Disastrous.
It’s the word I used to describe the Royals’ offseason at the time that they made their one positive move. It is likely that getting Zack Greinke signed to a four-year deal likely will benefit the Royals’ long-term future more than the rest of the moves combined will take away from it. Still, it didn’t have to be like this.
Let’s review. Here are all the notable moves the team made over the winter:
10/30/2008 - Acquired first baseman Mike Jacobs from the Marlins for RHP Leo Nunez.
Jacobs went on to avoid arbitration by signing for $3.275 million. Nunez, who had a 2.98 ERA in 48 1/3 innings in 2008, is making $415,000.
11/19/2008 - Acquired outfielder Coco Crisp from the Red Sox for RHP Ramon Ramirez.
Crisp arrived sporting a $5.75 million salary in the final guaranteed year of his contract. The Royals have the choice of keeping him $8 million in 2010 or buying him out for $500,000. Ramirez, who had a 2.64 ERA in 71 2/3 innings in 2008, is making $441,000.
Neither trade was necessarily awful in isolation. Jacobs was coming off a 32-homer season, and Crisp had the potential to really improve the Royals’ defense. The salaries were perfectly reasonable for both veterans. The big problem was that the Royals had to decimate their bullpen depth to get him.
12/11/2008 - Signed LHP Horacio Ramirez to a one-year, $1.8 million contract.
The first of two completely unreasonable moves. One could actually justify giving Ramirez a major league deal to pitch in relief, but the Royals signed him to start and gave him a rotation spot even after he performed as poorly as any player in the Cactus League. Fortunately, they did replace him after just one turn through the rotation, cutting their losses.
12/11/2008 - Signed RHP Doug Waechter to a one-year, $640,000 contract.
Waechter has been limited to three relief appearances this season by an elbow injury.
12/13/2008 - Signed RHP Kyle Farnsworth to a two-year, $9.25 million contract with a club option for 2011.
The second horrific move. The market for average relievers had already been set when Bob Howry jumped on a one-year, $2.75 million offer from the Giants. It never became clear what team the Royals competed against to sign Farnsworth.
12/16/2008 - Re-signed LHP John Bale to a one-year, $1.2 million contract.
Bale was rarely healthy and only moderately effective during his first two seasons with the Royals. Kansas City did make him take a modest paycut, but it was still $1.2 million that could have been better spent elsewhere. Bale has allowed five runs in nine innings while healthy this season.
1/9/2009 - Signed infielder-outfielder Willie Bloomquist to a two-year, $3.1 million contract.
The Royals could no longer afford a real replacement for Mark Grudzielanek as a result of their other moves. Throwing $1.5 million per season at a 25th man, though, that was doable.
1/26/2009 - Agreed to terms with RHP Zack Greinke on a four-year, $38 million contract.
The shining star.
2/10/2009 - Signed RHP Jamey Wright to a minor league contract.
Just in case the rest of the moves didn’t pan out. Which they haven’t, of course, and which is why Wright is likely going to throw 70+ innings for a major league team for the 13th time in 14 seasons.
2/28/2009 - Signed RHP Juan Cruz to a two-year, $6 million contract with a club option for 2011; forfeited 2009 second-round pick.
It was hard to argue with this one. Cruz would have done better financially if not for the draft pick issue, and the Royals were able to get him without surrendering their first-rounder. Unfortunately, it’s another move that hasn’t really worked out, as Cruz has struggled mightily over the last few weeks and is currently sporting a 5.46 ERA.
3/09/09 - Released infielder Esteban German.
3/18/09 - Released LHP Jimmy Gobble.
The Royals could have non-tendered both in December, but they kept them and ended up surrendering termination pay in March. That’s another $425,000 completely wasted.
It’s not pretty going line by line, and the big picture is even worse. Jacobs and Crisp may have salaries totaling $9.025 million this year, but the Royals are paying so much more for them, since it was the losses of Nunez and Ramirez that led to the Farnsworth and Cruz signings. Those two relievers are making $6.5 million this season and $7.75 million in 2010. Nunez and Ramirez are earning $850,000 this year and probably won’t clear $3 million next year in their first seasons of arbitration eligibility. The Royals had both under control through 2012. Odds are that none of the four aforementioned acquisitions will still be around in 2011.
And Moore made the moves so quickly. He wouldn’t have had to overpay to bring quality free agents to Kansas City. Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Orlando Hudson, Orlando Cabrera⦠they would have taken Moore’s money. The Royals had interest in Hudson and Cabrera, but they were already out of cash by the time their prices had come down. It turned out that Moore had as much to spend as all but a few teams, yet he badly misread the market and didn’t get a single bargain.
So, was disaster too strong? Probably once the Greinke signing got done. While so little has worked out, nothing here rivals the Jose Guillen signing in handcuffing the Royals’ fortunes for the long-term. Still, I think it’s enough to put together a legitimate case for dismissing Moore. He hasn’t rebuilt the minor league system as hoped, and for a small-market GM, he’s thrown a ridiculous amount of money down the drain. The Royals have a deserving replacement in the fold in Mike Arbuckle, who was very well regarded for his work in Philadelphia. It’s time they try someone new.