Dayton Moore was hired as the new Kansas City Royals General Manager. He has taken many steps to turning this franchise around. In fact, the Royals might have an outside shot of being 20 games under .500 or better. Now, that doesn't sound big, but it is. It really is for the Royals. Moore traded off for a very good center fielder that never got a shot in Tampa Bay. His name: Joey Gathright. That move bumped David DeJesus over to left field. Do you know what this means? They have two center fielders in their outfield. <km>
     Here's another step the Royals and Moore need to take. There is no way they will make the playoffs with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers and the LA Angels battling for the division titles and Wild Card. So, this season is a lost cause. Or is it? Who says it has to be a complete lost cause? Sure they can't get to the playoffs, but they can give the young guys of the future a look. They have some trade bait. Reggie Sanders, Matt Stairs, Mark Redman, Mark Grudzielanek, Scott Elarton, Tony Graffanino and Doug Mientkiewicz. They can trade these guys off within the next two weeks. They have a solid back of the bullpen to build on (Mike MacDougal and Ambiorix Burgos) and a good farm system. They can trade Mientkiewicz and Redman off for some young pitching to go along with Jimmy Gobble, Bobby Keppel (at Triple-A) and Zach Grienke (if he ever comes back). Also, if the Royals can sign their first overall pick, Luke Hochevar, that makes a fourth possible starter. Then if they can add another starter or two in some trades, they're in good shape. They also have Mike Wood. The depth is getting bigger.
     Basically, what I'm saying is, the Royals have a great farm system. They just never tapped into it. Now, they have to. Mark Teahen can move from third base to the designated hitters role. This opens a spot for Alex Gordon. They can also trade Sanders, opening a spot for Billy Butler. Another move, already stated, is to trade Mientkiewicz to open a spot for Justin Huber. Donnie Murphy, Angel Sanchez and Andres Blanco are waiting for Gurdzielanek and Graffanino to leave town so they can come up.
     Something else they could think of doing is adding a young catcher in a trade.
     See, when you think about it, the Royals aren't in horrible shape. They look like it, but with Moore running the show now, you'll see the Royals in contention in 2008 or 2009...maybe even 2007. People said the Florida Marlins wouldn't be in contention, but look at them.