Five Objectives Kansas City Royals Must Accomplish for Successful 2018

KANSAS CITY, MO – JULY 16: Kelvin Herrera

5.) Sell at the Deadline

As you may have noticed, most of these objectives are impacted by the previous ones. That’s how we come to this point. With the priorities being placed on developing talent, the farm system needs to be rebuilt. Using the draft to build the foundation takes time. A quicker way is to follow the plan the White Sox employed this season: When the deadline comes, sell every veteran who isn’t a franchise pillar.

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For the Kansas City Royals, that means keeping Hosmer, Duffy and Perez. Everyone else is available for the right price. Many players are getting paid too much for other teams to bite. But there could be several quality players who contenders will look to add. Unfortunately, the haul wouldn’t be anywhere near what the franchise could have landed in 2017.

Some of the main candidates for a midseason deal would be Kelvin Herrera, Moss and Hammel. Like I said, not an especially exciting group. But anyone outside of Hosmer, Duffy and Perez should be available. Guys like Merrifield would require a significant return, but shipping out other veterans for some unproven prospects is a low-risk gamble.

By the end of the season, the Kansas City Royals should look more like the 2012 and 2013 version of themselves than the 2017 one. That means a bunch of young guys having fun with no pressure to win. While not as enjoyable as competing for a World Series title, there’s a certain level of joy seeing a group of up-and-coming players excited to play in the majors.

Next: Who Earned MVP for Royals in 2017?

If the Kansas City Royals are able to reach that level of fun in 2018 by accomplishing these five objectives, then fans will have no choice but to view the season as a success. Whether they can achieve those goals is another question entirely.

5.) Sell at the Deadline

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