At General Managers Meetings, Royals plan to gauge the free-agent market

The executives of Major League Baseball will gather here at the Boca Raton Resort and Club, a tony Waldorf Astoria property wedged between a marina and a golf club, for the annual rite of flesh-pressing and rumor-mongering that is the General Managers Meetings. At least one general manager is not expected to attend: Dayton Moore, the architect of the world champion Kansas City Royals.

Moore will be on a family trip planned nearly two years in advance. But his lieutenants will take up residence in this resort as the Royals look to restock their roster. And despite retaining the bulk of their championship core, the Kansas City front office does have several holes to fill.

The chief concerns are plugging vacancies in both outfield corners, while fortifying the starting rotation and bullpen, Moore explained a conversation with reporters last week. The Royals are not expected to engage in serious negotiations with starter Johnny Cueto. But they will pursue Alex Gordon, the face of the franchise, and Ben Zobrist, the super-utility man who arrived midseason from Oakland.

The prospect of re-signing both is remote. Even inking one will be a challenge. The Royals’ payroll is expected to surpass last year’s total of more than $120 million, but Moore insisted their financial philosophy will not change, even after reaping the spoils of a title.

“Scouting and player development, growing our own players, is always going to be our method of operation,” Moore said. “That’s why it’s so important for us to do the great work in the draft and internationally and throughout the farm system, so we can transition players from the minor leagues to the major leagues.”

He added, “Are we going to win the negotiations for the top guys? Well, we’ll try. But we’re not going to put ourselves in a position where we operate in a way that’s reckless and puts us, perhaps, in a place where we can’t sign some of those young players to long-term contracts. So we’ve got to make sure that we operate very efficiently and in a way that’s not going to hamstring us later.”

Rival executives suggest Gordon will likely receive a five-year contract worth somewhere between $80 million to $90 million. Kansas City has never given out a contract worth more than $55 million. The team declined to pursue an extension with Gordon before 2015 began, and allowed him to reach the open market. Teams like the Astros, White Sox and Orioles are expected to look into signing Gordon.

A deal with Zobrist may be a more likely proposition, though he will also have many suitors. Zobrist, 34, could possibly be had for a three-year contract, though his price will not be cheap. Like Gordon, Zobrist is open to returning to Kansas City.

For Moore, the most pressing concern, as always, is pitching. The Royals ranked 24th in innings from starting pitchers in 2015, a statistic the team seeks to improve. Even with Danny Duffy returning to the rotation, the club could use at least two starters in free agency.

“We have to address the innings of our starting rotation,” Moore said. “I think it’s important to get more innings out of our starters. It’s unrealistic to feel that we can put so much pressure on the back end of our bullpen over 162 games. You can do it for a month. You can do it in the playoffs. You can do it for six weeks. It’s hard to do over 162.”

The market features an abundance of options. This may be the deepest class of pitching in free-agent history. Kansas City could look at mid-tier options like Scott Kazmir, Hisashi Iwakuma, Doug Fister, Wei-Yin Chen, Mike Leake or Brett Anderson.

In addition, the team could seek reunions with Ryan Madson and Chris Young, both of whom impressed the organization with his ability in 2015. The only returning members of the bullpen are Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Luke Hochevar.

One of the reasons Moore can skip this week’s event? Very little often happens. But the Royals can at least begin to gauge the markets for players like Gordon and Zobrist. Kansas City can see if it has a shot.

“We sat here two years ago, with Ervin Santana, and everybody said he was going to get whatever, and he didn’t,” Moore said. “Everybody said that James Shields was going to get whatever, and he didn’t. There’s just so much speculation out there. I think it’s important for us to just sign the players that make sense for us.”

This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 5:20 PM with the headline "At General Managers Meetings, Royals plan to gauge the free-agent market."