ace didn’t just leave a hole at the top of the starting rotation, it left a hole in the clubhouse. His personality—even more so than his electric arm—is what made him a player that teammates wanted to be around. It’s a void that nothing and no one could possibly fill, especially not this quickly.

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If you don’t think Ventura’s absence had a palpable impact on what the Kansas City Royals accomplished in 2017, there’s probably not much I can say to convince you otherwise. Maybe you find it pointless to even bring him up. But the death of a teammate is something that every player who knew Ventura dealt with this season.

The players never made excuses, but it would be ignorant to believe he didn’t cross their minds almost every single day.

The impact Ventura could have made on the inconsistent pitching staff is not hard to see. Erratic at times, he could have easily won 15 games with a 3.75 ERA. It’s not a stretch to say he could have been the difference in making the postseason or not.

But, in the grand scheme of things, none of that really matters. We will always have the memories and be eternally grateful for the time Ace spent in Kansas City.

Next: Royals Award Winners

At the end of the day, baseball is just a game. So while it would have been nice for the Kansas City Royals to make the playoffs, time marches on towards 2018 and a new opportunity.