Kansas City Royals have secret weapon in compassion

The Kansas City Royals have been cleaning up with undrafted free agents. This is due to their secret weapon – Dayton Moore and his compansion.

Over the past few weeks, teams have been releasing minor leaguers, trying to save money where they can. The Oakland A’s attempted to stop paying their minor leaguers entirely, but changed their mind after public backlash. The Washington Nationals tried cutting player salaries, only to get the same uproar. Then, there were the Kansas City Royals.

While other teams were releasing players and not committing to paying them throughout the remainder of the year, the Royals took the opposite approach. They declared that not only would they pay their players, but they were keeping all of them. It was a move designed with a look to the future, where these players would help grow the game in the years to come.

That decision is also proving to be fruitful in the present day. The Royals have been cleaning up in the undrafted free agent front, landing five players in the Baseball America Top 500 list, more than any other team. The reason is the Royals’ secret weapon – Dayton Moore and his compassion.

For his part, Moore does not feel he is doing anything special that needs to be applauded. All he is doing is treating these players like human beings, making sure that they have a paycheck coming in and that they can focus on what is important. In times like these, the money being spent is negligible.

It is safe to say that players around the game have taken notice. Yes, there are advantages to signing with the Royals – they are rebuilding and looking to move the talent they have through the system. There is plenty of opportunity to be had.

But there is more than that. The Royals, through their actions, have proven that they are family. While other teams may make similar claims, actions speak louder than words. When the profit margins were threatened, teams and owners chose that bottom line over their players. The Royals did the opposite.

Not only will that pay off for the Royals in attracting talent now, but it will do so going forward. For a player that has similar offers from other teams, knowing that a franchise has your back can be a major incentive. The Royals have proven that they will care for and protect every single player in their organization.

One does not think of compassion as a secret weapon in sports. For Dayton Moore and the Kansas City Royals, compassion is just that – a weapon they can wield.