Kansas City Royals Expect Offseason Budget Constraints

According to GM Dayton Moore, the Kansas City Royals will look to limit spending during the offseason.

The Kansas City Royals will be reigning world champions for a few more weeks, but the team’s front office isn’t resting on any past laurels. In fact, while speaking to the media on Monday, general manager Dayton Moore was rather frank in explaining that the club will likely need to rein in the budget during the offseason.

Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star quotes Moore as saying that the team’s spending would probably “regress a little bit” from a year ago, when the Royals opened their purse strings to sign free agents as well as extend their own players.

“This payroll was put together with going deep in the postseason (in mind),” he said. “That didn’t happen. Again, I’m accountable for that. It’s not going to look very good on the spreadsheet when the bill comes due. Last year’s payroll, it was built to go deep in the postseason; that worked out. This year, it didn’t. So we’ll have to re-evaluate that, probably reorganize, take some steps back.”

It was certainly a disappointing campaign for a franchise coming off back-to-back World Series appearances, as the Royals finished at an even 81-81, good for third place in the AL Central and eight games out of a Wild Card spot. They’ll want to move quickly back in the right direction next season, but are they hamstringing themselves by declaring their intention to limit payroll?

As Dodd points out, a lot of what went wrong on the field for KC this year could correct itself naturally. The team dealt with a plethora of injuries to key players, including All-Stars Wade Davis, Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain. Simply putting Moustakas back in the lineup after playing only 27 games this year will make the Royals a better team.

Moore is also confident that Alex Gordon will rebound in 2017. The outfielder struggled to a .220/.312/.380 slash line and also missed 34 games after signing a four-year, $72 million extension in the offseason. The GM thinks that some players who did have good years, like 26-year-old first baseman Eric Hosmer, could be even better as well.

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The much-discussed fact that this offseason’s free agent class is quite weak overall is another reason why the Royals’ planned frugal approach is probably a good idea. Moore says that the team will focus on improving through internal options and trades, which could net them a few solid upgrades without breaking the bank.

That doesn’t mean Kansas City won’t consider spending at all this winter. Kendrys Morales has an $11 million mutual option for next year, but after a strong season at the plate, he’s likely to test the market. (He made $9 million this year.) Dodd points out that the Royals could extend him a qualifying offer, but ultimately it feels like he will fall outside their budget.

Forgoing this year’s free agent pool could also help the club better navigate the 2017-18 offseason, when vital pieces like Hosmer, Cain, Davis, Moustakas and Danny Duffy will be eligible for free agency. While it’s hard to see the Royals retaining all of them anyway, minimizing the payroll now might allow them to find a path forward next year.

KC probably didn’t do itself any favors by committing $70 million to Ian Kennedy last offseason. The right-hander had a solid year (3.68 ERA, 195.2 IP) but he’s been thoroughly average throughout his 10-year career. He’s not a bad addition to the middle of a rotation, but for an organization that doesn’t have the deepest pockets, it was somewhat of a head-scratcher.

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However, it sounds like Dayton Moore wants to outright avoid any questionable investments over the next several months. If the bounce-back performances he’s expecting actually occur, it could prove to be a shrewd strategy.

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