Herrera trade beginning of the end for current Royals
If anybody is still watching the Royals at this point in the season, I think you need to find a new hobby, preferably one that doesn't involve so much self-loathing. This season has been a tough one to be a fan of, and is definitely the worst since this recent iteration of the Royals with Hosmer, Moustakas, and Salvy has been in place. Currently, the Royals record is 22-50 and are on pace to lose over 100 games, something they haven't done since 2006, a team that was led by the likes of Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, and Angel Berroa, among many other nostalgia inducing names.*
While us fans are no stranger to having a bad team, the recent successes that the Royals have had is going to force a difficult transition back to what used to be the normal struggles, and make no mistake, that is what's happening. The recent trade of Kelvin Herrera for 3 National's prospects wasn't the first move, but it definitely won't be the last. The first move was losing Eric Hosmer to the Padre's in free agency. The Royals weren't going to be a good team with him, but without him there was zero chance of being competitive, and the decision of the future was essentially made for the organization. Hosmer was supposed to be the cornerstone upon which the franchise was built. Which he was for awhile. But he left for another year of guaranteed money and better weather in San Diego, and no matter how much we would like it to be the case, Moustakas and Salvy aren't the type of players to carry a franchise.
This puts the Royals in a tough situation. Fan interest is already dwindling and the only thing that keeps people interested in this current losing team is their favorite players, but those favorite players would be the most valuable trade pieces. The front office doesn't want to make the team a complete dud, but they also have to think about what is best for the team going forward. What's best for the team going forward, though, is to rebuild for the future, similar to what they did when Dayton Moore first took over. The Herrera deal is the first step, but the next move, or at least the big one, needs to be trading Mike Moustakas. I've been on this train for awhile now, since Hosmer signed with the Padres, and Moustakas' continued success this year makes him more valuable now than he was last year at this time or over the summer. I know we all love him, but the fact of the matter is that Moose isn't going to re-sign in KC next year. If he had any desire to be a long term piece for the Royals, he wouldn't have only signed for 1 year this offseason, and he did so only after not receiving the type of money he thought he was worth on the open market. He came back to the Royals, who gave him the most money, for 1 year, in order to prove that his 2017 numbers weren't a flash in the pan. He's proven that, and his continued success is going to make him highly coveted at the trade deadline by teams that want a little extra power in their lineup as they chase a title. Boston and New York are obvious landing spots, and while I hate to think about Moose in a Yankees uniform, I think he'd be incredibly successful there, considering the short porch in right field. Milwaukee would also make sense, they have a hole at 3rd base and are currently even with the Cubs in the NL Central and the Royals have shown they have a good relationship in dealing with the Brewers in the past.
Dayton Moore is on the record saying that he's not going to deal Moose just to deal him, which is fine, so long as he's saying it to keep the value there and not because he actually wants to keep him, and I think that's the case. Other possible deals would be to get rid of Danny Duffy, who I would love to get rid of, but his performance this year isn't going to have many teams excited. Alcides Escobar is on a one year deal, but I'm not sure the market on a defensive shortstop who can't hit the ball. If we could trick someone into taking Alex Gordon's contract off our hands, that'd be nice too. Those final three don't seem very likely to happen, not near as much as a deal for Moustakas. I just hope, for the sake of the future of the Royals, that they do make a move to get rid of Moose, and start the process that led to the 2015 season over again.
-Jarred Stindt
*-John Buck, Joey Gathright, Runelvys Hernandez, Jeremy Affeldt, Ambiorix Burgos, Joel Peralta, and Jimmy Gobble, to name a few.