Kansas City Royals: How to avoid the same mistakes in 2020

Stop signing free agents that are cheap because they cannot hit.

There is some sense in taking a flier on a guy because he has shown potential. (Jayson Nix) But we would be in denial if we did not admit that there is a pattern to the Royals overvaluing a certain type of player. (Chris Getz)

(Chris Owings) Throwing a few million here or a few million thereafter players that are never going to contribute offensively is wasteful. (Billy Hamilton) We better be able to find guys that are only good for their ability to play defense within our own organization.

We should either go get a free agent that brings a real bat to the proposition or go with a young guy we already have. (Ryan Goins) Stop trying to convince us that guys who cannot make consistent contact will suddenly learn how to swing a bat inside Kauffman stadium. (Dusty Coleman) And, for the sake of all that is holy, please stop signing players with no punch under the silly premise that we are getting them for their in-season trade value. Please.

We need not be resigned to the idea that the 2020 Kansas City Royals will be yet another lost season. We should not accept that as inevitable. We have some bats in their prime now – such as Whit, Soler, Dozier. We have valuable pieces just on either side of their prime years –  guys like Mondesi, Perez. Catcher, shortstop, and second base are all positions where it is difficult to find decent hitters, but we have those already.

There is no excuse to once again shrug and look for generic free-agent options. No reason for another offseason of Chris Owings and Lucas Duda and Billy Hamilton. By accepting that some of our recent patterns have failed us maybe we can begin to change our recent results. Try something different. Start a new habit. The players we need are out there and available. The players we need can be found. There is no need to wait. After back to back seasons of more than 100 losses, what else do we have to lose?