MILWAUKEE | David Glass saw youth and potential from his Royals last year. He also saw a fourth straight last-place finish.</p><p>Fed up with losing, he authorized an increased payroll this offseason for general manager Dayton Moore and even granted the option to stretch it further if the right player came along.</p><p>&#8220;Mr. Glass opened things up,&#8221; said Art Stewart, a senior adviser to Moore. &#8220;David Glass said (to Moore), &#8216;Just go out and do it and do it your way to make us a winner.&#8217; &#8221;</p><p>The Royals went hard after free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter. They wanted Hunter and outfielder Jose Guillen in the same lineup. They also went after Japanese free-agent starter Hiroki Kuroda.</p><p>When Hunter signed with the Angels, the Royals pursued Andruw Jones. That ended in disappointment, too. Same with Kuroda. Both signed with the Dodgers.</p><p>The Royals did get Guillen for three years and $36 million but still head into the season with a payroll roughly the same as last year.</p><p>Guillen&#8217;s salary represents roughly 21 percent of the Royals&#8217; estimated payroll of $57,420,500 &#8212; a slight decrease, actually, from last year&#8217;s club-record $58.2 million.</p><p>&#8220;I like our team, though,&#8221; Moore said. &#8220;I like what we have. I really like the young pitching we have.&#8221;</p><p>The departure of several veterans &#8212; notably Mike Sweeney and the end of his five-year, $55 million contract &#8212; contributed to the decline.</p><p>Landing another impact free agent would have pushed the payroll to record levels, something Glass was willing to do. Still, he&#8217;s optimistic about 2008.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a really good time,&#8221; he says. &#8220;We&#8217;ve made enough changes; it&#8217;s going to be really interesting to see where this team is going.&#8221;</p><p>The estimated $57.4 million payroll is the sum of salaries for the 24 players who made the opening day roster along with suspended catcher Miguel Olivo. The Royals set their roster at Saturday&#8217;s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.</p><p>Olivo will open the season with a four-game suspension stemming from his role in an on-field fight last September while playing for the Florida Marlins. The Royals must field a shorthanded roster &#8212; 24 players instead of the usual 25 &#8212; while Olivo serves the ban.</p><p><em>The Kansas City Star</em> obtained the salaries for the 39 players on the Royals&#8217; 40-man roster through various sources. The figures used are guaranteed salaries and do not factor in performance bonuses, which can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars for some players.</p><p>The Royals have 12 players on their 40-man roster making at least $2 million, including pitcher Luke Hochevar, whose $2.075 million salary is part of the four-year deal signed after his selection as the first overall pick in the 2006 draft.</p><p>Hochevar will open the season at Class AAA Omaha.</p><p>The club is also paying $4.75 million to shortstop Angel Berroa in the final season of a four-year deal signed in 2004 for $11 million.</p><p>Guillen&#8217;s $12 million salary for 2008 tops the club&#8217;s previous single-season record of $11 million, which Sweeney received in each of the five previous years. Pitcher Gil Meche will make $11 million this season in the second year of a five-year contract that escalates to $12 million in 2010 and 2011.</p><p>The Royals&#8217; projected payroll ranks 25th among the 30 teams, 12th among the 14 American League teams and fourth among the five AL Central teams.</p><p>Moore said the club needs to generate sufficient revenue, through increased attendance and other sources, to support a payroll of $75-80 million by 2010 or risk losing some of its young players.