Winter Meetings Questions: A blockbuster for the KC Royals?

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The Winter Meetings, baseball's annual festival of trades, free agent signings and rumors, officially began this evening in Nashville, and the KC Royals, led by general manager J.J. Picollo, will be there.

The Kansas City contingent will arrive with plenty of hard, important work to do. They Royals are, after all, coming off a thoroughly embarrassing last-place season and, although they looked better in the second half, there is so far little reason to believe Kansas City will field a significantly improved roster when the 2024 campaign opens at Kauffman Stadium in late March.

Just how much Picollo will, or can. accomplish this week remains to be seen. His is a team not blessed with the kind of deep, roster-wide talent with which he can tempt other clubs on the trade market, nothing strongly suggests principal owner John Sherman will give Picollo enough money to lure big-name, top-tier free agents to Kansas City, and a currently-packed 40-man roster means the Royals won't have a pick in Wednesday's Rule 5 Draft unless they open a spot, which doesn't seem very likely.

So, how might these meetings go for the club? What are some of the unanswered KC questions as they open tonight?

Do the Royals have a blockbuster deal up their sleeves?

Hopefully, but don't count on it. Too many of the best free agents, most notably Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, and Cody Bellinger, aren't in Kansas City's conversation and never will be, and the Royals simply don't have the big guns required to consummate a major trade unless they put Bobby Witt Jr. on the block, which won't happen.

Moving on...

Are the Salvador Perez trade rumors still going?

Not that long ago, "preposterous" would have accurately characterized any speculation that Salvador Perez might be on the trade market. He remains "The Franchise" notwithstanding increasingly stiff competition from Bobby Witt Jr. (Witt ascending to that lofty status will come soon enough if KC can keep him), and despite some signs of slowing down, Perez is still productive.

None of that, though, means a Perez deal hasn't been rumored. Speculation he could be moved began shortly before this year's trade deadline and quickly gained traction; popular was the suggestion that he was headed for the White Sox and a reunion with Chicago manager and former Royals coach Pedro Grifol, and ex-KC system hitting guru Mike Tosar.

And without mentioning the other team involved, Picollo candidly admitted the Royals had explored a Perez deal with another club.

Nothing came of the rumors and discussions, Perez finished the season with Kansas City, and he has two seasons left (and a third if the Royals exercise their option for 2026) on the franchise-record mega-deal he signed during spring training in 2021.

Nevertheless, the rumors persist, but not at their pre-trade deadline level. They seem to be barely percolating, though, so don't look for Picollo to announce in Nashville that he's dealt Perez to another team.

Next question...

Will the Zack Greinke situation get resolved at the Meetings?

Whether Zack Greinke returns to the Royals for another season won't make or break the club. Even should he return to the form he displayed in 2021, his last good season before he rejoined Kansas City for the 2022 campaign — he went 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA for American League champion Houston — Greinke's supporting cast probably won't be good enough to fully exploit such a resurgence.

That doesn't mean, however, that fans aren't interested in what Greinke decides to do. Their excitement was more than palpable when before the 2022 season began he signed a one-year deal to come back to KC, and he pleased them again last winter when he re-upped with the Royals for his 20th big league season.

But Greinke is 6-24 since becoming a Royal for the second time, and his 2-15, 5.06 performance this year suggests he might be done.

And although the Royals probably shouldn't bring him back, Picollo will likely accommodate Greinke if he's ready for a 21st season and wants it to be with the Royals. Both sides of this equation have been quiet, however, and aren't saying what will happen one way or the other.

Will the Winter Meetings add any clarity to the Greinke matter? Perhaps, but they certainly aren't required to get the two sides together. Picollo has more pressing business to attend to, so don't expect any big Greinke news this week.

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