Royals GM Dayton Moore: Club focused on making a run — while listening to offers before trade deadline

On Monday afternoon, in the hours before another baseball game, Royals general manager Dayton Moore and his top lieutenants convened in an office on the fifth floor of Kauffman Stadium.

The non-waiver trade deadline loomed in seven days. The Royals sat at 48-49, six games out of the second American League wild card spot. The club’s braintrust sought to evaluate the landscape and sort through contingency plans, charting a course for the rest of the season.

By late Monday night, the future remained murky. As the calendar pushes toward August, and the deadline approaches, the Royals find themselves in a state of limbo, at once trying to improve their current team while listening to offers for a group of pending free agents. As Moore sat inside a Kauffman Stadium dugout on Monday afternoon, he made one thing clear: The Royals must be ready for any scenario, whether it’s buying, selling, or some combination of the two.

“We got to be prepared,” Moore said. “It’s not different than 2014 or 2015; if somebody comes and wants a certain player off your major-league team, there’s a certain acquisition cost for that in our minds.

“We have to evaluate that and we also have to evaluate opportunities to get better.”

In a nearly 10-minute interview with reporters on Monday afternoon, Moore discussed the state of his team and its plan before next week’s deadline. Reluctant to wave a white flag, he referenced other teams that have made second-half runs, including the 2014 Royals. In a nod to reality, he pointed to his club’s continual health issues and the possibility of selling.

“We’ll evaluate what a team is potentially offering,” Moore said. “We’re not going to just dismember our team because players are free agents.”

As Monday began, the Royals sat eight games behind the first-place Cleveland Indians and six games out of a playoff spot. As Moore addressed reporters in the afternoon, there were nine teams in the American League with winning records. The Royals were not among them. In addition to its place in the standings, Kansas City faced other hurdles. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain remains on the disabled list with a hamstring strain. Third baseman Mike Moustakas is out for the season. Left fielder Alex Gordon was batting .204. And the club is still searching for a permanent fifth starter.

“I know we haven’t played our best baseball to date,” Moore said. “We’re capable of doing much better, and our players know that, our coaching staff knows that, our fans know that.

“We haven’t been as healthy as we’ve been in the past. That’s certainly a factor as you evaluate how you match up with other teams in the division. But we’re constantly evaluating the landscape, what players are out there, and what we can do to continue to improve our team.”

As the trade deadline approaches, the Royals have three valuable assets in right-hander Edinson Volquez, designated hitter/first baseman Kendrys Morales and reliever Luke Hochevar. All three players have mutual options after this season, meaning all three players will likely become free agents. In the next six days, all three could hear their names bandied about in trade rumors.

In addition to those three players, the Royals have reportedly listened to offers on closer Wade Davis, who is under club control through next season with a team option of $10 million. Yet the prospect of a Davis deal remains remote.

On early Monday afternoon, the Chicago Cubs made one of the first blockbuster moves of the month, acquiring closer Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees. In exchange for Chapman, the Cubs sent a four-player package to New York, including top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres.

If the Royals were to consider trading Davis, the asking price could be even higher.

Moore would not discuss any specific players on Monday, but he made clear that the Royals would listen to offers for any player on their roster.

“I wouldn’t categorize any player as untouchable — never have,” Moore said. “We’ll always evaluate somebody’s level of interest and what their level of interest may mean to the improvement of our team, in terms of players that they would be willing to part with. That’s what you do. That’s what we continually do, especially this time of you.

“Whether we make a move or not, we are evaluating the landscape as I said, which is potentially putting us in a better position this offseason.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 10:54 PM with the headline "Royals GM Dayton Moore: Club focused on making a run — while listening to offers before trade deadline."