I\u2019m glad that I\u2019m not in charge of a professional sports team. It\u2019s a lot of work, the pressure is intense, and at any given time a lot of people hate your guts. It is also significantly more complicated and nuanced than fans think it is\u2013in a real-time, zero-sum world, you aren\u2019t even guaranteed to carry out your plan even if you have one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That\u2019s why I\u2019ve really appreciated the years that SB Nation\u2019s baseball minds took a weekend at the end of the season to simulate the offseason. Somebody would be in charge of each MLB club and we\u2019d trade and barter and bid on free agents. It was a fascinating experience where decisions rippled throughout the participants just like they would in real life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For many of those years, I ran the Kansas City Royals. While the days of the simulation are over, I still have the ability to post things here at Royals Review dot com, so I thought I\u2019d regale you all with what my big goals would be for the sim if we still had it. Let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Spend a lot of money for a bat<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nLook: the Royals didn\u2019t do a lot of scoring last year and employed a lot of bad players. Young guns like Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone have promise, but we see in the World Series every year that you can\u2019t just have ok players: you\u2019ve got to have dudes you can rely on, not just guys you can hope on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nBobby Witt Jr. will be a Royal for more years, but every year the Royals miss the playoffs is a year where the Royals don\u2019t capitalize on having probably the single best asset in the game on their team. The Royals need to spend accordingly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nI think the Royals should pursue one of four main targets (with one bonus target!), and a rough range based on The Athletic<\/a> and Fangraphs<\/a> free agent predictions:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n- Bo Bichette, 2B: 7-9 years, $26 – $29 million AAV)<\/span><\/li>\n
- Cody Bellinger, LF: 5-7 years, $26 – $28 million AAV<\/span><\/li>\n
- Alex Bregman, 3B: 4-6 years, $28 – $35 million AAV<\/span><\/li>\n
- Gleyber Torres, 2B: 3-4 years, $16 – $18 million AAV<\/span><\/li>\n
- Munetaka Murakami, 3B: 6-8 years, $20 – $22 million AAV)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
I included the average annual value for a reason: nearly a decade ago, Kansas City signed Alex Gordon in free agency to a four-year deal at an $18 million AAV. With MLB revenues having grown since then, and with the Royals ostensibly moving into a new stadium at some point during this free agent contract, the money should be there for one big move. A few of these\u2014Torres, Murakami\u2014wouldn\u2019t be that much different than that Gordon deal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nMy favorite of the four is probably Bellinger, who you could plug into whatever spot in the outfield you need him most that day and be done with it. I realize that this is a longshot, but the Royals need to get significantly better<\/a> to throw down with the best teams in baseball.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSay goodbye to arbitration-eligible players<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nThe Royals this year have an eye-watering 15 arbitration-eligible players. For the uninitiated: players receive the league minimum salary for up to three full seasons, after which they go through a process called arbitration where they receive escalating salaries based on their performance and how many years into arbitration they are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nSome players are worth escalating salaries, like Vinnie Pasquantino. Others, not so much. And it\u2019s an opportunity for the Royals to say goodbye to some players and clear up salary. There are a handful of players whose projected arbitration salaries<\/a> seem steep compared to their performance:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Look: the Royals didn\u2019t do a lot of scoring last year and employed a lot of bad players. Young guns like Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone have promise, but we see in the World Series every year that you can\u2019t just have ok players: you\u2019ve got to have dudes you can rely on, not just guys you can hope on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Bobby Witt Jr. will be a Royal for more years, but every year the Royals miss the playoffs is a year where the Royals don\u2019t capitalize on having probably the single best asset in the game on their team. The Royals need to spend accordingly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I think the Royals should pursue one of four main targets (with one bonus target!), and a rough range based on The Athletic<\/a> and Fangraphs<\/a> free agent predictions:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I included the average annual value for a reason: nearly a decade ago, Kansas City signed Alex Gordon in free agency to a four-year deal at an $18 million AAV. With MLB revenues having grown since then, and with the Royals ostensibly moving into a new stadium at some point during this free agent contract, the money should be there for one big move. A few of these\u2014Torres, Murakami\u2014wouldn\u2019t be that much different than that Gordon deal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n My favorite of the four is probably Bellinger, who you could plug into whatever spot in the outfield you need him most that day and be done with it. I realize that this is a longshot, but the Royals need to get significantly better<\/a> to throw down with the best teams in baseball.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Royals this year have an eye-watering 15 arbitration-eligible players. For the uninitiated: players receive the league minimum salary for up to three full seasons, after which they go through a process called arbitration where they receive escalating salaries based on their performance and how many years into arbitration they are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some players are worth escalating salaries, like Vinnie Pasquantino. Others, not so much. And it\u2019s an opportunity for the Royals to say goodbye to some players and clear up salary. There are a handful of players whose projected arbitration salaries<\/a> seem steep compared to their performance:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Say goodbye to arbitration-eligible players<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n