KC Royals: Dayton Moore will be judged on winter moves

KC Royals general manager Dayton Moore will be judged on how his offseason moves pan out.

Perhaps it’s General Manager Dayton Moore’s more aggressive approach to free agency, one so far responsible for this winter’s additions of Mike Minor, Carlos Santana and Michael A. Taylor, and the return of Greg Holland, to a KC Royals club inching closer to relevancy. Perhaps it’s the intrigue Moore created by signing former Royals Wade Davis and Ervin Santana. Or maybe it’s the new energy that seemed to envelop the Royals throughout the short 2020 season.

Whatever the cause or causes, an aura of hope, not frustration or despair, surrounds these Royals. Contention probably isn’t a reality for 2021, but there’s a feeling that it’s close.

Expectations are probably higher than they’ve been since 2017, the final go-round for the championship core that took Kansas City to two straight World Series and a championship in 2015. Moore gambled on one last run before the contention window closed.

He lost, and promise turned to disappointment by the time the ’17 campaign ended. The core was no more.

Many view 2017 as a season botched by Moore’s questionable moves, and one of opportunity lost because he didn’t trade Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain for a load of prospects. Holding Moore responsible on both accounts has merit—he is, after all, the chief architect and man primarily responsible for assembling the team.

Kansas City fans tend to fall into one of two camps when it comes to Moore. One approves, or at least tolerates, his performance, citing those two trips to the World Series and a title as sufficient cause to forgive many years of losing; others say those accomplishments aren’t enough and wonder why he remains employed in a business where success is judged primarily by wins and failure by losses.

Sherman gave Moore the resources to improve the club this winter. Moore has raised the bar on himself. How will he be judged when the 2021 season ends? Let’s see.