This is a project where 30 people got together to act as the GMs of the 30 MLB teams with the idea of conducting the offseason in one week. This is what happened in this simulation, not a prediction of what will happen in real life.
By Ray Kuhn
This truly was not easy. The Royals, despite winning the World Series in 2015, are not a perfect team by any stretch. Their budget, $131 million, is low and flat as compared to last season. Contracts and team options also were not working in Kansas City’s favor. After all was said and done, I had to account for $14 million of dead money which included $8 million for Omar Infante. I had to get creative to field a competitive team in order to take advantage of perhaps the last season before the window closes. Wade Davis had to go based on cost, and it worked out well as Greg Bird is allowed me to let Kendrys Morales go which saved a great deal of money. That deal also brought back catching prospect Donny Sands to provide some sort of succession plan for Salvador Perez. Thankfully, I was able to fill out the bullpen with lost cost additions, and getting Tyler Chatwood and Patrick Corbin out of their previously unfavorable home parks could help to solidify the rotation. The lineup is once again a strength, and there should be enough pitching here to at least be competitive for a wild card spot.
| Pos’n | 2017 | Position | Player | Salary | Position | Player | Salary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon, Alex | LF | $16.00 | C | Perez, Salvador | $4.20 | SP1 | Duffy, Danny | 8.2 |
| Volquez, Edinson | $3.00 | 1B | Hosmer, Eric | 13.3 | SP2 | Tyler Chatwood | 4.8 | |
| Morales, Kendrys | $1.50 | 2B | DJ LeMaiheu | 4.8 | SP3 | Patrick Corbin | $4.20 | |
| Hector Santiago | SP2 | $5.00 | 3B | Moustakas, Mike | $8.70 | SP4 | Hector Santiago | $5.00 |
| Hosmer, Eric | 1B | 13.3 | SS | Escobar, Alcides | $6.50 | SP5 | Minor, Mike | $4.00 |
| Patrick Corbin | SP3 | $4.20 | LF | Gordon, Alex | $16.00 | CL | Herrera, Kelvin | 5.3 |
| Soria, Joakim | RL1 | $8.00 | CF | Cain, Lorenzo | $11.00 | Set Up 1 | Soria, Joakim | $8.00 |
| Cain, Lorenzo | CF | $11.00 | RF | Orlando, Paulo | 0.52 | Set Up 2 | Jason Grilli | 1 |
| Moustakas, Mike | 3b | $8.70 | DH | Greg Bird | 0.51 | LH Specialist | Javy Lopez | 1 |
| Hochevar, Luke | $0.50 | Bench 1 | Burns, Billy | 0.6 | Middle Reliever 1 | Tommy Hunter | 1 | |
| Medlen, Kris | $1.00 | Bench 2 | Colon, Christian | 0.6 | Middle Reliever 2 | Zimmer, Kyle | 0.51 | |
| Escobar, Alcides | SS | $6.50 | Bench 3 | Cruz, Tony | 1 | Long Man | Young, Chris | $5.75 |
| Young, Chris | rhp-s | $5.75 | Bench 4 | Merrifield, Whit | 0.51 | 48.76 | ||
| Duffy, Danny | SP4 | 8.2 | $68.24 | |||||
| Herrera, Kelvin | rhp | 5.3 | Dead Money | Salary | ||||
| Minor, Mike | lhp-s | $4.00 | $117.00 | Volquez, Edinson | $3.00 | |||
| Perez, Salvador | c | $4.20 | Budget | 131 | Morales, Kendrys | $1.50 | ||
| Tyler Chatwood | SP5 | 4.8 | Avaiable | $14.00 | Hochevar, Luke | $0.50 | ||
| DJ LeMaiheu | 2B | 4.8 | Medlen, Kris | $1.00 | ||||
| Colon, Christian | 2b | 0.6 | Infante, Omar | $8.00 | ||||
| Orlando, Paulo | of | 0.52 | ||||||
| Burns, Billy | cf | 0.6 | ||||||
| Cruz, Tony | c | 1 | ||||||
| Javy Lopez | lhp | 1 | ||||||
| Jason Grilli | rhp | 1 | ||||||
| Merrifield, Whit | 2b-of | 0.51 | ||||||
| Greg Bird | DH | 0.51 | ||||||
| Tommy Hunter | rhp | 1 | ||||||
| Zimmer, Kyle | rhp | 0.51 | ||||||
| Infante, Omar | $8.00 | |||||||
| TOTAL – KC | $131.00 |
It will be interesting to see how the real life Royals do this offseason. Their Opening Day payroll has increased four straight years. With no playoff money this year – will that trend continue?
A succession plan for Salvador Perez? If that’s not about him leaving as a free agent, that’ll make me feel old.