Off-Season Effort

I must start on a sad note. As many of you heard, David DeJesus was traded away to Oakland this week for Vin Mazzaro and Justin Marks. While a lot of people will wonder who the winner/loser of this deal is, I think we'll have to wait and see. Dayton is usually hit or miss on these things. He hit on Brian Bannister, trading an inconsistent Ambiorix Burgos (who only pitched 23 innings after being traded) to the Mets for him. Dayton won that trade, as he got a consistent starter in return (though he may be gone to, as he is now a free agent). But he's also missed, missing on Mike Jacobs (now in the Blue Jays AAA) while giving up a good reliever in Leo Nunez (3.76 ERA in 133.2 IP). This trade will be important, but never the less it does give the Royals pitching more depth for when the explosion of talent hits in 2012. But here we are, once again seeing how how being a small market team kills us. DeJesus was never and probably won't ever be great or amazing, but he is a very solid and good player. More importantly, it's a leader in the clubhouse that's going to be missed. Which makes me think about the 2009 off-season.

Remember back to 2009. That was the year that the Royals were supposed to be one of the "surprise" teams to make some noise in the AL, with even some picking them to win the division. Man have times have changed, and so has our roster. Take a look what Opening Day Lineup for that year:

1) CF: Coco Crisp

2) LF: David DeJesus

3) 2B: Mark Teahen

4) RF: Jose Guillen

5) 1B: Mike Jacobs

6) DH: Billy Butler

7) 3B: Alex Gordon

8) C: Miguel Olivo

9) SS: Mike Aviles

      P: Gil Meche

The team that was supposed to bring back hope and prosperity to the Royals. Good defense with promising pitching expected to take the next step (Greinke did with a Cy Young to show for it), and Trey's "small ball" philosophy was supposed to take affect. I can still remember watching Mike Jacobs aim consistently at the party porch. Sadly, Mike Jacobs is now Royal-less (and in the Blue Jays minor leagues/free agent) as are many of the players that started Opening Day 2009. In fact, if we were to start our season tomorrow, the 2011 Royals opening day lineup would maybe look something like this:

1) CF: Gregor Blanco (.348 OBP with 10 SB in 85 Games with KC last year)

2)   C: Jason Kendall (.256 AVG, but only 45 K's, can move runners over)

3) 2B: Mike Aviles (Hit .304 last year, but primarily hit singles, 27 of 129 hits were extra base-hits)

4) DH: Billy Butler (Still managed to hit 45 doubles and .318 in a weak lineup)

5) 3B: Wilson Betemit (Hit .297 last year on a minor league deal, but only .253 in September/October)

6) LF: Alex Gordon (Will be on his last chance after hitting only .215 last year, looked comfortable at OF though)

7) 1B: Kila Ka'aihue (Hit .274 with 6 HR's and 18 RBI's in September/October. Possibly some playing time coming?)

8) SS: Yuniesky Betancourt (Had 16 HR's with 78 RBI's last year. He'll have a job if he continues that)

9) RF: Mitch Maier (Hit .263 last year in 373 AB's playing Center....oh and those 2 innings at 1B in Texas).

    SP: Zack Greinke (Still the Ace with a down year, posting an 4.17 ERA)

See, the one thing that David DeJesus could bring to this team that no-body else on this team could bring is leadership. He's been here on bad teams since 2004, going out everyday and doing his job and doing it well. Now there are veteran's on this team who can provide leadership and have been around the block, such as an Jason Kendall. Other than Kendall, there isn't a true leader on this team, or someone who can hit .318.

Which brings me to the rumors of Jeff Francoeur possibly becoming a Royal. If we had some legitimate power sources, I could understand bringing in a guy like Francoeur. But you don't. So with that said, there are other options that GMDM needs to look at before considering a reunion with another former Atlanta Brave:

• Adam Dunn 1B/OF/DH (.260 AVG, .360 OBP, 36 Doubles, 38 HR's, 103 RBI's with Washington): Now I know he's a top free agent and is looking for a pretty lucrative contract, but lets consider all things:
  - You were paying Jose Guillen a $13 million salary (Dunn made $12 million last year, $8 million the year before that). Why not allocate that money (with a little more length with it) to a guy who has proven he can provide offense
  - Speaking of offense and though he strikes out a lot (199 K's last year) he does hit at the plate
      - At least 38 HR's per year his past 6 years
      - At least 100 RBI's 6 out of his last 7 years (92 RBI's in the one year he didn't)
  - Though he strikes out, he does get on base (Career .381 OBP.)
  
  
• Vladimir Guerrero DH/OF (.300 AVG, 29 HR, 115 RBI with
  Texas): Vlad held an revival last year, and I was really hoping that the Royals would have made a push at Vlad last year while he could of been signed for cheaper than he'll cost this year. Not only that, if Vlad were to put up a good first half for the Royals, then he could have been great trade bait. We'll thankfully the Royals have another chance again to sign Vlad. Yes he's 36 next year, but it's clear that he can still hit and can provide veteran leadership for the Royals that could pay dividends now and down the road, whether its via a trade involving him or him mentoring other players. The fact is this, he's not a long term answer, but he is someone that can provide good protection for Billy Butler in the middle of the order. Would you rather face Butler with Guerrero hitting behind him or with Betemit? I don't think paying him $11 millions would be overpaying Vlad for 2 years.

 There are plenty of others out there, such as an Aubrey Huff, Adam LaRoche, or Nick Johnson that would be better options than Francoeur. He was a talented player early on in Atlanta, but he hasn't been able to regain his stroke since leaving there. He only had 65 RBI's in 503 Plate Appearances last year with Texas and New York. I don't see any of those numbers getting better in Kansas City where there's a lineup that is similar to New York's. The Royals need Power, but not just power. They need power that can either have plate discipline (can get on base via walk's, work the count) or that can also hit for average (be a good contact hitter with 2 strikes, can hit the ball the other way.) Basically the opposite of an Jose Guillen or Mike Jacobs.

I don't expect the Royals to get either Dunn or Vlad, even if they tried. But what I want to see is Dayton try. Make an reasonable offer to one of them, show us that he's committed to improving our team now as well. We know that he's committed to the future, and he's made it clear the minors are the most important. I agree with Moore, that you need to develop from within to be a consistent contender. But at some point you need to address what is the reality, a poor lineup that needs a real tune-up for next year. Make an effort this off-season Dayton. That's all I ask this off-season. Not at an Rick Ankiel, but at a proven, legitimate middle of the order hitter.

Who is Luis Mendoza?

On April 2nd, we saw one of the final bullpen spots get handed out to a young pitcher who has little service time. Luis Mendoza, literally hours before the Royals and the Rangers were about to play the first of 2 final exhibition games in Arlington to close out Spring Training, packed up his things and walked to the visiting team's locker room, suiting up for the Royals that night.

Mendoza, who is out of options, had to make the Royals or be put through waivers before he could be sent to the minors. Basically, he was in Anthony Lerew's situation. Lerew cleared waivers and was sent to AA Northwest Arkansas.


So with the solution set, why did Dayton Moore make this move for Mendoza? Cause he has a arm and good stuff in his pitches. His fastball runs about 94 MPH (Mendoza hit that high Saturday against the Red Sox) and has some movement, as well as a sinker, which when located well induces a good amount ground balls.

With that said, Mendoza doesn't have any other pitch. He worked hard at Rangers camp this spring on adding a curveball to his arsenal, but it is still in development, meaning he lacks a true "out" pitch.

Here are Mendoza's career lines (as of 4/12):

Major's: 4-9 with an 8.38 ERA in 34 Games (14 Starts); 119 Hits, 31 BB, 43 K's, .332 BAA, and a 18.1 WHIP in 82.2 IP.

Minors: 49-51 with a 4.58 ERA in 167 Games (153 Starts); 936 Hits, 263 BB, 454 K's, and a  1.43 WHIP in 835 IP.

Mendoza, originally drafted by the Red Sox, was predominantly a starter in the minors, and was slated to make the Rangers rotation as the 5th starter in 2008. So, the question is raised again, why did Dayton Moore make this move to add Luis Mendoza to his bullpen?

Maybe there is something that Dayton and the rest of the front office sees in Mendoza, but based off the two outings he's had so far, he has potential, but potential that can be worked on in the minors. There are times that trades are made that you just need to trust that the management made the right decision, or a development trade (such as Kyle Davies for Octavio Dotel in 07). Then there are times where management needs to admit they simply made a mistake and were wrong (Mike Jacobs for Leo Nunez). This is one of those times.

Who knows. Maybe Mendoza comes out and becomes a good pitcher down the line. But the fact remains that when you are traded for straight up cash, chances are that you are not major league ready or worth a spot on the 25-man roster. Also, what does this say about the veteran pitchers that were signed in the off-season that were battling for bullpen jobs, such as Byan Bullington, Brad Thompson or Josh Rupe to name a few? There's Blake Wood and Anthony Lerew (as previously mentioned), as well as the Rule-5 pick Edgar Osuna or Carlos Rosa, who has shown signs of progressing to become a good bullpen pitcher (4.56 ERA with 80 K's in 71 IP in Triple A last year).

You make trades that improve your organization. With that view in mind, I could see how this trade makes sense in helping to improve depth within the organization at pitcher. However, from watching Luis Mendoza pitch this year so far, it's only a matter of time until he is put on waivers in hopes of sending him to the minors, as Mendoza needs to work on throwing to his spots, and more importantly, pitching 1st pitch strikes. Right now, he has only only in 18 AB's made 8 first pitch strikes (44%). Compare that to John Parrish who though has faced less batters (10) has made 7 first pitch strikes to those batters.

Now obviously a good portion of the bullpen is in shambles right now. But when you look at the stats and contracts, it makes the most sense to bring up one of the veterans that were signed this off-season and send Mendoza down to work on control. Mendoza is still 26, so he still has time to become a quality reliever. But he will have a short-lived career at the major-league level if he isn't sent to the minors to work on location and control.