Royals’ Dayton Moore insists club will not be limited financially in 2021
After a pandemic-shortened season and major financial losses across baseball, there’s plenty of reason to expect a quiet offseason, especially in a small market such as Kansas City, where splashy free-agent signings aren’t typical.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore on Wednesday addressed his club’s approach to this offseason, the uncertainty created by an abnormal season, the financial ramifications on roster construction and the philosophy guiding the efforts to rejuvenate the on-field production of a club that has finished below .500 for four consecutive seasons.
“We expect to win next year,” Moore said during a video conference call with reporters. “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.”
Budget constraints
Pitcher Ian Kennedy had been the club’s highest paid player in 2020 with a base salary of $16.5 million before player contracts were prorated due to the shortened season.
Moore did not give specifics on payroll figures or a budget for 2021, though the club could have as many as nine arbitration-eligible players due for salary increases: outfielder Franchy Cordero, infielder/outfielder Hunter Dozier, third baseman Maikel Franco, relief pitcher Jesse Hahn, starting pitcher Jakob Junis, starting pitcher Brad Keller, shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, outfielder/DH Jorge Soler and relief pitcher Glenn Sparkman.
Moore said he and CEO and chairman John Sherman have talked about the payroll as a three-year projection as opposed to an annual figure.
“I’m not really concerned about what the payroll is,” Moore said. “I’m just more concerned about who the players are and do they make sense for our team at this particular time. I’m confident that if there’s a player or two out there that fit with this group, with this timeline, we’ll be able to be aggressive and try to get them here in Kansas City.”
Moore reiterated his belief that free agency is a “failed way” to build a team, but rather the approach is to build through scouting and player development and supplement the roster with free agents who blend in and “help propel them.”
“We’re going to make moves this offseason and we’re going to be a better baseball team,” Moore said. “When we report to Surprise, Arizona, in February, we are going to have a more talented roster then than we do now. When we leave spring training, I anticipate us to have an improved roster. As we get through the first quarter of the season, we will evaluate what we need and then we will continue to improve this roster.
“I do not foresee economics being a major deterrent if it is an opportunity to really improve our baseball team significantly.”
Free agency
“We’re just really focused on evaluating the players as best we can,” Moore said of free agency. “Obviously, there was a shortened 2020 season, but we have enough information based on current judgments, data, previous history of the player. All that factors in. I guess really the issue in doubt is overall health in a lot of cases. That’s somewhat the mystery because a lot of guys weren’t stretched out on the pitching front, and then you’re expecting them to participate in 162 games in 2021.”
The outfield, starting pitching and the bullpen are all areas the Royals are expected to explore in free agency. In addition to Kennedy, Royals pitchers Matt Harvey, Greg Holland, Kevin McCarthy and Mike Montgomery are free agents. McCarthy and Montgomery were assigned to the minors, but opted for free agency rather than accept those assignments.
In light of the uncertainty surrounding free agents due to the shortened season, Moore did say it was more likely the Royals look to pursue their own free agents first due to familiarity. That might bode well in regards to potentially re-signing Holland or free-agent right-hander Trevor Rosenthal, who the Royals traded during the season to San Diego.
Moore also said the trade market was relatively quiet at this point, which he attributed to the shortened season this year.
Hitting pipeline
Asked about the progress of position player prospects in their farm system, Moore said, “I think we have some high-end bats. Khalil Lee has got a chance. He’s going to get on base. He’s going to hit with power. He’s extremely competitive, almost to a fault. Kyle Isbel has as much feel to hit as any young hitter that we’ve had. It’s not fair that people are comparing Kyle Isbel to Alex Gordon, but I understand why they do. … Bobby Witt Jr. is as talented a position player that I’ve been a part of.”
Moore, seemingly sensing the growing clamor from fans to see Witt in the majors, said the No. 2 overall draft pick out of high school in 2019 will start next season in the minors.
Moore said he’s had discussions with player development staff as well as Witt about the topic and everyone is on the same page.
“It makes no sense to come out and say that he’s going to be a part of our major league club when he has not played a full season in the minor leagues,” Moore said. “We need to start him in the minor leagues.”
Pitching outlook
Royals rookie pitchers Brady Singer and Kris Bubic debuted this summer after jumping from Double-A and Single-A, respectively.
Baseball America ranked three Royals minor-league pitchers — left-handers Asa Lacy and Daniel Lynch as well as right-hander Jackson Kowar — among the top 100 prospects in baseball.
“We are in the process of building a championship rotation and a championship-caliber pitching staff, that’s undeniable,” Moore said. “We’ve got to keep it healthy. We’ve got to keep learning. We’ve got to keep them growing. We’ve got to keep adding to it. You can’t have enough pitching.”
Tampa Bay’s success
The Tampa Bay Rays won the American League pennant and advanced to the World Series with a payroll among the lowest third of MLB in 2020.
“They do an excellent job of developing and maintaining pitching,” Moore said. “They’re very transactional. They’re more transactional than we are. I’ve been criticized for that many times, that we stay for players a little too long. Sometimes it works out great. Sometimes it doesn’t. We’re one of the least transactional organizations in baseball.”
Moore seemed to indicate a potential change in this regard when he said, “I think as we go forward, I have to be more open-minded to being more transactional.”
Front office hires
The Royals reportedly added three veteran front office/scouting officials to their organization this offseason. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported the hires, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported former Seattle Mariners special assistant Tom McNamara had joined the Royals as a special assistant. McNamara previously served as the director of amateur scouting for the Mariners.
“We’re looking to execute some things around the first of the year,” Moore said. “There’s not a whole lot I can say about who we’ve hired at this time because, truthfully, they’re not under contract.”
Royals personnel took pay cuts this spring in order to avoid layoffs, and the club paid minor-league players when many clubs rescinded stipends in cost-cutting measures. For that reason, front office additions likely won’t be official until 2021.
Minor league affiliates
The New York Mets and New York Yankees have already announced minor-league affiliations for 2021 despite the ongoing restructuring and contraction of Minor League Baseball franchises. Each of those clubs appears poised to cut down from six affiliate to four.
The Royals have not announced affiliations for 2021, though they have scheduled an exhibition with Northwest Arkansas, their most-recent Double-A affiliate.
“We have a decent idea, but we’re not 100 percent sure,” Moore said of their affiliates. “Major League Baseball has asked us to keep that close to the vest right now especially since the lower levels have not been completely determined.”
Moore said he didn’t see the Royals not being in Omaha or Northwest Arkansas, but nothing is official yet. He also called other organizations making announcements “premature” based on what he’d been told.
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Royals’ Dayton Moore insists club will not be limited financially in 2021."
