<table> </table> LAS VEGAS | The idea of the Royals taking a run at a major free-agent signing isn&#8217;t quite dead yet.</p><p>General manager Dayton Moore concedes such a move would require the club to shed some payroll, which is already projected at roughly $70 million, but declines to rule out the possibility.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re trying to weigh different scenarios to free up some financial flexibility to do some things,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just so early in the process. There are ways to add a marquee free agent, but we would have to do something else.</p><p>&#8220;We would have to move a player or a couple of players to free up some money &#8212; and then get creative on the back end of a contract.&#8221;</p><p>The Royals, as they search this week for bullpen help, continue to check the market on free-agent infielders such as shortstop Rafael Furcal and second baseman Orlando Hudson.</p><p>Signing either probably would require the Royals to trade outfielder Jos&#233; Guillen, who is under contract for $24 million over the next two years. That could be a tough sell in a free-agent market stocked with outfielders.</p><p>The club&#8217;s only other player under contract for more than $5.75 million next season is pitcher Gil Meche, who is guaranteed $35 million over the next three years. The Royals have little interest in trading Meche even if he agrees to waive his no-trade clause.</p><p>Other clubs confirm the Royals are open to trading Guillen, who batted .264 last season while leading the club with 20 homers and 97 RBIs. Any such deal would also create space for Mark Teahen to remain in the outfield and unclog the crowded competition at first base.</p><p>The Royals&#8217; overloaded outfield prompted club officials to dismiss reports of interest in free-agent Milton Bradley, though that could change, possibly, if Guillen is traded.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll look at everything,&#8221; Moore said. &#8220;I feel like our team is in a better position to win today than it has been in the previous two years. You gauge it and measure it with your division.</p><p>&#8220;Our division is very competitive. I think it&#8217;s tight. I&#8217;m not going to concede anything for our team because I think we&#8217;re better.&#8221;</p><p>Furcal, 31, recently rejected a four-year offer believed to be roughly $32 million from the Oakland A&#8217;s. Hudson, who turns 31 on Friday, is a first-time free agent who made $6.25 million last season in Arizona.</p><p>The Royals have long had both players on their wish lists. The club would shift shortstop Mike Aviles to second base if they sign Furcal.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Grudzielanek attracts interest</span></strong></p><p>Veteran second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, who rejected the Royals&#8217; offer of arbitration just before Sunday&#8217;s deadline, is drawing some interest from Arizona and San Diego.</p><p>The Diamondbacks meet Grudzielanek&#8217;s desire to sign with a contender, but San Diego, which lost 99 games last season, would offer the attraction of playing near his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Tigers acquire Laird, sign Everett</span></strong></p><p>The Detroit Tigers filled two of their primary needs by reaching agreement with shortstop Adam Everett on a one-year deal and acquiring catcher Gerald Laird in a trade with Texas.</p><p>Everett, 31, is an eight-year veteran who batted .213 last season in 48 games for the Twins. The deal is believed to be worth about $1 million and include performance bonuses.</p><p>The Tigers dug into their depleted farm system for two pitching prospects to obtain Laird, who batted .276 last season with six homers and 41 RBIs in 95 games. Laird, 29, has a .255 average in 374 games over the last six seasons for Texas with 25 homers and 134 RBIs.