Kuzul

Losers of two straight games, the Kansas City Royals turn to staff ace James Shields to get back on the winning track against his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

After taking the first two games this weekend against the Cleveland Indians during a wrap-around home series, the Royals dropped the final two games by a combined 19-3 score. Though still early in the season, these are the types of results that remind fans of just how downtrodden a baseball town Kansas City has been for the better part of two decades.

Just last year, the Royals endured a twelve-game losing streak in the season’s opening month and did not record a home victory until May 3. Kansas City is 6-4 at home in 2013.

Two-game losing streaks are commonplace throughout a 162-game marathon of a Major League Baseball season; even the best teams can’t avoid them. The key, however, is not allowing two to become three or three to become six and ultimately shaking a team’s psyche and daily approach to the game.

Kansas City’s Achilles heel over the years has been starting pitching, specifically lacking the type of pitcher who is capable of taking the mound in the precise situation that tonight’s game offers. Though it cost them their top prospect (outfielder Wil Myers) in a trade during the offseason, the Royals acquired Shields for moments like this.

Shields can’t expect to go out and perform like his usually reliable self tonight against the Rays because it simply will not be good enough. The Royals will demand much more out of their new No. 1 starting pitcher.

Kansas City needs Shields to stamp out the memories of last season’s early troubles and to allow fans to reflect on just how deep this city’s baseball roots actual are.

For the Royals and Shields, tonight’s game is as big as it gets.

Interact with Jeremy on Twitter

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The competition to become the No. 5 starter for the Kansas City Royals in 2013 began with five names: Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen, Luis Mendoza, Will Smith and Yordano Ventura. With less than a week before Opening Day, the team has announced a winner.

Mendoza will pitch behind James Shields, Jeremy Guthrie, Ervin Santana and Wade Davis in the team’s starting rotation (via the Kansas City Star).

After a strong spring in which he allowed just one run in 11 innings, Mendoza hopes to carry his success over to the regular season and help the Royals compete whenever his turn is up.

That was my main goal. But it’s not just that, I want to do my best, pitch well, pitch to win and help my teammates to have the opportunity to win games.

While the Royals made the correct decision here, the move places another expensive arm in the bullpen—ultimately taking a spot away from a potentially more deserving, cheaper and younger arm.

With both Hochevar and Chen (making over $9 million in combined salary this season) entering the season as relievers, Kansas City’s decision on who to include in the team’s seven-man bullpen is no easy task.

Greg Holland is the team’s closer, with Kelvin Herrera serving as his primary setup man. Aaron Crow and Tim Collins are also entrenched in their roles.

Assuming the Royals do keep Chen and Hochevar in the bullpen, there is only one spot remaining for Louis Coleman, Donnie Joseph, Francisley Bueno, Dan Wheeler or J.C. Gutierrez to claim. Not to mention that Smith, Nate Adcock and Everett Teaford will be stashed at Triple-A Omaha until their services may also be needed.

Having options is never a bad thing, especially for a team that struggles to compete like the Royals. But with Hochevar and Chen blocking players that seem to have a long-term future in Kansas City, this franchise must start making better decisions on how to construct its pitching staff.

Interact with Jeremy on Twitter

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Coming into spring training, the Kansas City Royals had very few position battles to work out as the 2013 season approached—which is remarkably odd for a team coming off a 72-win season.

Other than the perennial lobbying for bullpen spots, the Royals were primarily focused on who would be the team’s No. 5 starting pitcher and who would emerge as their starting second baseman.

With the Royals going with Luis Mendoza as the fifth starter (via kshb.com, per Mike Swanson), it was announced that Chris Getz would indeed begin the season as Alcides Escobar’s double-play mate (via the Wichita Eagle).

The Royals were somewhat hamstrung by the fact that neither Getz nor Johnny Giavotella play anywhere other than second base. Keeping both around would severely limit roster flexibility, so Kansas City saw its best move as being to send the 25-year-old Giavotella down to Triple-A Omaha where he would receive more consistent playing time.

Elliott Johnson (brought over with James Shields and Wade Davis in the Wil Myers trade) and Miguel Tejada will more than likely serve as Kansas City’s utility infielders.

Whether or not going with Getz was the correct decision will work itself out over the course of the season, but it does little to hide the fact that the Royals still have a huge void at second base.

While Getz has shown at times that he can handle the job, staying healthy is his biggest challenge. The 29-year-old appeared in only 64 games last season.

Giavotella has failed to capitalize on his few chances with the big league club, batting just .242/.271/.340 over parts of two seasons and not displaying the hitting ability that has teased the organization over the years.

If Giavotella is ever going to be a regular with the Royals, his offensive production will need to be stellar, as his glove leaves much to be desired.

There was no question as to who actually won the battle this spring, with Getz outhitting Giavotella by a not-so-close margin while playing a more consistent brand of defense (via MLB.com).

Competition is healthy in sports, but the Royals must eventually find a better option at second base, however.

Former first-round pick Christian Colon could be a good fit, but he, too, has been hampered by injuries that have stunted his development. The other options for the Royals simply aren’t close to being ready at the major league level.

While Getz could serve as a capable stopgap, the others around him will need to perform in order to highlight his strengths on the field.

It is clear that the Royals are banking on Getz being healthy, providing solid defense at a key position and doing just enough to complement the rest of their lineup. It is his track record, however, that keeps the overall optimism at bay.

Interact with Jeremy on Twitter

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Coming off a season that yielded just 72 wins, it may surprise some that the Kansas City Royals entered spring training with very few positions up for grabs.

Still, they need to decide who will be pegged to see the most time at second base, and who will emerge as the team’s fifth starter.

While it is likely that some sort of platoon will take place at second base between Chris Getz and Johnny Giavotella, Kansas City really needs to find a consistent arm at the back of its rotation.

After an aggressive offseason to upgrade their starting pitching (trading for James Shields, Wade Davis and Ervin Santana, and re-signing Jeremy Guthrie), the Royals were left with a handful of familiar faces to battle it out for the final spot.

Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen and Luis Mendoza were all leading candidates for the spot, while Will Smith and Yordano Ventura were long shots.

With just two weeks before the 2013 season kicks off, the Royals announced that Hochevar would be moved to the bullpen (via KansasCity.com). Kansas City also deciding to send Smith and Ventura to the Minor Leagues in order to maintain consistent work as the season approaches.

So now only two options remain: Mendoza and Chen.

In Chen, the Royals have a fan favorite who has seen nominal success with the team over the past few seasons

However, he took a step back in 2012 posting a 5.07 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. His spring stats are not very encouraging at the moment either: 7.90 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and seven home runs allowed in 13.2 innings.

Chen’s $4.5 million salary and the fact that he is a lefty will also be considered. As it stands, the Royals have no left-handed pitchers in the rotation.

Mendoza embodies more of a wild-card than Chen, as his track record is much shorter but the upside is much greater. Through three spring appearances, he has tallied a .82 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP with just two walks and eight strikeouts in 11 innings.

If the last impression indicates who currently leads for the fifth spot, Mendoza—who is coming off a five-inning, four-hit and four-strikeout performance in Sunday’s 10-0 win over the Chicago White Sox—is running laps around Chen.

While it may come down to preference, this decision could ultimately determine whether the Royals are ready to take that next step forward as a team.

Interact with Jeremy on Twitter Follow @KCPopFlyBoy

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The struggles are well-documented, and the forecast has been rather bleak for the Kansas City Royals recently. With only four winning seasons since 1990, this franchise has been mired in one of the longest funks in professional sports history.

While the profuse stagnation has stained this city with a stout stench, the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to grow less dim as the Royals endured one of their most pointed, and talked about, offseasons in recent memory.

Ownership and management made it a focal point to improve the team’s most glaring deficiency: starting pitching. Though some of the moves drew ire, no one can point to a lack of effort in the Royals’ attempt to field a more competitive ball club in 2013.

Their offense is comprised largely of homegrown talent with much promise, but their starting rotation required a complete overhaul in order for the Royals to climb back to respectability. To do so, money had to be spent and top prospects needed to be used as trade bait.

The most notable move this offseason was obtaining James Shields and Wade Davis from the Tampa Bay Rays.

By sending off minor league player of the year, Wil Myers, pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery and infielder Patrick Leonard, the Royals set out to prove they mean business and have full intent on escaping their extended stretch of futility.

While the Myers-Shields trade will be the hottest topic around Kansas City as the season progresses, the bigger move for the Royals was re-signing Jeremy Guthrie—who was acquired last summer in a trade that sent Jonathan Sanchez to the Colorado Rockies.

With the Rockies, Guthrie was not very effective—compiling a 6.35 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP, while striking out just 45 and walking 31 batters in 15 starts.

With the Royals, however, he managed to cut his ERA to 3.16 and his WHIP to 1.13 in 14 starts. Guthrie also upped his strikeout total to 56 while reducing his walks allowed to just 19.

Kansas City rewarded Guthrie’s performance by inking him to a three year deal worth $25 million. He will more than likely settle in as the team’s No. 2 starter behind Shields.

While his career numbers are not what one would consider worthy of that status, Guthrie will provide the Royals with a consistent option near the top of their rotation—spots formerly held by Bruce Chen and Luke Hochevar, who are merely fighting for relevancy at this point in their careers.

Top to bottom, Kansas City will need solid contribution from everyone for this team to compete this season. Guthrie’s role will serve as the bridge within a pitching staff that looks to be much improved over previous years.

Shields is expected to be the workhorse the Royals acquired him to be. Guthrie’s performance, however, will set the stage for Davis, Ervin Santana (acquired via trade with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) and whoever is tabbed as the team’s No. 5 starter.

If Guthrie pitches well, it will provide a pressure-less environment for the rest of the staff to just go out and pitch. If Guthrie falters, the Royals might find themselves reverting back to their old ways—squandering all the goodwill built up from the offseason.

Follow Jeremy on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Small-market baseball franchises are often pigeon-holed into a compulsory allegiance to mediocre (at best) talent when it comes to filling out rosters. Second-rate ballplayers are relied on to be the leaders of teams that annually inhabit the bottom portion of the standings.

The Kansas City Royals are no strangers to doing business in this manner, ultimately leading to the poor quality of baseball that has haunted this organization and its fanbase for upwards of two decades.

Though the Royals are finally starting to see the fruits of their minor league system blossom in Kansas City, guys like Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen and Jeff Francoeur still play fundamental roles in the success of this team.

For Kansas City to start to creeping up the MLB hierarchy—and to eventually become legitimate contenders—the franchise must jettison its imprudent attachment to certain players that have shown little to no value to the success of this organization.

The fear that Hochevar will go on to become the pitcher that warranted first-round ability should have already vanished. And the notion that Chen and Francoeur are any more than your average stop-gaps at this point is foolish.

These guys are exactly who they have proven themselves to be over the course of their careers. Instead, the Royals have just over $15.8 million tied up amongst them for the 2013 season.

While Francoeur looks to be the starter in right field, there is no guarantee where Hochevar and Chen will end up on the Royals’ pitching staff—making this a very unsteady and expensive trio.

Though Kansas City set out to right their starting rotation woes this offseason—re-signing Jeremy Guthrie and trading for James Shields, Wade Davis and Ervin Santana—having close to $16 million to spend on more stable contributors would have accelerated the organization’s plans to compete.

It has proven difficult to lure the big fish on the free-agent market to Kansas City, so having more money available isn’t always the direct link to landing the more recognizable names—though it certainly plays a part. This organization distancing itself from the prior way of doing business will also make an impact on the decisions of the top targets in the offseason as well.

Luckily for the Royals, Hochevar, Chen and Francoeur are off the books after this season. The question is whether or not Kansas City has learned its lesson and will make better decisions moving forward.

Follow Jeremy on Twitter

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Washington Nationals and first baseman Adam LaRoche have agreed on a two-year deal (via the Washington Post). The terms are not yet known, though the initial offer was believed to be roughly around $25 million.

This signing should force the Nationals into making another move this offseason: the likely trade of Michael Morse, who suddenly is forced out of an everyday job with LaRoche manning first base and a probable outfield trio of Bryce Harper, Denard Span and Jayson Werth in Washington.

Though the 30-year-old—who will turn 31 prior to the start of 2013 season—has a rather short MLB track record, Morse does provide the trade market with an affordable and viable power bat from the right side of the plate.

Morse’s best season was in 2011, when he batted .303/.360/.550 with 31 home runs with 95 runs batted in.

While there could be a throng of competition for Morse’s services—who has one year left on a two-year extension he signed last winter valued at $6.75 million—the Kansas City Royals should attempt to enter the fray.

Though the Royals appear committed to Jeff Francoeur in right field this season—especially after trading top prospect Wil Myers this winter—trading for Morse would be an immediate upgrade for this team.

Francoeur is coincidentally owed $6.75 million in 2013 as well.

Kansas City seemingly has enough of what the Nationals would require in return: bullpen help and prospects to help restock their cupboard in the farm system.

Though it would probably take the Royals unloading Francoeur—either in an impossible trade scenario given his contract and production, or releasing him outright—the chance to add Morse to a group that has the potential to be one of the better offenses in the American League should at least be mulled over by general manager Dayton Moore.

Kansas City has taken their shots this offseason by bolstering their starting rotation. The additions of James Shields and Wade Davis (acquired in the Myers’ trade with the Tampa Bay Rays), and Ervin Santana, along with Jeremy Guthrie being retained, should signal a marked improvement in the team’s starting pitching.

However, those moves should be regarded more as a means to an end rather than the climax of what the Royals are seeking to accomplish.

Bringing Morse on board would only add to a very strong offseason in Kansas City and help expedite the turnaround of this once proud franchise.

Follow Jeremy on Twitter @KCPopFlyBoy.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Kansas City Royals made news on a relatively slow Tuesday morning in Major League Baseball by signing starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to a three-year, $25-million contract. The contract is structured so the right-hander will make $5 million in 2013, $11 million in 2014 and $9 million in 2015.

Guthrie was acquired by the Royals last summer in a deal with the Colorado Rockies that sent left-handed starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez back to the National League—a move that turned out just fine for Kansas City.

Sanchez had worn out his welcome during his stint with the Royals and Guthrie compiled a 5-3 record with a 3.16 ERA in 14 starts after the deal. How that success translates over an entire season—or three seasons—in Kansas City remains to be seen.

Joining Guthrie at the top of the team’s starting rotation is Ervin Santana, who was brought over from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a trade earlier in the offseason. While neither projects to put up ace-type numbers, they are expected to anchor a staff that will also feature some combination of Bruce Chen, Luke Hochevar, Jake Odorizzi, Luis Mendoza, Will Smith and newly acquired Chris Volstad.

When Danny Duffy and Felipe Pauline are able to return from Tommy John Surgery, they stand to be in the picture as well.

If the Royals plan on turning the corner, though, the additions of Guthrie and Santana will need to serve as a means to an end rather than moves that polish off a finished product.

With an exciting crop of positional players in place—and with Minor League Player of the Year Wil Myers on his way—the time is now for Kansas City to return to prominence.

Royals’ owner David Glass stated back in September that he would spend money to improve the team’s starting pitching. While this is a step in the right direction, it is imperative that the checkbook stays open for more big moves. 

 Follow Jeremy on Twitter @KCPopFlyBoy

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It is natural for former players to continue being involved, in some capacity, with the game they love after their days of grinding it out on the field are over. In most cases, that particular sport is all they have ever known, making it that much more difficult to pry themselves away.

Baseball, while no different than any other sport in this regard, actually lends itself for players to make a smooth post-career transition into roles close with the game.

From the broadcast booth down to the lowest level of rookie ball, there are more positions within a Major League Baseball organization that need to be filled than in the NFL, NBA, NHL or any other professional sport.

The Kansas City Royals employ a number of former players throughout various roles. They have done it for years. And while not all tenures have ended harmoniously, it hasn’t been for lack of trying.

Here are three former Royals who should be considered for roles within the organization.

Begin Slideshow

Outfielder Wil Myers, the Kansas City Royals‘ top prospect, was named Baseball America and USA Today 2012 Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .313/.387/.600 with 37 home runs, 98 runs scored and 109 runs batted in between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha.

With such a player stashed away in their system, one has to wonder how a team like the Royals wasn’t able to find a spot for Myers in Kansas City this season.

After comparing statistics with the player supposedly blocking him from the big leagues (right fielder Jeff Francoeur) and hearing excuse after excuse on why keeping Myers in the minors will benefit both him and the organization long-term, the befuddlement becomes even more knotted.

The Royals did the same thing with third baseman Mike Moustakas in the midst of his monster 2010 season.

But by being two more years entrenched as one of Major League Baseball’s whipping boys, Kansas City must start doing things outside of the box so that teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles do not become permanent fixtures ahead of them in the ranks.

The fact that Myers wasn’t already on the 40-man roster isn’t a huge deal. The suggestion that the Royals need to protect players like David Lough, Jason Bourgeois and Derrick Robinson is, however, and should raise a red flag about the direction this organization is headed.

Having the All-Star Game festivities in Kansas City this season saved the Royals of further neglect from a continually downtrodden fanbase.

The honeymoon is now over, and the only thing that could have prolonged that interest from fans this season would have been to call up Myers, because another September flirtation with winning baseball won’t be enough this time.

The Royals failed to do what was right by the fans and the entire city, and now find themselves on the tail end of another losing season with no hope in sight.

Sometimes finances, overstuffed egos and misguided loyalty get in the way of making good baseball decisions. This seems to happen a lot in Kansas City and this time it might just be too late to recover.

Contact Jeremy at jeremy@popflyboys.com, on Twitter @KCPopFlyBoy and at popflyboys.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com