Trade Deadline Preview: Kansas City Royals
By David Hill
Coming off their best season since 1989, a time before interleague play and the existence of two Worlds Series winning franchises, expectations were high for the Royals. The years of frustration and losing appeared to be over, and a bright new future involving meaningful games late in September, or even October, were on the horizon.
The trades for Danny Valencia and Nori Aoki, added to the signings of Omar Infante and Jason Vargas, appeared to solidify the Royals roster as the Royals hoped to contend in the American League Central. Instead, this season has been a roller coaster, as the Royals went from dead last to first by a game and a half in two and a half weeks before falling back to second.
Hovering around .500 on the season, and with Aoki and Infante not performing to expectations, the Royals are still in contention in a weak division. However, they likely need to upgrade the offense to truly compete for a playoff berth.