Kansas City Royals

Losses: C Miguel Olivo, UT Mark Teahen, C John Buck, CF Josh Anderson, 1B Mike Jacobs, CF Cocoa Crisp,

Gains: OF Scott Podsednik, OF Rick Ankiel, C Jason Kendall, IF Josh Fields, IF Chris Getz

Analysis: Well, the Royals did all their work in the field this off-season. They signed a couple of "take-a-chance" pitchers in Phillip Humber, Adam Bostick and Bruce Chen, among others, but nothing that really merited firm mention. So, let's go over the changes in the field. The outfield moves really include Mike Jacobs as well. Jose Guillen moves from the outfield to DH, giving 1B to Billy Butler full time, allowing Mike Jacobs to seek greener pastures (or likely the AAA Buffalo Bison). Then, into the outfield, move two new starters in Scott Podsednik and Rick Ankiel. Podsednik is a journeyman, but he came back strong when the White Sox welcomed him back last season. He played 132 games, hitting for his best average since 2003 at .304, and still showed some life in the legs with 30 steals. Ankiel dropped from 25/71 to 11/38 in his second season with major at-bats. He has struck out 199 times in those two seasons. He managed those numbers batting in a line-up with Albert Pujols, so it remains to be seen if he has anything to bring to the table. The Royals ditched there old backstops of "never panned out" John Buck and leading homerun hitter Miguel Olivo. Jason Kendall will take the starting job in 2010 for as long as his well-broken-in legs hold. The Royals also added some depth in the IF with former White Sox Josh Fields and Chris Getz. The grade for the off-season really depends on what they get out of Rick Ankiel (call him the X-factor). I think they lost a useful Major Leaguer in Miguel Olivo and another in Cocoa Crisp. We'll have to see what comes of it.

2010 Thoughts: Well, the Royals return, pretty much, the exact pitching staff and bullpen from 2009. That combination of arms ranked 12th in the AL with a 4.83 ERA, T12th with 65 wins, 10th with an OPS against of .765 and 12th with a 1.46 WHIP. All these numbers include great years from Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria. I imagine the royals hope to get even better years out of those two, or some kind of a remarkable improvement from the rest of the staff (Bannister, Meche, Davies & Hochevar). The line-up is okay, but certainly not enough to make up for pitching deficiencies. KC is hoping that Alex Gordon finally breaks out this year. Billy Butler will hopefully be a steady force in the middle of the line-up. They'll hope Yuniesky Betancourt bumps his average back up in the .280s and that Jose Guillen can stay healthy. If all those come up positive and they get something out of Ankiel, this could be a mediocre line-up, and maybe they have a chance of not finishing in last place. Chances seem pretty slim though.

Prediction: It's a shame to watch this team, as they never seem to get any better. They continue to play poorly and don't bring in a whole lot of talent to build for any time in the future. Greinke is great and maybe Alex Gordon will pan out, but it's hard to smile in Kansas City during the season. This will be another season at the bottom of the Central.

APT