Last Monday, we took a look at an 'everything works out scenario' regarding the future of the Kansas City Royals' outfield.   Our look into the future was not a fantastical journey in that we attempted to be realistic (if not rather optimistic) in what a player's potential might be.

What we ended up with was an outfield that was pretty marginal in 2010, decent in 2011 and good, but lacking in star quality, in 2012.   Today, we look at the infield.

Unlike the outfield, this group has two different futures or maybe, concurrent futures is more precise.   The Royals can look at their projected 2010 infield and, rightly or wrongly, say their infield of the future is already in place.  In our 'everything goes right' world, the Royals, for once, are right.

Whether it is first base or designated hitter, Billy Butler emerged in 2009 as a real impact bat:  posting an OPS of .853 and an OPS+ of 124.   His second half line of .314/.385/.540 might well be an indication of the kind of numbers Butler will put up for the better part of this new decade.   Of all the 'everything goes right' scenarios we will play out in this series, Butler's may be the most likely to come true.   

The other corner is, of course, occupied by Alex Gordon.   To date, Gordon has shown flashes of potential, but had his supposed 'breakout season' derailed by injury in 2009 (not to mention curious handling by the organization).    The Royals have been waiting for everything to go right with Gordon since drafting him in 2005.   It is still not out of the question for Gordon to 'get it' in 2010 and surge towards that .300/.400/.500 line everyone projected years ago.  

Truthfully, the real plan of both Allard Baird and Dayton Moore has centered around Billy Butler and Alex Gordon both becoming feared bats in the middle of the Kansas City order.   Should Gordon at last emerge, Kansas City will have their number three and four hitters for the next four years if not longer.

That brings up an interesting problem for the organization as their two best hitting prospects happen to also play first and third base.   In our sunshine and roses scenario, Mike Moustakas becomes a big time power hitting prospect.   To date, Moustakas has played a pretty bad defensive third base, so it will be interesting to see if he can stick at that position.  Additionally, his body type is looking less and less like one that could make a move to a corner outfield spot.  

Still, if Mike slugs 30 home runs in AA in 2010 and another 30 in AAA in 2011 (along with an on-base percentage somewhere north of .375) is it the worst thing in the world to bring him up to DH?    In our everything goes right world, I see Moustakas being a Jim Thome type hitter (and probably a Jim Thome type fielder as well!) from 2012 through 2017.  If we really are being optimistic, Moustakas becomes a competent third baseman and gives the Royals flexibility when free agency looms for Butler, Greinke and Gordon.

The heir apparent at the other corner is Eric Hosmer.   His future is still all projection and no actual success (even Moustakas had a very nice year in 2008 to give us hope).   The flip-side, of course, is that Hosmer has not played enough to truly discredit those projections, either.   Given this column's angle, we sure as heck are not going to do anything to change that. 

There is a school of thought that Hosmer could play an corner outfield spot.  Ideally, Hosmer becomes a power hitting on-base machine while exhibiting enough athleticism to slide into right field for the start of the 2013 season (if not sooner).   What if Butler, Gordon, Moustakas AND Hosmer all reached the lofty potential that is or has been projected for them?

At best, the Royals would generate enough revenue to line those four up in the middle of their batting order and simply overwhelm other teams.   Even if the revenue is not there, Kansas City would be in the enviable position of having four big time bats to play two or maybe three positions:  allowing them to ship a rapidly more expensive Butler and/or Gordon off for multiple high level prospects while barely skipping a beat when it came to their own offensive firepower.

If the above is not enough, we have not even discussed the possibility of Kila Ka'aihue getting an actual chance at some point in 2010 and parlaying that into a .390 on-base percentage with some power.   If not Kila, then maybe Clint Robinson, who has slugged 45 home runs in three minor league seasons, will emerge over the next season and one-half to push for playing time in the majors.   Perhaps we might witness the organization's highest profile Latin American signee, Cheslor Cuthbert, emerge at third base sooner rather than later, to enter the mix.

If 'everything went right', the Royals would be flush with hitters at the corners.    While Kansas City has made a habit of collecting 'bodies' that play first, third and DH, they have not been overly successful in collecting bonafide hitters.   Maybe, just maybe, the organization's luck is about to change.

This post was originally going to encompass the middle infielders, too, but it has run on a little long today.   Later this week, we will examine Chris Getz, Yuniesky Betancourt and the rest of the potential middle infielders.

When it comes to player development, the Royals have not been exactly blessed with either good judgment or good fortune.  There is some hope that the Dayton Moore administration will have better luck in both areas, but the current track record is not pointing towards any strokes of genius just yet.

Still, it is the holiday season, so let's put a little magic into the mix and play the what if game.   My next couple of posts will review the minor league system and pretend that pretty much everything goes right for the Royals over the next three years.    While we are certainly taking some license with the good fortune portion of this exercise, we will try to be realistic in the end result (i.e. not every player is going to be an All-Star).

Today, we will start with what I perceive to be the current weakest place on the major league roster:  the outfield.

The Royals might well open the season with Mitch Maier as their everyday centerfielder.   Last year, splitting time between the majors and AAA, Mitch put up a combined line of 253/342/352.    Maier has a career minor league slugging percentage of .458, but has displayed a curious lack of any power whatsoever at the big league level.   If everything went right, Maier would play an above average centerfield, slug somewhere over .400 and become something of a poor man's David DeJesus.  

While I like DeJesus a lot, the poor man's version of him is barely major league average (probably not even that), but it would be enough to allow the Royals to not panic in their attempts to find a long term answer in center.   That's because their centerfielder of the future might be 'breaking out' in AA in 2009.   That person (remember EVERYTHING is going right) is Derrick Robinson.

Robinson posted another sub-par line last year in High A (239/290/324) but slugged all five of his home runs in the last month of the season.   He has tremendous speed and athleticism (69 steals) that have brought comparisons to Kenny Lofton.  Even in our perfect world, I do not see Robinson becoming a Lofton, but could he be another Carlos Gomez?  

If everything goes right, Derrick is able to continue that late season power surge and slugg somewhere near .400 and up his average and on-base percentage into the .280/.340 zone.   With his speed, that might be enough to warrant a late season promotion to Omaha where Robinson would be poised to parlay a hot start and continued improvement in 2011 into an early summer promotion to Kansas City.   The hope is that by Opening Day of 2012, Robinson is settled into the lead-off position, hitting with enough power to keep the defense honest, being smart enough at the plate to use his speed to post an on-base percentage north of .350 and tracking down virtually every ball hit in the alley.

Also by 2012, the Royals might well have the toolsy Hilton Richardson and Alex Llanos pushing their way up into AA and AAA.  Both might well have more upside than Robinson when it comes to both power and on-base ability.   The positive development of Robinson, Richardson and Llanos would provide the Royals with both long-term stability in centerfield at the major league level as well as possible trading chips as early as 2011 and even a left field solution in 2012.

However, left field might not need a solution come 2012.   After all, the Royals will have the capable DeJesus in 2010 and could certainly pick up his option in 2011 once the Guillen contract is off the books.   That might not be necessary if 'everything goes right' with David Lough.  

After hitting an impressive 16 home runs in Burlington, Iowa two seasons ago, Lough exploded all over High A ball (320/370/473) and then AA (331/371/517) in 2009.    David will fill up the stat sheet with doubles, triples, homers and steals and in four minor league stops has hit less than .300 just once (that being in the aforementioned Burlington where no one seems to hit .300).  I can see Lough getting major league action somewhere after the All-Star Break this coming season:  probably in a platoon situation with Jordan Parraz.

After solid debuts in both AAA and the Majors in 2010, Lough might well be given the left field job in 2011.   If not, the Royals could pick up the DeJesus option, and use Lough in both left and right (he even plays some center if need be) while they shop DeJesus to a desperate contender during the 2011 season.   By late 2011, if not sooner, Lough will be settled in as the everyday leftfielder, posting lines on the order of .310/.370/.480 for the next four or five seasons.

Over in rightfield, we have already mentioned the 'everything is going right' future solution:  Jordan Parraz.   Proving that you can trade nothing (Tyler Lumsden) for something, Parraz had a nice, but injury plagued 2009, posting a 348/432/541 line in AA and AAA.    With any luck, Parraz leaps out of the gate in AAA this spring with similar numbers and forces his way into the rightfield job for the Royals sooner rather than later. 

The Royals are the Royals, though, and they will want to defer to the whims of Jose Guillen's psyche, see what Brian Anderson has to offer and certainly need the grit of Willie Bloomquist in right at times, but Parraz will hopefully hit his way through all that nonsense and get steady time in right.   Again, a second half platoon of Parraz/Lough might serve both players well as they acclimate to the bigs and set Parraz up to bat sixth and play right everyday in 2011.

The upside of Parraz may not include enough power to totally lock down right for years to come.  Although I do foresee him cruising along somewhere right near his career minor league numbers (294/381/445 - hopefully a little more 'slug'), which will be more than enough to be upgrade over virtually everyone who has played the position for Kansas City since Jermaine Dye.  

The hope would be that one of the youngsters in the low minors or a draft pick yet to be made develops into the traditional slugging rightfielder and pushes Parraz out of a job by 2013 or so.   Perhaps it would be a college draftee that pulls a Mike Aviles (circa 2008 not 2009) like Carlo Testa or Nick Van Stratten or it could be a Luis Del Rosario or Geulin Beltre type who breaks out in the near future to become a legitimate prospect.  At any rate, a 2012 outfield of Lough-Robinson-Parraz (again, assuming they perform as set out above) would easily be the best outfield top to bottom since the days of Damon-Beltran-Dye.   

Two problems, of course.  

First, that is 2012.  Not one, not two, but three years away.   Second, that is a whole lot of 'everything going right' and it still leaves the Royals with an outfield of three very good players but maybe not any 'great' players.    Frankly, if I were to take a straight out shot-in-the-dark-flyer on any outfielder in the system becoming a regular All-Star it would likely be either Hilton Richardson or Alex Llanos:  neither of whom project to be impacting the majors much before late 2012.

Of course, if the Royals have great pitching and a couple of outright stars in the infield, an outfield of three good, but not great, players in 2012 would be enough.   Next time, we'll see just how many stars we can actually find to complement our solid outfield.

Given the state of the Kansas City Royals one can make an argument that the club's first priority could be almost anywhere but number one starter, closer and Billy Butler.   That I had to use a comma and the word 'and' to describe areas that did not need upgrades may, in itself, represent progress for this organization!

The basis behind the title of our column today rest not so much in the thought that the Royals are 'set' in other areas, but more based on just how few real options the Royals have in the outfield for the coming season.

Right or wrong, Dayton Moore has set up the catching for 2010 and, sadly, 2011 also with the signing of veteran Jason Kendall.   With Brayan Pena backing up Kendall and newly acquired Manuel Pina working in AA or AAA in 2010, the Royals are hoping they can hold the line behind the plate until Will Meyers hopefully rockets through the system.

Barring health issues, the Royals will break camp with Greinke, Meche, Bannister and Hochevar in the rotation.   They will have Aaron Crow on the horizon and the likes of Mike Montgomery and Daniel Duffy looming as rotation possibilities as early as mid-2011.   Unless they can get a cheap flyer on an Erik Bedard type veteran, Dayton Moore and company would likely be wise to waste resources on this unit.

Any bullpen that has Joakim Soria in it has a chance to be good (even if Kyle Farnsworth is in it, too).   Stung by two bad contracts last off-season to the aforementioned Farnsworth and Juan Cruz (who may yet rebound and make us re-think that signing once more), it seems unlikely that the Royals will go hog wild in the reliever market this off-season.   To this admittedly 'non-baseball man' the Royals seem to have a number of in-house relievers that are ready to be given a shot in the majors.  Really, could Rosa-Hayes-Hughes-Nicoll be any worse than Farnsworth-Cruz-Bale-Mahay were last year?

While many can find plenty of faults in the current array of infielders on the roster, there would also seem to the enough bodies/talent/potential in the mix to let it play itself out over the course of 2010.   The Royals have Billy Butler to man either first base or designated hitter and he would seemed poised to become a truly elite level hitter this season.  Alex Gordon is at the other corner and will be given at least one more season to become who we thought he was.  Plus, he could also slide over to first base with relative ease if the Royals keep and want to play Alberto Callaspo (remember those 60+ extra base hits in 2009) at third.

In addition to those three holdovers, the club also has the hated Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop.   Like it or not, he will play everyday until Mike Aviles can prove that he is both healthy and too productive to keep out of the lineup.    Of course, the Royals also added two new bodies to the mix in the trade for Chris Getz (yes, I think he is the next Brian Roberts) and Josh Fields.   While Fields will also enter the mix in the outfield, he is a third baseman by trade.

That is seven bodies who all, with the possible exception of Betancourt, could theoretically be better than their past records indicate.  Plus, we have not even mentioned the gritty Willie Bloomquist and wily Wilson Betemit.  Truthfully, I would almost like Bloomquist if I saw him in the lineup just a couple times a week at second or short.    The masquerading Willie as a right or center fielder and everyday type player is what rankles this, and many other, observers.

Ah, Bloomquist in center.   That very thought was brought up today in the Kansas City Star as they churned out two whole paragraphs on the Brian Anderson signing.   The speculation was that Anderson, Mitch Maier and Bloomquist would be competing for playing time next year in center.    Couple that with the spectre of Jose Guillen playing in right and tell me you just didn't get a sick feeling in your stomach.

You could probably find complaint in the fact that I see potential in Chris Getz, but not in Mitch Maier and I have no real defense for that.   You could also point out that Maier had a .361 on-base percentage in the second half of 2009, but I would point out that he slugged just .346 over that same period.   That is kind of the rub with Mitch:  if he could display some of the moderate power he did coming up through the system, I'd be willing to give him center for a year and see what happens.   Perhaps playing Maier in center is the prudent course of action:  hope he continues to get on-base, finds some of his past power and becomes a low 100+ OPS guy like DeJesus.

For argument's sake, let's say that happens and the Royals have DeJesus in left hitting .285/.360/.440 and Maier in center doing something along the lines of .280/.365/.410.    Those two guys will not make you a contender in 2010, but they won't be an embarrassment, either.   You know, not like, JOSE GUILLEN IN RIGHT FIELD!

If not Guillen, who are you going to play?  Josh Fields and his 180 innings of outfield experience?   Willie Bloomquist?

I like Jordan Parraz and David Lough, but they are both in need of pretty much a full year of AAA seasoning.   There is occasional talk of playing Alex Gordon in the outfield.   Let's keep in mind that I'm pretty sure Alex has not played in the outfield since some time before he got his driver's license.   Not to mention the fact that hoping for a player to have a breakout year while at the same time moving him to a new position is probably not logical.  

There is the Callaspo factor, too, but I'm wondering just how much more range he has than our pal Jose?  

Bottom line, the Royals need an outfielder.   Two would be better, but I will settle for one and hope either Lough or Parraz develops into a legitimate major league regular by 2011.

The proposed Callaspo for Felix Pie deal was risky, but probably worth a shot.  The Orioles, however, were not biting on that one.    Michael Taylor, formerly of the Phillies, would have been nice, but he has been shipped away to greener pastures.   While I was not the first to think of it, I have become a big fan of trying to pry Chris Dickerson away from the Reds.   

The problem is simply ascertaining the worth of Alberto Callaspo as he seems to be the logical trading chip.  Yes, he was outstanding at the plate in 2009 and, honestly, there is nothing in that swing that would make a person think Alberto might not just hit .300 the rest of his life.   Still, fielding issues aside, the Royals seem to have committed to Getz at second base, with Mike Aviles, Jeff Bianchi and even Johnny Giavotella lined up behind him.   With Gordon at third and now Josh Fields, not to mention Mike Moustakas in the system, the two positions that Callaspo would logical play correspond to the deepest two positions in the organization.    Alberto is the guy the Royals can afford to move and probably gamble a little in doing it.

Would you trade Callaspo for a Trayvon Robinson of the Dodgers for example?   A real prospect who would likely start the year down in AA?   I am not sure the Dodgers are a fit, by the way, I am just using Robinson as an example of a a toolsy outfield prospect a good year away from the majors.   It has become apparent that Callaspo alone will not pry a major league ready outfielder away - the Orioles, after all, have about 18 outfielders and still would not trade the thus far underachieving Pie - but could he have enough value to get a very good propect with some development left to do?

If the Royals could get a potential star down the road, I would probably take the gamble and totally punt 2010.   Not to the point of watching the statue named Guillen play right, but certainly to the point of playing an outfield of DeJesus, Maier and Fields/Anderson (or even Buck Coats).    Especially if I truly believed either Lough or Parraz would force his way onto the Royals' roster come July or so.  

Let's assume that Lough duplicates his AA numbers (.331/.371/.517) in Omaha in 2010, how would you feel about a 2011 opening day outfield of DeJesus, Robinson (again, just as an example) and Lough?    If all it cost me was Alberto Callaspo and 62 wins instead of 68 in 2010, I would do it.

As I’m pecking away at the keyboard this month, polishing off the player profies for the 2010 Royals Authority Annual, all is quiet in the Royal Universe leading up to the holidays. 

Although there is a rumor the Royals are interested in acquiring Brian Anderson.  Anderson is a former number one pick by the Chicago White Sox, who has failed to make any kind of a mark in nearly 900 major league plate appearances.  With a career line of .227/.290/.370, he seems to be filler for the Omaha roster.  With former number one’s Phillip Humber and Bryan Bullington already in the fold, this seems to be an interesting track the Royals have chosen to fill out their minor league system.  I can’t remember a team who has been so intent on collecting so many first rounds busts.

Maybe they’re looking to give Luke Hochevar some company.  Boom!  Thank you!  Try the veal.

Here is my holiday wish list for the Royals:

For Dayton Moore - A clue that can help him solve the riddle that is the construction of the major league roster.  And the return of Bill Bavasi as a general manager for some team.  Just because.

For Trey Hillman - The ability to resist the temptation to bat Yuniesky Betancourt second and the ability to effectively manage a bullpen.  And the ability to understand platoon splits.  And the ability to…  Forget it.  There’s too much here.

For Gil Meche - A bionic arm to withstand the managerial incompetence.

For Brian Bannister - The ability to effectively use advanced statistics to improve his performance.

For Billy Butler - Continued improvement for the best hitter on the team.

For Yuniesky Betancourt - A new home.

For Alberto Callaspo - A really, really large glove.

For Zack Greinke - A competent infield defense behind him and some run support.

For Alex Gordon - The opportunity to fulfill potential.  Barring that, the opportunity for a fresh start.

For Jason Kendall - The ability to fly, since he’ll apparently be doing all kinds of traveling to mentor our young catchers.

For Brayan Pena - A chance.

For Wee Willie Bloomquist - A seat on the bench.  Often.

For Jose Guillen - Someone to take him off the Royals hands while not soaking the Royals for all of his $12 million.  Unfortunately, not even Santa Claus can deliver on this.

For Joakim Soria - More three out saves, instead of the five or six out variety.  Of course, that means the existence of a quality set-up man.

Anyway, things figure to be slow around here over the next week, so I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday and a brilliant new year.  Thanks for making this blog a fun place to hang around and vent (or even sometimes, celebrate) about our Kansas City Royals.  Stay safe and try to resist the urge to bring up the Betancourt trade or the Kendall signing at your holiday gathering.  Stick to something safer, like politics.

While deals still get done over the holidays, it is likely that there will be very few between now and after the first of the year.   Sadly for many of us, there will also be fewer and fewer rumors, too, as reporters and team officials all take time off to celebrate.  Given this quasi-lull in the off-season, let's take stock of where the Royals are right now.

If the season opened today, the likely 25 man roster would look something like this:

Catchers- Jason Kendall, Brayan Pena

Infielders- Billy Butler, Alberto Callaspo, Yuniesky Betancourt, Alex Gordon, Chris Getz, Willie Bloomquist, Mike Aviles

Outfielders- David DeJesus, Mitch Maier, Jose Guillen, Josh Fields

Starting Pitchers- Zack Greinke, Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, Luke Hochevar, Robinson Tejeda

Bullpen- Joakim Soria, Juan Cruz, Kyle Farnsworth, Edgar Osuna, Carlos Rosa, Ramon Colon, Dusty Hughes

You will notice Colon, Hughes and Aviles appear in italics.   In my opinion, those are currently the three 'up for grabs' spots on the 25 man roster.  In the case of Aviles, the question is will he be healthy by opening day and will Royals' management have forgiven him for the transgression of trying to play through an injury to start the 2009 season?

In the case of Colon and Hughes, the question is simply isn't there someone better and will the Royals recognize as much?   If you were asking ME who I would have at the back of my bullpen to start 2010, I would offer Chris Hayes and Chris Nicoll simply because, well, neither one of them is Ramon Colon or Dusty Hughes.   I'm being unfair here to be cute as I am not totally against giving Hughes a decent shot in the spring and early regular season, but does anyone want to see more Colon?

The variable here is Tejeda.   His strong run as a starter at the end of last season virtually assures him a roster spot, but probably has not (or should not) make him a lock for the rotation.   Certainly, a strong spring from Kyle Davies might persuade Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman to saddle up that horse one more time.    While a long shot, I would give Anthony Lerew a look at that number five spot, too. 

Either occurrence would send Tejeda to the bullpen and pretty much leave just one open spot.   That assumes, of course, that Carlos Rosa does not implode during the spring, but let me go on record right now as saying that in the seventh inning of a tight game next April, I'll take Rosa's 97 mph fastball over that of Kyle Farnsworth no matter what happens in the spring.

Moving onto the starting rotation, the biggest variable is the health of both Meche and Bannister.   Assuming both are ready to go in the spring (something I'm sure the Royals will let us know about June 14th) then the question would be the aforementioned battle for the fifth spot.    Essentially, the winner of that battle is simply the guy who gets to hold Aaron Crow's spot until September....at least that is what the Royals hope.

Looking at the position players, there is not a lot of roster spot competition as it stands at this moment.   Who plays where and how much is somewhat up for grabs, but roster spots are not. 

As mentioned above, the health of Aviles is one issue and really the only other spot that could be up for grabs is that of Chris Getz.   While I think the Royals intend to play Getz at second next year, they might consider starting him in Omaha (he has an option) if they cannot move Callaspo.  I'm higher on Getz than a lot of people, but I think the Royals are right there with me.   As such, look for Getz to be on the roster come April.

Other than those two variables, do you see anyone listed that you honestly believe Dayton Moore would cut?   I know, there are guys you WANT to cut...I know.  I feel your pain.   Truthfully, I am on the verge of a cut Jose Guillen, eat the $12 million and play Buck Coats post...really!

So, there is the status of the Royals right now.  If I am Dayton Moore, the 40 man roster is right beside my plate of ham on Christmas Day.   I'm wondering 'is this the team I want to through into the mix in 2010?'   The answer cannot be 'yes'.  

The above roster is certainly within five wins of last year's dismal squad.  Like every roster since 2007, it is banking on Alex Gordon become that coveted 'middle of the order impact bat' and either hoping that Chris Getz actually does become Brian Roberts (anyone tired of me saying that yet?) or that Alberto Callaspo learns how to stop bouncing white spheres AND hit like he did in 2009.  Frankly, it might be hoping for all three things to happen and even then, is it competitive?

We will theorize about potential options (some realistic, some not) as we pass the time until the end of the year, but for now, THIS is your 2010 Kansas City Royals.   How do you feel about that? 

Some trade rumors are just pure speculation, some based on heresay and other a true inkling of actual discussions.   Most of us know that and take said rumors for what they are:  rumors.

My own little slant on the issue, and I'm sure this is not unique, is to take a rumor unrelated to the Royals and try to interject the organization into said rumor.   Today, the rumor of interest to this writer is courtesy of Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports and involves the Mariners' inclination to trade pitcher Brandon Morrow for a corner infielder or designated hitter type.

Morrow, the number five overall pick in the 2006 draft, has spent most of his three seasons as a reliever in the majors, but started 10 games in 2009.   Interestingly, his WHIP was 1.481 as a starter and 1.855 as a reliever.   While Morrow was something of a sign-ability pick, he was certainly a first round talent and at age twenty-five still has some upside either as a number three/four starter or as a setup man with closer potential.

Anyway, it got me to thinking, if the trade value of Alberto Callaspo is so low as to not entice the outfield flush Orioles to trade Felix Pie for him, what about Brandon Morrow?   The Brewers balked at a Mat Gamel/Morrow exchange at the winter meetings, so the Mariners might well be discovering that Morrow's trade value is not quite what they thought it would be, either.

Would Callaspo fit in Seattle?  

He might if the Mariners were willing to believe Alberto could be a competent fielder at third base.   If Seattle was willing to swallow his below average defense at second (which would generally go against their defensive minded acquisitions over the past year or so), that would allow them to slide Jose Lopez to first if they wanted.   While pure speculation, it would seem one could make a case that Seattle might be a fit for Callaspo.

So, the question becomes, would you trade Alberto Callaspo for Brandon Morrow?     

I think we are all done talking about Jason Kendall for a while....hopefully.   There was so much reaction to this signing that the discussion actually deteriorated to the point that an argument was made that sophisticated fans would not react, or overreact, to any signing.

That is pretty much the same point of view that plagues the political environment of the country today:   my side is smart, yours is dumb.    It is sophisticated and knowledgeable to use this particular sound byte, but simply ignorant and uniformed (or un American even) to disagree with it.   Of course, this is a world where a 'distinguished panel of climate change experts' includes Darryl Hannah.   I don't know, maybe the research she did to play a mermaid in Splash gave her some unique insight into temperature change.

Anyway, let's talk about some things that really matter........like Philip Humber.

Dayton Moore added to his collection of former number one picks this week by signing the former number three overall pick out of Rice University in the 2004 draft to a minor league deal.  Without question it is a good move in that it costs nothing (in baseball terms) and at one point a couple of organizations liked his potential.   Besides being a top pick of the Mets in 2004, he was included in the deal that sent Johan Santana to the Mets.

Now, the downside of Humber is that he will turn 27 next week and has logged 29.2 innings of major league work spread over four seasons.   Having started 70 games in AAA over the last three seasons, Humber has seen his strikeout rate decline and walk rate increase in each of those three years.   Not surpisingly, Philip has essentially allowed one more hit per nine innings with each successive season.

For those of you who just got a Tyler Lumsden flashback, I cannot say that I blame you.  However, the odd thing about Humber's development is that he spent just two seasons and 28 starts below AAA.   A single rookie league game and just seven AA starts are were sandwiched around two half seasons in Advanced A ball and then BOOM, welcome to AAA.

Obviously, having come out of a major college program and already 22 years old when he signed, Humber was fasttracked and it did not work.   The question is will the Royals be able to find something to add to Humber's repertoire that allows him to succeed?   Or may it be a case of letting him work out of the pen?   It is, after all, a lot easier to move someone else's first round pick to the bullpen than it is one of your own.

Like me, those of you looking for the 'big splash' of the off-season, were kind of ho-hummed by the Humber signing, but this is a guy worth watching in spring training and, frankly, who would you rather have as a backup in AAA:   Bruce Chen and Brandon Duckworth or Philip Humber and Bryan Bullington?

Moving on.......

Who else got a vision of 'Podsednik' on the back of a Royals' jersey after the White Sox traded for Juan Pierre yesterday?    I can deal, in some respects, with the Jason Kendall signing because a small part of me can see the intangibles that Jason might bring to the table.    However, the spectre of a Kendall AND Podsednik off-season might just cause serious mental damage (more than already incurred).

Dayton Moore, like his predecessor  Allard Baird, seems to fall prey to tunnel vision at times.   He decided the Royals needed a different catcher and he got one.   He knows, as our review of the Royals versus the AL Central a while back also revealed, that Kansas City must upgrade in centerfield.  I am afraid that means that Moore will be compelled to make a change...any change, just to 'upgrade' that position.

Right now, unless you can swing a deal for a Chris Dickerson type prospect - I'm not sure Brett Gardner is that type of guy, by the way - I would rather take my chances with a Buck Coats/Mitch Maier/David Lough experiment to start the season.   The Royals have all but said that 2010 will be another building year, so don't waste time with stop-gaps or use one of the few trading chips they possess to reach for a player that might not be able to man the position for the long-term.

One last thought on the Pierre deal.   Did you notice that the Dodgers are picking up roughly three-quarters of Pierre's salary?  Given that Juan can actually field, actually still hit and even run, does that give you an indication of how much of Jose Guillen's paycheck the Royals will have to kick in if they try to move him?  Yep, you got it:  one hundred percent of it.

Lost in the shuffle of Saturday’s Jason Kendall Jamboree was the news the Royals agreed to contracts for the 2010 season with three of their arbitration eligible pitchers.  Brian Bannister will earn $2.3 million while Kyle Davies is the luckiest man on the planet, earning $1.8 million.  In related news, I’m considering suing my old 3&2 coach who routinely exceeded a rational pitch count when I was on the mound for Jackson County Bank. 

The contracts mean the Royals have only two outstanding arbitration cases in Robinson Tejeda and Alex Gordon. I’ll be interested to see how much Gordon will earn.  I’m assuming somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million.  Actually, I would think that’s his ceiling.  I can’t imagine him making more than that.

Here are the salaries we currently know about for next season:

The Royals will also pay $1 million to the White Sox as part of the Mark Teahen deal.  They also owe $1.1 million to Coco Crisp, Yasuhiko Yabuta and Miguel Olivo.  They’ll receive $1 million from Seattle in the Betancourt trade, so overall there’s an additional outlay of $1.1 million.  That is a total of $60.735 million that is now guaranteed.

Earlier, I mentioned Gordon and Tejeda.  Let’s give those two a combined $3.5 million.

Alberto Callaspo, Billy Butler, Brayan Pena, Josh Fields and Chris Getz are all under club control and will make roughly $500,000 each. 

That’s a total of 21 players for a total of $66.835 million.  I figure the Royals will carry an additional two pitchers and they are still looking for that “speedy” center fielder and another bat to fill out the bench.  If the payroll is supposed to remain close to last year’s Opening Day number of $70.5 million, that doesn’t leave Dayton Moore with much wriggle room.

Given Moore's penchant for foolish spending, I view this development as a positive.

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For those of you who haven't had enough Kendall analysis, I'll point you to Tangled Up In (Royal) Blue who isn't impressed and Kings of Kauffman who points out there were better options.

And if you're looking for a dissenting viewpoint, there's 124 Monkeys and his contention that Dayton Moore is having a great winter.  Obviously, I disagree but it's always interesting to hear all the arguments that can be made.