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.

How Moore answers outfield questions will be critical to his evaluation as KC Royals’ GM.

Dayton Moore continues, without success, to look for a new lefthanded power bat. The most logical destination for such a find, if he’s found, is the opening in left field. The Royals have plenty of internal candidates, led by Franchy Cordero, with Nick Heath and Khalil Lee as other lefty-hitting possibilities.

With the field of free agents narrowing, the best case scenario is Moore signing an established lefthanded bat (Eddie Rosario, Joc Pederson and Marwin Gonzalez—also a switch hitter—are still available); the second best is that Cordero, who possesses more power than Heath and Lee, succeeds.

The worst case, of course, is that Moore fails to land a suitable free agent, Cordero doesn’t pan out at all, and left field remains a sore spot. Moore will be criticized for an unsuccessful search, for obtaining Cordero in the first place, and for not finding an answer.

Moore’s biggest concern, however, may be Michael A. Taylor, the speedy but light-hitting outfielder he signed in late November. Taylor certainly seems by all accounts to be the KC brass’ first choice for center field, but expecting him to suddenly hit well may be expecting too much. Signing Taylor was a surprise, and promoting him as a top center field choice could backfire on Moore. If it does, the general manager will have to answer for it.

The KC Royals’ general manager will be judged in part on how two infield moves turn out.

Dayton Moore’s apparent solution to the first base problem that’s puzzled the Royals since Eric Hosmer left may be the best move of his winter spent trying to improve the club. The acquisition of Carlos Santana has more to do with his excellence at the position than any discomfort KC had with Hunter Dozier after he took over at first last year.

Bringing aboard Santana, whose power (240 career homers, including more than 20 in seven of his 11 seasons) and .366 OBP overshadow a .248 career average, is a move that simply must work. Many were called, but none permanently chosen, to replace Hosmer. Santana should succeed and hold down first for at least the duration of his two-season, $17.5 million deal; but if his effort turns out like those of Lucas Duda, Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan McBroom, many will, rightly or wrongly, blame Moore for the continuing inability to fill Hosmer’s sizeable shoes.

Signing Santana worked yet another displacement of Dozier, who the KC Royals called upon late last season to cover first when O’Hearn and McBroom both couldn’t hold the job. The switch followed Dozier’s move to the outfield, a position change occasioned by the preseason acquisition of Maikel Franco. Through it all, Dozier fared reasonably well with six home runs and a .344 OBP in a season shortened overall by the pandemic, and more so by his own encounter with COVID-19.

Now back at third base, Dozier merits playing every day (at least until Bobby Witt Jr. is ready for the majors). His occasional defensive shortcomings notwithstanding, he spent most of 2019 at third and tied for the major league lead in triples and hit 26 homers to go with a .279/.348/.522 slash. Dozier presents Moore with a classic general manager’s dilemma—find a spot he can settle into, or consider trading him to fulfill other needs.

General Manager Dayton Moore has made several moves to improve the KC Royals this winter. He’ll be judged on how they turn out.