Dayton Moore

West Notes: Buehler, Rockies, Blackburn

By Nick Deeds | May 26, 2023 at 10:51am CDT

Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery last August, and recently told reporters that the date he’s targeting for a return to action this season is September 1. While not unheard of, a 12-month recovery timeline from Tommy John surgery is a rare feat for pitchers, particularly those rehabbing from the procedure for a second time, as Buehler is.

Despite the seemingly long odds, Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted yesterday that the possibility remains on the table, with one notable caveat: Buehler’s return to the Dodgers could come out of the bullpen rather than as a member of the starting rotation. If Buehler indeed makes his return later this season as a reliever, it would be a notable change of pace for the 28-year-old righty. 106 of Buehler’s 115 appearances in the majors have come as a starter, and he has come out of the bullpen just once since the start of the 2018 campaign.

In those 10 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen so far in his career, Buehler has struggled to a 11.32 ERA. Of course, such a small sample that’s over half a decade old at this point matters far less than Buehler’s more recent work, which has been nothing short of dominant. Since the start of the 2018 campaign, Buehler has posted a phenomenal 2.95 ERA that’s 40% better than league average by measure of ERA+ with an equally strong 3.22 FIP in 629 innings of work at the front of the Dodgers’ rotation. The highlight of his career to this point came in 2021, when he made an MLB-leading 33 starts while posting a phenomenal 2.47 ERA (171 ERA+) with a 3.16 FIP that earned him a top-4 finish in Cy Young Award voting.

Whether as a starter or a reliever, a pitcher of Buehler’s caliber would surely be an asset to the Dodgers both down the stretch and as they gear up for a hypothetical playoff run. While the Dodgers have a plethora of viable rotation options, Dustin May, Julio Urias, Michael Grove, and Ryan Pepiot are all currently on the injured list alongside Buehler, and both Noah Syndergaard and Tony Gonsolin have spent time on the shelf previously this season as well. Given the number of options that could be at the club’s disposal, and the number of injuries they’ve suffered already this season, it’s near impossible to predict what LA’s rotation could look like come September, whether Buehler is ready for a return or not.

More from around the West divisions…

In the same article, Heyman also notes that the Rockies have interest in former Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore for a high-ranking front office role, though the club appears to be content with Bill Schmidt as GM. Heyman notes that Moore expressed he hadn’t heard about Colorado’s interest in his services. Nonetheless, it’s notable that the Rockies, a club that has typically been known for hiring within the organization for their front office, would seek the services of an external candidate. Moore was fired by the Royals last season after sixteen years at the helm of the organization, during which he oversaw the club’s 2015 World Series championship. Moore was hired by the Rangers as a senior advisor to the baseball operations department in November.
Athletics right-hander Paul Blackburn is poised to make his first start of the 2023 campaign sometime next week, as noted by Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. Blackburn started the season on the injured list with a torn fingernail and had the start of his season delayed further by a blister on his pitching hand, but now appears to be close to a return. The 29-year-old Blackburn got his first extended look in the rotation last season, when he posted a solid 3.62 ERA in the first half en route to becoming a 2022 All-Star. Unfortunately, Blackburn would pitch just 14 1/3 innings in the second half, allowing 14 runs in three starts before heading to the IL with finger inflammation. Upon his return to the A’s rotation, Blackburn figures to help steady a group that has featured little certainty beyond JP Sears.

Rangers Name Mike Maddux Pitching Coach, Hire Dayton Moore As Senior Advisor To Baseball Operations

By Steve Adams | November 23, 2022 at 11:12am CDT

The Rangers on Wednesday announced that they’ve brought veteran coach Mike Maddux back for a second stint as the team’s pitching coach. The team also announced that longtime Royals general manager Dayton Moore has joined the organization as a senior advisor to the baseball operations department.

Maddux, 61, is among the game’s most experienced and respected pitching coaches. A veteran of 15 Major League seasons himself — and the older brother of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, of course — the elder Maddux brother retired in 2000 and has served as a Major League pitching coach every year since 2003. Maddux enjoyed a six-year stint with the Brewers before spending seven years as the Rangers’ pitching coach, two as the Nationals’ pitching coach and most recently, five seasons as the Cardinals’ pitching coach.

Maddux’s return is the latest step in an organizational shakeup that saw manager Chris Woodward and longtime president of baseball operations Jon Daniels ousted over the summer. Veteran manager Bruce Bochy was recently named the new skipper in Arlington, with former big league outfielder Will Venable — who’s been fast rising through the MLB coaching ranks — brought aboard as the organization’s “associate manager.” The Rangers announced back in early October that co-pitching coaches Doug Mathis and Brendan Sagara would not return next season, and in recent days, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News had reported that Maddux was emerging as a prime candidate to reprise the role he held in Texas from 2009-15.

Turning to Moore, his appointment as a senior advisor to general manager Chris Young will give Young some valuable experience from which to draw. Young only retired as a pitcher himself following the 2017 season, and after a quick stop working in the league’s central offices, he was tabbed as the Rangers’ GM, working underneath Daniels.

That arrangement lasted fewer than three seasons, and Young is now in the midst of his first offseason as the primary baseball operations decision-maker with any organization. He’ll still have autonomy when it comes to roster decisions, of course, but Moore can speak from a place of experience while providing guidance. The pair are already familiar with one another, as Young spent the final three seasons of his 13-year Major League career pitching for Moore’s Royals.

In a situation not entirely dissimilar to the Rangers’ front office shakeup, Moore found himself relieved from his duties as Kansas City’s president of baseball operations just a few months ago. Daniels had been running baseball operations for Texas since 2005, while Moore was tabbed as Kansas City’s GM a year later, in 2006. Both were replaced by in-house general managers who were ascending to that post for the first time: Young in Texas, and longtime Moore lieutenant J.J. Picollo in Kansas City. Daniels has since been named a senior advisor to the Rays’ baseball operations department.

It’s feasible that Moore will again pursue a position of greater prominence in a different organization’s front office, but for the time being, he’ll bring more than 30 years of scouting acumen and nearly 20 years of experience running his own baseball operations outfit to the Rangers as they gear up for what’s expected to be a second consecutive aggressive offseason. Texas cannonballed into the deep end of the free-agent pool last offseason, signing Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray for a combined $556MM. Now, after vastly overhauling their front office and dugout leadership, they’re expected to aggressively pursue top-of-the-market starting pitching and have already been connected to the likes of Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodon and Kodai Senga.

Rangers In Contact With Former Royals GM Dayton Moore

By Simon Hampton | November 4, 2022 at 6:54pm CDT

Rangers general manager Chris Young has acknowledged he’s been in contact with former Royals general manager Dayton Moore and “would welcome” the opportunity to work with him, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic adds that industry sources have continued to link Moore with the Rangers. Young pitched for the Royals between 2015-17 and won the World Series while Moore was GM there.

Moore began his front office career as a scout for the Braves, and worked his way up within that organization before the Royals hired him to be their GM in 2006. He held that position until 2021, rebuilding a roster that lost 100 games in his first season and went to the World Series in 2014 and 2015, when they won their second championship. He survived a change of ownership in 2019, and the Royals promoted him to president of baseball operations in earlier this year, but he was fired in September. After a number of years of rebuilding after their championship season, the Royals had looked to have taken a step forward in 2021 winning 74 games, but they fell back again in 2022 and wound up with just 65 wins.

It’s unclear what role the Rangers would have for Moore. Young stated they did not plan to hire a general manager below him, and Grant speculates that a senior advisor position seems most likely. If he does join, Moore would join a Rangers team trying to break out of a lengthy rebuild, having gone 68-94 in 2022 for their sixth-straight losing season.

Royals Fire President Of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore

By Darragh McDonald | September 21, 2022 at 11:59pm CDT

The Royals have fired president of baseball operations Dayton Moore, according to a report from Andy McCullough and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman then confirmed the move in a press conference and announced that general manager J.J. Picollo is now in charge of baseball operations, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star.

“Dayton’s 16 years of leadership here will always mark the transformation into a World Series championship club,” Sherman says in a press release announcing the move. “Our fans, our region, and our community will never forget the excitement we shared in back-to-back pennants and the World Series Championship in 2015. He always put the Kansas City Royals first, and we’re stronger today because of it.”

Moving onto Picollo, Sherman says: “J.J.’s experience in baseball has prepared him for the challenges ahead. He has played a key role in evaluating and developing many of our franchise’s most talented players, including the core that won the 2015 World Series and the young core on the major league team today. He will brings a new lens and approach to leading our baseball operations. I look forward to working with J.J. as we continue to build and develop our team to compete at a high level.”

Moore, 55, was hired by the Braves as a scout in 1994, eventually working his way up to assistant general manager. The Royals hired him to be their general manager in 2006. As mentioned, Moore eventually led the Royals to a title in 2015, but it wasn’t a smooth ride. The Royals were one of the worst teams in baseball for an extended stretch that started before Moore joined the club, posting a losing record in nine straight seasons from 2004 to 2012.

However, the upside of all that losing was that the club was able to stockpile young talent through drafting and trading, eventually slingshotting itself to success. They used the second overall pick of the 2005 draft to grab Alex Gordon, the second overall pick of the 2007 draft to grab Mike Moustakas and the third overall pick in the 2008 draft on Eric Hosmer. Moore traded Zack Greinke in 2010, then one of the best pitchers in baseball, for a four-player return that included Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar. That trade also netted Jake Odorizzi, who was later part of a trade that netted the Royals James Shields and Wade Davis from the Rays. Those players, along with international signees like Salvador Perez and Yordano Ventura, formed a core that allowed the club to return to contention. The Royals got above the .500 mark in 2013, then won the AL Pennant in 2014 and won the World Series in 2015.

It’s been a rough tumble from those heights, though, with the club posting an even 81-81 record in 2016 and falling below it in each season since. The franchise was hoping to use the same playbook of building a strong stable of young players around which to build a winning ballclub, but it’s yet to be as successful this time around. Some of the club’s most recent first round draft picks have reached the majors, including Brady Singer, Bobby Witt Jr., Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch. The team was hoping that 2022 would be a season where they returned to contention but they are currently sporting a record of 59-89, better than just five other clubs around the league and guaranteed a sixth-straight losing campaign.

Moore can’t entirely be blamed for the team’s recent failures, of course, just as he can’t claim all of the credit for its previous successes. The Royals, like all MLB teams, employ dozens of analysts, scouts and other executives to make their baseball decisions. But the organization has decided that it was time for change and set their sights on the person at the top of the pyramid.

The new face of the front office will now be Picollo, who isn’t a new name for fans of the club. The 51-year-old was also a Braves scout but was brought along by Moore to be the Royals’ director of player development. He will now step into the spotlight and try to steer the franchise forward. Despite the club’s recent struggles, there are reasons to think he might be well-positioned to correct course in short order. The poor results in recent seasons have led to a pile of young talent on the team, though the Royals will have to find better ways of maximizing their skills. Financially, the club has limited commitments, with Salvador Perez and Hunter Dozier the only two players on the books beyond 2023. Of course, the Royals have never been a high-spending club, meaning that they will likely want to see improvements from their player development operations before they decide to start writing big checks. The franchise is clearly looking for change, but Picollo might start by looking inside the house before he looks outside.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Quick Hits: Alfonzo, Correa, Clark

By James Hicks | January 20, 2022 at 2:59pm CDT

Longtime Queens fan-favorite Edgardo Alfonzo has been hired to manage the Staten Island Ferry Hawks of the independent Atlantic League, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The move to Staten Island actually checks a third of New York City’s five boroughs off of Alfonzo’s professional checklist; in addition to his eight seasons playing for the Mets, Alfonso joined the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones in 2014 as Tom Gamboa’s bench coach, eventually managing the Mets affiliate for three seasons following Gamboa’s retirement. He also played briefly for three other New York-area teams: the Long Island Ducks, the Bridgeport Bluefish, the Newark Bears, all also of the Atlantic League.

After eight productive seasons in Queens shuffling between second and third base (and occasionally shortstop), Alfonzo signed a three-year, $18MM deal with the Giants ahead of the 2003 season. He split 2006, his final big-league season, between the Angels and the Blue Jays, logging only 95 plate appearances between the two. For his career, the infielder posted a .283/.357/.425 batting line across twelve major league seasons.

Other news from around the game:

Slugging shortstop Carlos Correa, MLBTR’s number one free agent, recently hired Scott Boras to represent him as he looks to secure a $300MM+ payday after a new CBA is reached, and Boras doesn’t seem to have ruled out the Astros as the team that could pony up. Though reports are that the Astros’ best offer came in at five years and $160MM and that owner Jim Crane has insisted he won’t go beyond six years with the star free agent, Boras tossed out a few comments clearly pointed at the Houston brass, telling reporters that the Astros have “been at the championship level for three or four years and…can continue for six or seven if they are able to retain those true core pieces of All-Star level talent” (quotes from Mark Berman of Houston’s Fox 26). Correa is reported to have turned down a ten-year, $275MM offer from the Tigers before the lockout. Should Correa be forced to settle for a shorter-term deal, it’s likely he’ll insist on an opt-out clause that would allow him to return to the market as soon as next offseason.
The Royals have hired former Braves chief of scouting Roy Clark as a senior advisor for baseball operations, the club announced Wednesday. Clark had already been scouting for the Royals in an informal, part-time capacity, but the new role puts him back into the office with Royals president of baseball operations and longtime friend Dayton Moore. Moore actually owes his career in professional baseball to Clark, who recommended him for a scouting job in John Schuerholz’s front office in 1994, when Moore was a coach at George Mason University. Moore was hired as the Royals’ GM in 2006, and Clark left the Braves to join the Nationals in 2009. While with the Braves, Clark had a hand in scouting and signing an impressive roster of future big-leaguers, including Adam Wainwright, Jason Marquis, Brian McCann, Charlie Morton, Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, and Freddie Freeman.

AL Central Notes: Ramirez, Royals, White Sox, Lewis

By Mark Polishuk | November 3, 2021 at 8:08pm CDT

“There has been no movement to date” on a contract extension between Jose Ramirez and the Guardians, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Ramirez is controlled via club option for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and the Guardians are sure to be exercising the 2022 option (worth $11MM) on the star third baseman in a matter of days. While extension talks usually take place later in the offseason, Ramirez’s long-term future has been a topic of conversation, considering how Cleveland’s penchant for trading star players before they become too expensive for the team’s limited payroll.

Previous negotiations between the player and the team didn’t go anywhere last spring, though Ramirez has said on multiple occasions that he would like to remain in Cleveland. Since the Guardians technically don’t have any salary committed for the 2022 season and beyond, there would appear to be payroll space to afford a Ramirez extension, even if a salary that would likely fall in the $25-$30MM average annual value range would take up a big chunk of the budget. As to whether or not Ramirez could be a trade candidate this winter, the Guardians have tended to deal players when they’ve been a bit closer to free agency than two years, plus Cleveland does plan to contend next year.

Royals To Promote Dayton Moore, JJ Piccolo

By Steve Adams | September 14, 2021 at 10:35am CDT

The Royals called a press conference for 2pm CT this afternoon, and while they did not disclose the reason for the presser in that announcement, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that the organization will announce a pair of key front-office promotions: Dayton Moore will be bumped from general manager to president of baseball operations, while assistant general manager JJ Piccolo will be promoted to the title of general manager.

Moore becomes the third general manager in as many weeks to be promoted to the title of president of baseball operations, following Tampa Bay’s Erik Neander and Seattle’s Jerry Dipoto in that regard. As with prior front-office promotions of this nature, the timing likely isn’t a coincidence. The Mets will be looking for new front-office leadership this offseason, and it’s possible at the end of any season that additional front-office openings will arise. Teams generally only allow their baseball ops executives to interview with other clubs if the new opportunity represents a promotion, so it’s relatively common this time of year to see some clubs promote baseball ops personnel they have a strong interest in retaining.

Moore, 54, was retained as general manager after former owner David Glass sold the franchise to current owner John Sherman last year, and reports at the time of the sale indicated the expectation was that new ownership had no plans to make sweeping changes. Today’s forthcoming press conference further cements that, as a promotion to president of baseball operations figures to be accompanied by a contract extension.

Initially named the Royals’ general manager back in 2006, Moore has the fourth-longest tenure of any baseball operations leader in MLB, trailing only Oakland’s Billy Beane (1997), the Yankees’ Brian Cashman (1998) and the Rangers’ Jon Daniels (2005). He’s overseen the franchise through multiple cycles of rebuilding and contending, highlighted by consecutive World Series appearances in 2014-15 — including a World Series championship with that 2015 squad.

Moore never fully tore down the team after that World Series core departed, even as the club took a step back. He resisted temptation to trade away the likes of Whit Merrifield, Salvador Perez and (until this summer when he was a free-agent-to-be in a non-contending season) Danny Duffy. Throughout the current rebuilding effort, the Royals have sought to build through the draft and international free agency while still fielding some key stars with whom the fans connect. It’s not the typical rebuild blueprint, but it’s hard to suggest that the Royals aren’t well-positioned moving forward.

Despite this year’s 65-78 record, Kansas City appears on the cusp of taking a pronounced step forward. Bobby Witt Jr., the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, has emerged as one of the game’s elite prospects. Meanwhile, 2017 first-rounder Nick Pratto has exploded with a breakout showing in Double-A and Triple-A this season, landing himself in the middle of Baseball America’s latest top 100 ranking. Both figure to make their debuts early in 2022, and they’ll be joined by a growing crop of young arms that has not necessarily broken out in unison but carries a good amount of promise.

Each of Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch have at times ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects according to multiple publications, and each has had at least a cup of coffee in the Majors. Right-hander Carlos Hernandez wasn’t as highly touted but certainly has the look of a potential big league starter based on his strong rookie showing in 2021. Asa Lacy, the No. 4 overall pick in 2020, has had a rough debut in Double-A but might have the highest ceiling of the entire bunch. In the bullpen, right-handers Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont have been excellent, while lefty Richard Lovelady looks impressive in his own right (albeit in a bit smaller sample of 20 2/3 innings).

Piccolo and Moore have been working together since their days with the Braves in the early 2000s. Piccolo broke in as a scout with the Braves before moving up to director of minor league operations. With the Royals, he served as the team’s director of player development before being promoted to assistant general manager and vice president, a role in which he oversaw both the player development and player personnel departments.

For the past several offseasons, Piccolo has been an oft-cited candidate for positions with other organizations. He’s reportedly been of interest to the Phillies, Marlins and D-backs, among others, but ultimately stayed in Kansas City and now will get a significant bump in title.

From a big-picture standpoint, today’s pair of promotions doesn’t necessarily shake things up in dramatic fashion. Moore will still have the final say on baseball operations decisions, but the elevated titles (in addition to presumably coming with some notable pay increases) will keep both Moore and Piccolo in high-ranking positions as they see the latest rebuild through. They’ll continue to work with assistant general managers Scott Sharp and Rene Francisco — the former an oft-cited GM candidate with other clubs himself — as they look to transition the Royals to yet another run of prominence in an AL Central that looks weak behind the inevitable division-winning White Sox.

Royals Notes: Moore, Duffy, Merrifield, Barlow

By Mark Polishuk | July 30, 2021 at 11:50am CDT

The Royals parted ways with Danny Duffy yesterday, trading the veteran left-hander to the Dodgers for a player to be named later. Given Duffy’s long history with the Royals, it was a tough call for GM Dayton Moore, who told reporters (including Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star) that Duffy was “a family member” for the organization.

It remains to be seen if more difficult decisions are in store for Moore and company, as the Royals have a number of interesting trade chips. However, Moore indicated that the club would be more apt to move rental players, as opposed to players who are controlled beyond the 2022 season. By name, Moore said that the team didn’t want to move any of Whit Merrifield, Carlos Santana, or Mike Minor, though said the Royals would remain “open” to ideas.

The Royals signed both Santana and Minor as part of a rather busy offseason, indicating that the team felt it was to some extent on the other end of its semi-rebuild phase. After a hot start, Kansas City has since faded to a 45-56 record, though it makes sense that the Royals wouldn’t want to deal all their veterans and entirely start from scratch heading into 2022.

Merrifield’s name has been floated in trade rumors, as the Royals have reportedly been at least a little more willing than in the past to hearing what other clubs had to offer for the multi-position speedster. However, the Royals were known to be putting a hefty price tag on Merrifield, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that Merrifield “is likely” to remain in K.C. beyond today’s deadline.

Given Moore’s hesitations about moving veterans controlled for just one more season, it seems even more far-fetched that Kansas City would trade a player like Scott Barlow, though The Athletic’s Jayson Stark hears that multiple clubs have some interest in the right-hander. Barlow has a 2.70 ERA/3.36 SIERA and a 31% strikeout rate over 50 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen this season, and has been generally solid since making his MLB debut in 2018. Barlow is controllable through the 2024 season, so the Royals could demand for quite a bit in a reliever-hungry trade market, assuming they’re inclined to deal Barlow at all.

Quick Hits: Expansion, Braves, Left Field, Royals, Moore

By TC Zencka | January 11, 2021 at 12:53pm CDT

In the past, expansion has helped Major League Baseball dig out from financial peril and inject new money into the industry, but despite the significant financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, expansion is not on the table, writes the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. News spread of the commissioner’s pessimistic view on expansion when the Phillies signed Dave Dombrowski to run their baseball ops department. Dombrowski had been working with the Nashville group for potential expansion before commissioner Rob Manfred informed them of a new timeline. Expansion can solve short-term financial problems because of the significant franchise fees paid by incoming franchises. In this case, those fees could be $1 billion or more. For the owners, however, the short-term influx of money comes with the long-term losses that come with spreading the overall revenue pie to another two teams. Commissioner Manfred also wants to see stadium issues resolved in Oakland and Tampa Bay before beginning the expansion process.

The Braves are looking for a left fielder, per MLB Insider Jon Morosi (via Twitter). Presumably, Atlanta would target a short-term investment rather than making a splashier move like, say, bringing back Marcell Ozuna. Ronald Acuna Jr., Ender Inciarte, and Cristian Pache make for an elite defensive alignment, and prospect Drew Waters is on his way. Nick Markakis could certainly find his way back if he wants to keep playing. If their aim is to to find a right-handed bat to spell Inciarte against southpaws, Adam Duvall could return, or Kevin Pillar, Albert Almora Jr. and Cameron Maybin are free agents with experience playing for a contender. If the Braves are looking for a more regular producer in order to give Pache and/or Waters more development time, Joc Pederson could fill the power void left by Ozuna’s departure. Speculatively speaking, Ryan Braun would make for an interesting fit if he decides to play outside Milwaukee. Not to be forgotten, Austin Riley has played some outfield during his short Major League career, but Atlanta expects Riley to lay claim to the hot corner in 2021. That would change if they were to add DJ LeMahieu, but despite their reported interest, such a union seems like a long shot.
Royals Senior VP of Baseball Ops and General Manager Dayton Moore will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall Of Fame later in January, per Alex Lewis of the Athletic (via Twitter). Moore is entering his 15th season in 2021 as the GM of the Royals. He was named Executive of the Year by MLB in both 2014 and 2015 for his role as the architect of back-to-back pennant-winning clubs in Kansas City. Those playoff teams are the only Royals teams to make the playoffs since they won the World Series in 1985. He was inducted into the Kansas Hall of Fame in 2014.

Dayton Moore Expects Royals To Be Competitive In 2021

By TC Zencka | November 11, 2020 at 6:50pm CDT

The Kansas City Royals last made the playoffs in 2015. That was a good year. Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Salvador Perez, and a transcendent bullpen won the AL pennant for the second consecutive season, and they finished it off with World Series victory.

That team is the most recent Royals squad to post a winning record. They went 81-81 in 2016, 80-82 in 2017, and then the bottom fell out. They lost 100+ games in each of the next two seasons before posting a 26-34 record in this year’s shortened season. That’s a 70-win pace for a full season, definitely an improvement over back-to-back season in which they failed to crack 60 wins.

Manager Mike Matheny will need to coax a more substantial improvement from his squad if they want to compete in 2021. That’s indeed the plan, however. General Manager Dayton Moore spoke with reporters during a Zoom call today, and he made no bones about his expectations for the Royals in 2021. Moore said, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star:

“We expect to win next year. What does that look like? Is it going to be enough wins to make the playoffs? We’ll find out. Our mindset is going to be to win every single pitch, every inning, win every game. That’s the only way that we’re ever going to win another championship, you’ve got to expect to win at all aspects.”

Don’t expect the Royals to be major players in free agency, however. The small market club figures to be judicious in adding from the open market. The primary pieces of the next Royals contender are going to be developed in-house, as has been the Royals preference. They’ve long believed in their current crop of players, even as the team as a whole has struggled. Interestingly, Moore did say that he doesn’t see finances getting in the way of improving the team, should the right opportunity come along.

The Royals plan to pursue their own free agents before expanding to the open market, which would be very “Royals” of them, though returning any of Greg Holland, Ian Kennedy, Mike Montgomery, or even Trevor Rosenthal could help boost a bullpen that needs some work. The Royals have incrementally added young arms like Brad Keller, Kris Bubic, and Brady Singer to veteran Danny Duffy in the rotation. The bullpen remains a work in progress. They did, however, put forth a 3.84 ERA in 2020, a mark that ranked 8th in the majors. Losing Holland would create an opening, with first looks presumably going to Josh Staumont, Kyle Zimmer, Jesse Hahn, and Scott Barlow. That quartet present some intriguing options with which to move forward into 2021.

Otherwise, the Royals will continue to try to develop and build from within. Bobby Witt Jr., Khalil Lee, and Kyle Isbel received high praise from Moore as prospects that could turn into significant pieces. Witt was the #2 overall pick of the 2019 draft, and he has yet to play a full season in the minors.

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