Report Card for the 2014-2015 Royals, Part 2.

Let’s finish with the pitchers and then the coaching and front office staff. As always, my grades are harsh but fair.

Wade Davis (7.1 bWAR): Over the last two seasons, Wade Davis is 17-3 with a 0.97 ERA. I mean, just read that again. Even when it comes to stats we justifiably ignore, like win-loss record for a reliever, Davis is off-the-charts good. He’s allowed 71 hits in 139 innings. He’s struck out 187 batters against just 43 walks. He’s allowed three home runs. He’s the most valuable pitcher on a two-time AL champion despite averaging under 70 innings a season. And in the postseason, he’s allowed two runs – one unearned – in 25 innings.

Also: he closed out Game 6 of this year’s ALCS despite having to work on both sides of an hour-long rain delay, and letting runners reach first and third with none out in the ninth. That activates a corollary of Postulate #4, which basically states that the Royals do not win Game 6 of the ALCS without Wade Davis. Wade Davis is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Yordano Ventura (5.1 bWAR): In his first two full seasons in the majors, Ventura has a 3.61 ERA in 58 starts with 315 strikeouts in 346 innings. He is already tied for the most postseason starts (9) in Royals history despite being just 24 years old.

Also: on September 7, 2014, Ventura threw 6 scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium in a game the Royals would win, 2-0. This activates Postulate #2. Yordano Ventura is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Danny Duffy (5.0 bWAR): Yes, Danny Duffy has been the third-most valuable pitcher on the Royals over the last two years. He has thrown 286 innings with a 3.27 ERA.

Also: on May 17, 2014, Duffy had a perfect game for 6.2 innings and finished with 7 shutout innings in a game the Royals won, 1-0. That activates Postulate #2. Danny Duffy is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Kelvin Herrera (4.1 bWAR): Only on the Royals would a reliever who has a 2.06 ERA in 140 innings over the last two years be forced to pitch in a seventh inning role. Herrera also holds the Royals all-time postseason strikeout record with 38, a record he shares with Wade Davis.

Also: on June 29, 2014, Kelvin Herrera entered a tie game in relief of Jeremy Guthrie with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, and got Albert Pujols to fly out to centerfield. The Royals would win the game on a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth. That activates Postulate #2. Kelvin Herrera is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

James Shields (3.3 bWAR): Yeah, so, turns out he was a pretty decent return for Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi. Especially since it turns out he was the second-best pitcher the Royals got in the deal. Shields threw 227 innings in 2014 with a 3.21 ERA.

Also: on September 5, 2014, Shields threw 8.1 scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium to outduel Michael Pineda, 1-0. That activates Postulate #2. James Shields is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Greg Holland (2.8 bWAR): He is one of the great closers in Royals history, and in 11 postseason innings in 2014 he gave up just one meaningless run. Unfortunately his elbow would not permit him to be on the mound to throw the final pitch of the season in New York, but on the other hand, it’s fortunate his elbow finally gave out completely before the playoffs began. If the Royals were still using a diminished Holland as their closer in October, there may not have been a final game of the season to close out.

Also: in the Wild Card game, Holland threw a scoreless top of the ninth inning, allowing the Royals to tie the game with a single run in the bottom of the ninth. That activates Postulate #1. Greg Holland is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Jason Vargas (2.8 bWAR): Before his elbow came out Vargas was exactly what the Royals expected him to be: a quality finesse pitcher who threw strikes (49 UIBB in 230 IP) and let his defense carry him to a 3.76 ERA.

Also: on August 13, 2014, Jason Vargas threw a complete-game shutout against Oakland, and the Royals won, 3-0. That activates Postulate #2. Jason Vargas is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Edinson Volquez (2.5 bWAR): Volquez has already earned his entire 2-year, $20 million contract in his first season as a Royal, throwing 200 innings for the first time in his career with a 3.55 ERA.

Also: Volquez threw six shutout innings against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALCS, and the Royals won, 5-0. If the Royals don’t win that game, they would have had to win Game 7 of the ALCS with Johnny Cueto on the mound. Edinson Volquez is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Chris Young (2.5 bWAR): Young was exactly what the Royals expected him to be: a swingman who pitched effectively as both a starter and a reliever, taking advantage of his ballpark and outfield defense and his natural BABIP-defying ways to post a .212 BABIP, the lowest by any American League pitcher (min: 100 IP) since 1988. That helped him to a 3.06 ERA and his best season by bWAR since 2007.

Also: on June 9, 2015, Young threw 6.1 shutout innings, allowing just one hit, in a game the Royals won 2-0, and on September 27, 2015, Young threw five no-hit innings in his return to the rotation as the Royals won, 3-0. Without those two wins, the Royals don’t have home field advantage in the ALCS. That activates Postulate #4. Chris Young is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Ryan Madson (1.7 bWAR): After missing three seasons with arm troubles, Madson became perhaps the best non-roster invitee in Royals history, making the majors’ best bullpen out of spring training and throwing 63 innings with a 2.13 ERA.

Also: on April 23, 2015, Madson threw a scoreless bottom of the 10th and 11th inning in Chicago in a game the Royals would win, 3-2, in 13 innings. And on July 18, Madson threw a scoreless bottom of the 13th to save another win against the White Sox. Without those two wins, the Royals don’t have home field advantage in the ALCS. That activates Postulate #4. Ryan Madson is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Jason Frasor (1.3 bWAR): Frasor’s time in Kansas City was short but eventful. He threw 41 innings and allowed just eight runs, despite peripheral numbers that were quite mediocre – particularly this year, which led to his release despite a 1.54 ERA at the time. Spencer Patton, the guy the Royals gave up for Frasor, is 27 years old and has allowed 25 runs in 33 innings in his career so far. I’m chalking this trade up as a win.

Also: on August 8, 2014, Frasor pitched a scoreless top of the sixth inning in a 2-2 game, and got the win when the Royals scored two runs in the bottom of the inning off of…ahem…Madison He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. That activates Postulate #2. Jason Frasor is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Franklin Morales (0.7 bWAR): Ryan Madson wasn’t the only NRI to sign with the Royals after spring training got underway and make the team out of spring training. Morales threw 62 innings for the Royals with a 3.18 ERA as the team’s only left-handed reliever for much of the season.

Also: on April 23, 2015, Morales pitched a scoreless bottom of the 12th inning in Chicago and got the win when the Royals scored in the 13th. And on September 30th, Morales pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth in Chicago and got the win when the Royals scored in the 10th. This activates Postulate #4. Franklin Morales is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Brandon Finnegan (0.6 bWAR): Finnegan became the first player in major league history to play in the College World Series and the World Series in the same year, going from being the 17th pick in the draft out of TCU in June to the Royals’ bullpen in September and throwing seven innings during the regular season, allowing one run on six hits, a walk, and 10 strikeouts. This year he would be traded to Cincinnati for Johnny Cueto, who was himself a pivotal part of the championship run.

Also: in the Wild Card game, Finnegan, with seven innings of major league experience and 34 innings of professional experience, saved the Royals’ season not once but twice, throwing a scoreless 10th and 11th, twice giving the Royals a chance to walk off in the bottom of the inning. That didn’t happen, but he gave the offense enough time to finally put together a rally in the 12th. That activates Postulate #1. Brandon Finnegan is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Joe Blanton (0.3 bWAR): Yet another NRI who contributed to the 2015 Royals, Blanton started the year in the minors but was called up in mid-May and made four starts and 11 relief appearances for the Royals before he was designated for assignment, throwing 42 innings with a 3.89 ERA. (He was then picked up by the Pirates and gave them a 1.57 ERA in 34 innings out of the bullpen. Not bad for a guy who didn’t pitch in 2014 after going 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA in 2013. Never give up on a starter until you’ve tried him as a reliever.)

Also: on July 21st, 2015, Blanton threw 3.2 scoreless innings in relief of Jason Vargas, whose elbow blew out in the second inning. The game would stay scoreless until the Royals scored three in the bottom of the eighth and won, 3-1. And on June 22nd, Blanton started and allowed one run in six innings as the Royals won, 4-1. That activates Postulate #4. Joe Blanton is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Luke Hochevar (0.3 bWAR): Hochevar returned from Tommy John surgery – and missing the party in 2014 – in early May, and was solid during the regular season, with a 3.73 in 51 innings, before throwing 10.2 scoreless innings in the playoffs, and got the win the final game of the season, just as the Royals expected he would when they made him the #1 pick in the draft in 2006.

Also: on August 19th, 2015, Hochevar entered a game the Royals were leading 4-3 in Cincinnati with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, and got out of the jam with a double play (an infield pop-up he caught followed by throwing out a boneheaded Jason Bourgeois, who apparently forgot the rules of baseball for a moment). He also threw a perfect sixth, and the Royals won, 4-3. And on July 18th, Hochevar struck out the side in the 10th inning in Chicago, and the Royals would win in the 13th. This activates Postulate #4. Luke Hochevar is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Johnny Cueto (0.2 bWAR): Centuries from now, historians will look at baseball-reference.com’s page on the 2015 Royals and wonder what all the fuss was about Johnny Cueto, who had a 4.76 ERA in 13 starts, allowed 101 hits in 81 innings, and with whom the Royals were 4-9 when he started the game for them during the regular season.

And then they will turn to the postseason page, and realize that the Royals won three of his four postseason starts, including a double elimination Game 5 of the ALDS in which he allowed two baserunners (and two runs) in eight innings, as well as a World Series start in which he threw a two-hit complete game while allowing just one run, the first complete game by an AL pitcher in the World Series since, if you can believe it, Jack Morris’ 10-inning shutout in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. By game score, these are the best starts in Royals’ postseason history:

   Pitcher             Game      GS

1. Johnny Cueto     2015 WS 2    80

2. Bret Saberhagen  2015 WS 7    79

3. Johnny Cueto     2015 ALDS 5  78

3. Bret Saberhagen  1985 WS 3    78

Ranking 74th and dead last? Cueto’s start in Game 3 of the ALCS (10), when the Royals held a 2-0 series lead. He was at his worst when all it cost us was a good night’s sleep, and he was at his best when it could have cost us everything. Johnny Cueto is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Kris Medlen (0.1 bWAR): Medlen was really signed for his ability to be a member of the starting rotation in 2016, and any performance he gave the Royals in 2015 was gravy. He returned from Tommy John surgery right on schedule, making his Royals debut on July 20th and contributing a 4.01 ERA over eight starts and seven relief appearances, with a 4.13 FIP that makes me optimistic about his ability to perform next season after another off-season of rest.

Also: on August 9th, Medlen relieved Danny Duffy in a 3-3 game in the top of the fourth with men on first and second and one out, got out of the inning unscathed and threw three more scoreless innings. He was in line for the win when the Royals scored in the fifth; Kelvin Herrera blew the lead in the top of the eighth but the Royals scored a run in the bottom of the inning and won, 5-4. And on September 15th, Medlen started and threw 6.1 scoreless innings as the Royals won, 2-0. That activates Postulate #4. Kris Medlen is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Tim Collins (0.1 bWAR): Collins missed the party in 2015, and struggled enough in 2014 that he was sent down to the minors for a time, throwing just 21 innings for the Royals. But he did make the postseason roster and threw 5.2 innings, allowing just two runs, and got two outs without allowing a run in the bottom of the ninth of Game 1 of the ALDS against the Angels, which the Royals won in 11 innings.

Also: on May 24th, 2014, Collins pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10th in Anaheim, and the Royals would win in 13 innings, 7-4. That activates Postulate #2. Tim Collins is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Wilking Rodriguez (0.1 bWAR): Don’t remember Wilking Rodriguez? That’s because he only threw two (admittedly scoreless) innings with the Royals in 2014, the only two innings of his major league career, and departed as a minor league free agent after the season. He spent 2015 in the Yankees organization and threw just 11 innings, all in the minors.

But on June 3rd, 2014, Rodriguez made his major league debut in St. Louis, pitching a scoreless bottom of the seventh inning with the Royals losing 7-6. The Royals tied the game with a run in the eighth and scored the winning run in the top of the ninth, and won, 8-7. (I have no idea why Wilking Rodriguez would make his major league debut in a one-run game in the seventh inning, but it worked.) That activates Postulate #2. Wilking Rodriguez is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Francisley Bueno (0.0 bWAR): Bueno was signed as a minor league free agent after the 2011 season, and despite bouncing between Triple-A and the majors for three years, he was awfully effective as a LOOGY when he did pitch for the Royals: between 2012 and 2014 he threw 58 innings for them, allowing just seven unintentional walks against 33 strikeouts, with a 2.79 ERA. (For his troubles, he spent 2015 pitching in Mexico.)

Also: on July 24th, 2014, Bueno pitched a scoreless top  of the 10th against the Indians, and got two outs in the top of the 11th. The Royals would finally walk it off in the 14th inning. That activates Postulate #2. Francisley Bueno is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Scott Downs (0.0 bWAR): Downs only pitched 14 innings for the Royals in 2014 to end his career, allowing seven runs (five earned) and more walks (5) than strikeouts (3). The home run he allowed to – wait for it – Jonny Gomes on July 18th cost the Royals the ballgame in Boston, and was frequently pointed at as an exhibit for Ned Yost’s penchant for managerial mistakes.

But: on July 24th, 2014, Downs pitched a scoreless 12th and 13th inning against the Indians, allowing the Royals to walk it off in the 14th. That activates Postulate #2. Scott Downs is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Louis Coleman (-0.2 bWAR): Few things speak to the depth of the Royals’ bullpen more than the fact that Coleman, after throwing 140 innings in the majors from 2011-2013 with a 2.69 ERA – and after allowing just two runs in 30 innings in 2013 – spent most of 2014 and 2015 in the minor leagues. (Granted, he was pretty terrible when he pitched for the Royals in 2014.) He’s still on the 40-man roster, and still has the potential to be a useful right-handed specialist for a team that’s not as loaded to the gills with bullpen arms as the Royals are.

Also: on May 11th, 2014, Coleman pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth in Seattle with the Royals losing, 7-5, and got the win when the Royals scored four runs in the top of the seventh. That activates Postulate #2. Louis Coleman is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Liam Hendriks (-0.2 bWAR): Hendricks threw only 19 innings for the Royals after he was acquired, along with Erik Kratz, for Danny Valencia in July 2014 and before he was traded to the Blue Jays after the season because they didn’t have any space on their 40-man roster. Letting him go may have been a mistake; Hendriks was always an excellent control pitcher without great stuff, but after the Blue Jays moved him to the bullpen, his fastball spiked 3 mph – one of the greatest increases in velocity of any pitcher between 2014 and 2015 – and he had an excellent year for Toronto, throwing 65 innings with a 2.92 ERA and 71 strikeouts against 11 walks. He also threw 4.1 scoreless innings against the Royals in Game 4 of the ALCS this year, even as the other Blue Jay pitchers that day allowed 14 runs in 4.2 innings.

And on August 27th, 2014, with the Royals needing an emergency starter, they turned to Hendricks, and he threw six scoreless innings against the Twins before finally allowing a run in the seventh to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. But the Royals would break through with six runs in the eighth inning to win, 6-1. That activates Postulate #2. Liam Hendriks is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Aaron Crow (-0.4 bWAR): Crow never lived up to his potential as a first-round pick who was drafted ahead of Mike Trout, among others, and by 2014 his struggles (10 homers allowed in 59 innings) made him a deserved punching bag in the season’s second half; he was left off the playoff roster and traded to Miami over the winter. But in four years with the Royals, he threw 234 innings with a very respectable 3.43 ERA.

Also: on May 24th, 2004, Crow pitched a scoreless 11th and 12th in Anaheim and was credited with a win against the Angels when the Royals scored in the top of the 13th. Also, he was pressed into service on September 2nd to close out a 2-1 lead at home – neither Greg Holland nor Wade Davis were available – and threw a scoreless ninth against Texas. That activates Postulate #2. Aaron Crow is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Aaron Brooks (-0.5 bWAR): Aaron Brooks made one start for the Royals, on May 31st, 2014, and allowed 7 runs before he was knocked out in the first inning. In three relief outings for the Royals, he allowed 9 runs in 6.1 innings. He has a career 20.57 ERA with Kansas City.

But on July 28th, 2015, Brooks was the second player in the trade that sent Sean Manaea to Oakland in exchange for Ben Zobrist. The Royals do not win a world championship in 2015 without Zobrist. Aaron Brooks is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Michael Mariot (-0.5 bWAR): Mariot, a fairly well-regarded relief prospect in the minors, has a 6.11 ERA in 28 innings with the Royals between 2014 and 2015. After this season he was claimed on waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies.

But on June 27th, 2014, Mariot was called on to bail out Jason Vargas in the top of the fifth, after an 8-2 Kansas City lead had dwindled to 8-5 with no one out and the bases loaded. Mariot gave up a sacrifice fly to Albert Pujols but no other damage in the inning, and the 8-6 score held up as Mariot was credited with his first and only major league win. That activates Postulate #2. Michael Mariot is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Jeremy Guthrie (-0.7 bWAR): After a terrific revival half-season in 2012 and quality innings-munching work in 2013 and 2014, Guthrie finally collapsed in 2015, with a 5.95 ERA and a league-leading 29 homers allowed in just 148 innings. His -1.8 bWAR in 2015 is the third-worst season in Royals history, behind only Doug Bird’s 1978 (-2.2) and…Wade Davis in 2013 (-2.1). Maybe Guthrie has a future in the bullpen.

Also: on August 1st, 2014, Guthrie threw six scoreless innings in Oakland, which allowed Raul Ibanez’s solo homer to stand up as the only run in the game. That definitively activates Postulate #2. Jeremy Guthrie is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Bruce Chen (-1.2 bWAR): Chen was at the end of his line in 2014, allowing a 7.45 ERA in 48 innings and getting unceremoniously released in September, even though rosters had expanded. After two terrible starts with the Indians this year he retired. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that he was a rotation stalwart from the time the Royals picked him up off the scrap heap in 2009 until 2014. Among pitchers who debuted in 1990 or later, only three have made more starts in a Royals uniform than Chen’s 113: Zack Greinke, Jeff Suppan, and Luke Hochevar.

Also: on April 5th, 2014, Chen threw 6.1 innings and allowed one run against the White Sox as the Royals took a 3-1 lead. Wade Davis would blow the lead (!) by allowing two runs (!!) in the eighth, but the Royals would score the game-winner in the bottom of the inning. That activates Postulate #2. Bruce Chen is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Nick Kenney: Like pretty much every season since Kenney was hired as the Royals’ Head Athletic Trainer (and Kyle Turner was hired as the Assistant Athletic Trainer), the Royals were one of the healthiest teams in baseball. They lost Alex Gordon to what could have been a season-ending injury and got him back in time for the playoffs. The only players they were missing in October were the ineffective (Omar Infante) and the increasingly lame-armed (Greg Holland). The team that took the field in the postseason was the best Royals team of the season, and it showed. Nick Kenney is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Mike Groopman: I honestly don’t know what analytical secrets Groopman (along with John Williams, Daniel Mack, and the rest of the analytics department) has uncovered – it’s not like the Royals are very forthcoming in this regard. I do know that the team finally started to improve under Dayton Moore around the time he really committed to applying analytics to the team’s decision-making. And I do know that Groopman is the first Baseball Prospectus alumnus to win a championship ring. If you had told me in 2000, or 2005, or 2010, that the first BP alumnus to win a ring would do so with the Royals, I’d have laughed in your face. But it’s true. Mike Groopman is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Art Stewart: Stewart began working in professional baseball in 1953. My mom was born in 1953. And I’m pretty sure that of his 63 seasons working for a major league team, this was his favorite. It should be. Art Stewart is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Mike Arbuckle: I still can’t believe that the Philadelphia Phillies came down to a choice between Mike Arbuckle and Ruben Amaro, Jr., to be the GM that succeeded Pat Gillick in 2008, and they chose Amaro. Their loss was our gain. The Phillies had the most losses in the major leagues this year; the Royals had the most wins. Mike Arbuckle is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Gene Watson: Watson, who knew Dayton Moore from his time with the Atlanta Braves, joined the Royals in 2006 and was promoted to Coordinator (and now Director) of Pro Scouting in 2008. I think it’s safe to say that he had a hand in picking some of the 25 players on the Royals’ playoff roster. Gene Watson is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Lonnie Goldberg: Goldberg, who knew Dayton Moore from his time with the Atlanta Braves (and at George Mason University before that), joined the Royals in 2008 and was named Director of Scouting in 2011. I think it’s safe to say that he had a hand in picking some of the 25 players on the Royals’ playoff roster. Lonnie Goldberg is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Scott Sharp: Sharp joined the Royals in 2006 and moved from Assistant Director of Player Development to Director of Minor League Operations to Director of Player Development, and this year was named Assistant General Manager of Baseball Operations. I think it’s safe to say that he had a hand in picking some of the 25 players on the Royals’ playoff roster. Scott Sharp is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Jin Wong: Wong, who knew Dayton Moore from his brief time with the Atlanta Braves, actually predates Moore in the Royals’ front office by six years, joining the Royals as Scouting Operations Coordinator back in 2000. He had a reputation for being the most analytics-friendly member of the front office before the Royals created an analytics department. After numerous promotions, his current title is Assistant General Manager of Baseball Administration. I think it’s safe to say that he had a hand in picking some of the 25 players on the Royals’ playoff roster. Jin Wong is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Rene Francisco: Francisco, who knew Dayton Moore from his time with the Atlanta Braves, joined the Royals in 2006. Within months of his hiring as Director of International Scouting (he’s now the Vice President/Assistant General Manager of Major League and International Operations), the Royals had signed Salvador Perez and Kelvin Herrera, which right there was more talent than the Royals had signed out of Latin America in the 37 years before he was hired. They’ve been joined by Yordano Ventura, Cheslor Cuthbert, Raul Mondesi, Miguel Almonte, and many more to come. I think it’s safe to say that he had a hand in picking some of the 25 players on the Royals’ playoff roster. Rene Francisco is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

J.J. Picollo: Picollo, who knew Dayton Moore from his time with the Atlanta Braves, joined the Royals in 2006 as Director of Player Development, and after several promotions is now the Vice President/Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel, the title most closely associated with what we think of as “Assistant GM”. He interviewed for the Phillies’ GM position this winter; as a Picollo fan I feel bad for him, but as a Royals fan I’m happy he’s still around. I think it’s safe to say that he had a hand in picking some of the 25 players on the Royals’ playoff roster. J.J. Picollo is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Pedro Grifol: Grifol is the Royals’ catching coach. Drew Butera caught the final pitch of the 2015 season. Grifol is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Doug Henry: Henry is the Royals’ bullpen coach. The 2013-2015 Royals have a strong case to make as the greatest bullpen in major league history. Doug Henry is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Rusty Kuntz: Oh, player. Technically he’s the first base coach, but really, he’s the Baserunning and Outfield Defense Whisperer. The best hair of any coach in the business. He’s coming back for another year. I can’t wait. Rusty Kuntz is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Mike Jirschele: So much has happened since that it’s easy to forget now, but two years ago the story of Jirschele was that of a man who spent 36 years in the minor leagues before finally getting his shot in the majors. He must have spent that time well, because – at least in the postseason – he’s basically been flawless as the Royals’ third base coach. He was right to hold Gordon, and he was right to send Cain. I hope – and I’m willing to bet – that the Royals voted him full playoff shares these past two years. Mike Jirschele is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Dale Sveum: Sveum finally ended the merry-go-round Spinal Tap Drummer feel of the hitting coach position when he took over at the end of May, 2014. The Royals scored 55 runs in the postseason from the seventh inning on, the most in major league history by an enormous margin. Dale Sveum is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Dave Eiland: Eiland was hired as the Royals’ pitching coach after the 2011 season, and after improving from 12th to 10th in the AL in runs allowed in 2012, the last three years the Royals have ranked 1st, 4th, and 3rd. Much of that is the defense, no doubt. But some of that is Eiland. Dave Eiland is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Don Wakamatsu: Wakamatsu was hired as the Royals’ bench coach after the 2013 season. When he was hired, the Royals hadn’t been to the playoffs in 28 years. In his two years with the Royals, they’ve won two pennants and a World Series. Also, his calligraphy skills are responsible for the Royals having the prettiest lineup card in the business. Don Wakamatsu is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Ned Yost: The most regular season wins of any Royals manager in history, and more postseason wins (22) than every other Royals manager combined (18). His postseason record (22-9, .710 winning percentage) is the best in major league history for any manager with at least 20 postseason games. He’s almost certainly getting his number retired when he does. Ned Yost is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Dayton Moore: Before he was hired, Baseball America ranked Dayton Moore as the #1 GM prospect in baseball. When I started this blog in 2008, Moore was my #1 reason for optimism in the franchise’s future. I may have lost faith over the years, but Moore never did. Dayton Moore is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

David Glass: My very first Rany on the Royals article after my introduction was about David Glass, and how he was no longer the liability that everyone thought he was. I stand by those words. Glass has been close to a model owner over the past nine years, hiring the man that everyone thought was best for the job in Moore, and letting him do his job with minimal interference. While he hasn’t been a spendthrift, he has spent when the situation required it. He stuck by his front office even in the face of an impatient fan base – if anything, you could argue he has been too patient, or at least you could have argued that had his patience not been utterly and entirely vindicated today. David Glass is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Happy Holidays, everyone. Check back here after the New Year, as I hope to unveil the beginning of an ambitious project that should take us all the way to Opening Day, in an effort to ensure that we never forget the amazing story of the 2014-2015 Kansas City Royals.

Report Card for the 2014-2015 Royals, Part 1.

So I think it’s only fair that I grade the performance of all those people – players and non-players alike – who made any sort of contribution to the 2014-2015 Royals. The players are listed in descending order of their bWAR over the last two seasons combined. As always, these grades are tough but fair.

Lorenzo Cain (12.3 bWAR): Cain dedicated himself to getting into better physical shape after the 2013 season, and found a way to eliminate the leg injuries that had plagued him in the past, playing in 133 games in 2014 and 140 games in 2015. He legged out enough infield singles to bat .300 for the first time in 2014, and this season he started hitting for the power he had only flashed before, hitting 16 home runs. He was 42 runs above average defensively over the past two years. This season he finished 3^rd in the AL MVP vote, becoming the first Royal since 1985 to finish in the top seven. (Think about that. From 1986 to 2014, 203 players finished in the top seven of the MVP vote. For most of that time, there were only 14 AL teams. And yet not one Royal placed.) Cain was the best player on a world championship team. That’s pretty sweet.

Also: in the Wild Card game last year, Cain batted in the bottom of the eighth with the Royals down four runs, and hit a crucial RBI single; he would eventually score himself. If Cain had not succeeded in that moment, the Royals don’t win the Wild Card game. If they don’t win the Wild Card game, they obviously do not go to the World Series in 2014. In addition, without the experience garnered in the postseason last year, as well as the disappointment-fueled focus to win it all this year after falling just short, it is highly unlikely the Royals would have come back in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Astros this year, meaning they would not have won a world championship. Lorenzo Cain is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

(To save time and space going forward, the previous paragraph will be summed up as “Postulate #1”.)

Alex Gordon (9.4 bWAR): The best defensive left fielder in the American League, Gordon led the team with 114 walks over the last two years while hitting .268/.362/.432. His near-inside-the-park-home-run in Game 7 of last year’s World Series nearly changed the course of history; his home run in Game 1 of the World Series this year did change the course of history.

Also, on August 26th, 2014, Gordon batted with the Royals losing 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth and hit a walk-off, two-run homer off Glen Perkins. If the Royals do not win this game, then they go into the final game of the season 87-74 instead of 88-73. In that case, the Royals would have been eliminated from winning the AL Central before Sunday’s games started; however, they would not have clinched home-field advantage for the Wild Card game.

In real life, once the Tigers won Game 162, the Royals – whose game was in the fifth inning – had nothing to play for, as they were guaranteed to host the Wild Card whether they won or lost. At that point in the game, the Royals were down 4-2 in the fifth inning – but they then pulled literally every starter from the game at that point. This is crucial, because the Royals came back to win, 6-4, with a lineup entirely made up of backups. Had the Royals still had something to play for, they would have stayed with their starters, in which case they very well may have lost and finished 87-75. The A’s won their final game to finish 88-74, in which case the Royals would have had to travel to Oakland for the Wild Card game.

If that game had been played in Oakland, it’s highly unlikely the Royals would have come back from a 7-3 deficit in the eighth inning. If Alex Gordon had not won the August 26th game with a walk-off home run, by Postulate #1, that means the Royals would not have won a world championship. Alex Gordon is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

(To save time and space going forward, the previous three paragraphs will be summed up as “Postulate #2”.)

Salvador Perez (5.7 bWAR): Back-to-back Gold Gloves (Perez set the Royals’ all-time record for pickoffs after he had played less 120 games in the majors) and lots of pop (he set the Royals’ all-time record for home runs by a catcher with 21 this year.) Perez passed Mike Macfarlane this season as the second-best catcher in Royals history with 14.1 career bWAR; he’s got a good chance to pass Darrell Porter (16.7) next season.

Also: on July 9th, 2014, Salvy batted with the Royals down, 4-2 in Tampa Bay, with two on and one out in the ninth. His fly ball right down the line just cleared the fence, and the Royals won, 5-4. If they had not won the game, then Postulate #2 declares that the Royals would not have won a world championship. As if that’s not enough, he somehow pulled a slider in the other batter’s box passed a diving Josh Donaldson, activating Postulate #1. Salvador Perez is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Jarrod Dyson (5.1 bWAR): While it’s a gamble, part of me would be really excited to see the Royals finally commit to playing Dyson every day (well, at least every day against right-handed pitching). He has 39 steals in 121 games started the last two years, plus 23 steals coming off the bench. Playing the equivalent of 141 complete games in the outfield, he’s been worth 25 runs above average defensively according to DRS. Put it this way: over the last two years, he has more bWAR than Mike Moustakas or Eric Hosmer, despite playing less than half the time.

Also: he stole the most important base in Royals history. Aside from Dave Roberts’ steal for the 2004 Red Sox, it might be the most important steal in baseball history. That activates Postulate #1. Jarrod Dyson is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Mike Moustakas (4.8 bWAR): Moose’s transformation into an all-fields spray hitter was one of the more impressive and gratifying transformations I’ve ever seen from a Royals player. By swallowing his pride and working his ass off, he turned himself from a replacement-level player (0.3 bWAR between 2013 and 2014 combined) into a deserving All-Star.

Also: on August 6th, 2014, Moustakas hit a two-run homer in the second, an RBI single in the fourth, and drove in the Royals’ final run with a groundout in the ninth. He had all four RBIs in a game the Royals won 4-3. That activates Postulate #2. Mike Moustakas is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Eric Hosmer (4.4 bWAR): The cleanup hitter on a world championship team, Hosmer has been an RBI machine in the postseason, with 29 RBIs in 31 games despite a pedestrian .276/.333/.398 split. His audacious dash for home in Game 5 of the World Series is one of the most iconic moments of the last two years.

Also: in the Wild Card game, with the Royals losing by a run in the 12th inning, down to their final two outs with no one on base, Hosmer saved the season by tripling high off the left-field wall, later scoring the tying run. That activates Postulate #1. Eric Hosmer is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Alcides Escobar (3.1 bWAR): Escobar won his first Gold Glove this year, a nifty recognition of his excellent defense the last five years. (Also probably his last: Francisco Lindor probably would have won this year if he had been called up earlier, and Andrelton Simmons will probably win next year and for many years after that.) Escobar hasn’t been a complete cipher offensively, hitting .270 with 48 steals over the last two years.

Also: in the Wild Card game, leading off the bottom of the eighth inning with the Royals losing by four runs, Escobar singled, and then stole second base – a ridiculously low-percentage move which worked out brilliantly when Nori Aoki followed with a one-hop bullet to the second baseman which almost certainly would have been a double play had Escobar not stolen second. This activates Postulate #1. Alcides Escobar is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Kendrys Morales (2.4 bWAR): In his first year as a Royal, Morales hit .290/.362/.485 with 41 doubles, 22 homers, and 106 RBIs. He won the Silver Slugger award. He hit three home runs and a triple in a game against the Tigers on September 20th, which is basically the greatest offensive game in the history of the franchise.

Also: in Game 4 of this year’s ALDS in Houston, with the Royals down 6-4 in the eighth inning, with none out in the bases loaded, Morales hit a double play ball with enough speed and spin to elude both pitcher Tony Sipp and shortstop Carlos Correa, turning what would have been a 6-5 deficit with two outs and a man on third into a tie game with the go-ahead run on third and none out. Without that absurd rally, the Royals don’t come back to win Game 4, are eliminated from the postseason, and do not win a world championship. Kendrys Morales is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

(To save time and space going forward, the previous paragraph will be summed up as “Postulate #3”.)

Christian Colon (1.3 bWAR): Long derided as another failed top-five pick, Colon finally debuted last season and has hit .303/.361/.382 in 64 major league games. He may have a future after all.

Also: in the Wild Card game, Colon batted with the tying run on third base and one out in the 12th inning, and chopped an infield single that tied the game. He stole second base and then scored the walk-off run. This activates Postulate #1, which gave Colon the opportunity to drive in the winning run in the final game of the following year. This year. Christian Colon is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Ben Zobrist (1.2 bWAR): My favorite trade deadline pickup of all time. Zobrist hit .284/.364/.453 in two months as a Royal, seamlessly moving from left field to second base when asked, and then was the Royals’ best hitter in the postseason. Thanks, Ben. Give Blaise Royal a kiss from all of us.

Also: in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the ALDS in Houston, Zobrist lined a single to load the bases and keep the line moving in the five-run rally. That activates Postulate #3. Ben Zobrist is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Paulo Orlando (1.0 bWAR): The first Brazilian to ever appear in a World Series, Orlando was a highly useful fourth outfielder this season, hitting .249/.269/.444 with very good defense, despite not reaching the majors until he was 29 years old. (Only three other hitters have made their major league debut with the Royals at an older age: Chris Hatcher, Aaron Guiel, and Edgar Caceres.)

Also: on July 12th, 2015, Orlando led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run to break a 10-10 deadlock against the Toronto Blue Jays. (The Royals had scored six runs in the first and led 7-0 after five innings before giving up eight runs in the sixth.) The Royals won the game, 11-10. If they had lost the game, the Toronto Blue Jays would have held home-field advantage when the two teams squared off in the ALCS.

Had Toronto been the home team, it’s unlikely that Ryan Goins would have pulled off of Ben Zobrist’s pop-up that ignited the five-run rally against David Price in the seventh inning of Game 2. In addition, given the evidence that umpires are subconsciously influenced by the home crowd to make borderline calls that favor the home-team, it’s likely the 2-1 pitches to Ben Revere and Dioner Navarro in the ninth inning of Game 6 would have been called balls, not strikes, dramatically changing the dynamics of the inning, possibly allowing the Blue Jays to come back and win. (Admittedly, a very shaky proposition, given that Wade Davis was on the mound and Wade Davis does not give up runs.)

If the outcome of both games changes, then the Blue Jays win the ALCS in six games; if the outcome of either game changes, then Johnny Cueto has to start Game 7 of the ALCS on the road. If Paulo Orlando doesn’t hit that home run, the Royals probably lose to the Blue Jays in the ALCS, and do not win a world championship. Paulo Orlando is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

(To save time and space going forward, the previous three paragraphs will be summed up as “Postulate #4”.)

Nori Aoki (1.0 bWAR): In his one season with the Royals, Aoki gave them exactly what they wanted when they traded Will Smith for him: a leadoff type hitter who could get on base (.349 OBP) with speed (17 steals in 25 attempts) to play right field (which, strictly speaking, he did).

Also: in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Wild Card game, with Jarrod Dyson on second base and one out, Aoki waited out Sean Doolittle for four pitches – giving Dyson enough time to figure out Doolittle’s move and steal third – and then hit a deep fly ball to right field, allowing Dyson to trot home with the tying run. This activates Postulate #1. Nori Aoki is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Johnny Giavotella (0.1 bWAR): The sight of Giavotella playing cheerleader throughout the 2014 playoffs like it was the role of a lifetime never failed to amuse me. I can’t say that the Royals miss him – his defensive weakness makes him a poor fit for what they’re trying to do – but I am so happy for him that he won the starting job in Anaheim this season and hit a highly respectable .272/.318/.375. I always believed in him, and I’m glad that he finally showed what he was capable of this year.

Also: on May 11th, 2014, with the Royals losing 7-6 in the top of the seventh, with men on first and third and two outs, Giavotella hit a three-run homer of Danny Farquhar to give the Royals a 9-7 lead they would not relinquish. This activates Postulate #2. Johnny Giavotella is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Josh Willingham (0.1 bWAR): The Royals traded for Willingham on August 11th, 2014, to be an insurance policy in the outfield and DH and as a right-handed hitter off the bench, and he performed that job reasonably well, hitting .233/.349/.384 in 86 plate appearances down the stretch.

Also: the last hit of his major league career was a pinch-hit single to lead off the bottom of the ninth of the Wild Card game against left-hander Sean Doolittle. Dyson would pinch-run for him and you know the rest. This activates Postulate #1. Josh Willingham is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Terrance Gore (0.0 bWAR): Gore is, quite simply, the fastest basestealer I (and pretty much anyone else) have ever seen. His future as a perennial September call-up is assured – the major league minimum is worth $80,000-$90,000 a month, and that doesn’t include his postseason shares, so it’s a good job if you can get it. But after hitting .284/.367/.311 in Double-A this year, the possibility is there for him to carve out a Dyson-like career.

Also: on September 15th, 2014 – popularly known as the “That’s What Speed Deux” game – Gore pinch-ran for Aoki after Aoki had just doubled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth (this after Dyson, himself in the game as a pinch-runner, had stolen third base with two outs – and then just kept running when the ball got away from the catcher, scoring the tying run.) Cain then hit a slow infield single to shortstop, and Gore just turned the corner at third base and didn’t slow down until he had scored the walk-off run. This activates Postulate #2. Terrance Gore is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Omar Infante (0.0 bWAR): Infante plays second base pretty well.

Also: on June 29th, 2014, Infante hit a walk-off single with one out in the ninth inning to beat the Angels. This activates Postulate #2. Omar Infante is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Erik Kratz (0.0 bWAR): Kratz performed the magical feat of being on a postseason roster all the way to Game 7 of the World Series without ever appearing in a game.

Also: on August 18th, 2014, Kratz pinch-hit for an ailing Salvador Perez in the top of the seventh inning, with the Royals leading, 3-0, and homered. He batted again in the ninth with the Royals leading, 5-1, and homered again. The Twins then scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, meaning Kratz’s two home runs were the margin of victory in a 6-4 final score. That activates Postulate #2. Erik Kratz is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Danny Valencia (0.0 bWAR): Valencia came to the Royals in December 2013 in exchange for David Lough, and then was traded in July 2014 for Liam Hendriks and Erik Kratz, both of whom had their own role to play in the drama of the last two years.

Also: on April 16th, 2014, Valencia started at third base against an up-and-coming left-hander named Dallas Keuchel, and homered in the second inning. The Royals would need 11 innings to defeat the Astros that day, 6-4. This activates Postulate #2. Danny Valencia is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Pedro Ciriaco (-0.2 bWAR): Yeah, apparently Pedro Ciriaco played for the 2014 Royals.

Also: on May 29th, 2014, Ciriaco started at third base in Toronto, and with the Royals losing 4-2 in the fifth inning, he doubled in a run and then scored the tying run in what turned into a three-run rally. The Royals would fall behind 6-5 before tying it in the ninth when, with two outs and Dyson on second base, Perez hit a routine ground ball to shortstop Jose Reyes, only Reyes’ throw to first bounced out of Edwin Encarnacion’s glove, and Dyson came all the way around to score. The Royals would win in 11 innings. This activates Postulate #2. Pedro Ciriaco is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Drew Butera (-0.2 bWAR): The best hair of any backup catcher in the business.

Also: in Game 4 of the ALDS in Houston, playing in favor of an ailing Perez, Butera batted with two on and one out in the top of the eighth inning in a tie game, and against Luke Gregerson’s filthy slider, somehow worked a ten-pitch walk, keeping the line moving for Gordon to drive in the go-ahead run with a groundout to second base. This activates Postulate #3. His reward: catching the final out of the World Series. Drew Butera is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Billy Butler (-0.3 bWAR): We’re not making fun of Billy Butler here. From 2009 to 2013 he was one of the best DHs in baseball. Unfortunately this run began in 2014.

Also: in the Wild Card game, facing Luke Gregerson in the eighth inning while representing the tying run with one out, Butler didn’t hit into the inning-ending double play we all feared – he punched a single to right-center field, making the score 7-5 and bringing Gore out of the dugout to pinch-run as the potential tying run. Gore wouldn’t score, but Hosmer – who had moved to third on Butler’s single – would, and the Royals would tie the game an inning later. This activates Postulate #1. Billy Butler is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Jonny Gomes (-0.4 bWAR): As a hitter, Gomes is pretty much washed up. As a clubhouse guy, Gomes is still at the peak of his powers.

Also: On October 1st, 2015, Gomes drove in three runs for the Royals – a two-run single in the second and a sacrifice fly in the fifth – in a game they won, 6-4. If they don’t win that game, perhaps the Blue Jays take Game 162 more seriously and don’t start Mark Buehrle…okay, you’re not buying that one? How about this: if Gomes played better defense, he wouldn’t have collided with Sam Fuld in the 12th inning of the Wild Card game, and maybe Hosmer would have held at second base, in which case he would not have scored on Colon’s infield single, and then who knows if the Royals tie the game, let alone win it.

So Postulate #4 is partially activated, and Postulate #1 is partially activated, and then Gomes activated both of them by coaching and counseling Colon all October to be ready if and when his opportunity presented itself, which it did in Game 5 of the World Series. If you have any doubt left, he gave a speech during the parade. If you have a problem with that, you hate America. Jonny Gomes is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Raul Ibanez (-0.8 bWAR): He may well have given the most important clubhouse speech in a players-only meeting in the history of baseball.

Also: on August 1st, 2014, Ibanez hit a home run off Sonny Gray in Oakland. It was the only run in a 1-0 game, the only time since 1993 the Royals have won a game 1-0 on a home run. Coming against the A’s, this definitively activates Postulate #2. Raul Ibanez is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

Alex Rios (-1.1 bWAR): He was signed by the Royals to be a productive right fielder, and it only took him six months to do it.

Also: in Game 4 of the ALDS, he led off the eighth inning rally with the Royals losing, 6-2, and singled to left field on the first pitch. This alone activates Postulate #3. He also drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the fifth inning of Game 5, the only other elimination game the Royals played all season. Alex Rios is responsible for the Royals winning a world championship. Grade: A+

I hope you agree that these grades accurately reflect how each player performed over the last two years. Pitchers and others still to come.

The Future.

As much as I would like to spend the entire off-season writing about nothing except the legacy of the 2015 Royals, I figure I owe you at least one column to discuss what the Royals of 2016 and beyond ought to look like. It would be lovely to live in a world in which, after winning a championship, your appetite for victory were completely and permanently satiated. Alas, we are creatures of greed. I suspect that, just as most narcissists secretly suffer from insecurity, at the core of most greed is actually a fear of poverty. That’s certainly the case for me: it’s been barely a month since the Royals won the championship that I’ve been pining for for over a quarter-century, and I’m already terrified that someone will snatch it away. I’m afraid that when they do, the 2015 Royals will eventually be forgotten. And that won’t do.

So let’s see if we can’t get another pennant or two, if not another ring or two, out of this group – enough success so that they’ll never be forgotten. If they’re going to do it, it’s going to have to be soon, because the reality that has to drive every decision that Dayton Moore and his front office this off-season isn’t the fact that Alex Gordon and Ben Zobrist and Johnny Cueto are free agents. It’s the fact that the following players all become free agents at the same time, after the 2017 season, a scant two years from now:

Eric Hosmer

Mike Moustakas

Lorenzo Cain

Alcides Escobar

Wade Davis

Danny Duffy

Jarrod Dyson

(Omar Infante and Jason Vargas would be free agents as well, although I think we can safely ignore them for purposes of this exercise. Also, Cot’s Baseball Contracts lists Edinson Volquez as having a club option for 2017, although everywhere it’s been reported as a mutual option, meaning he really is a free agent after 2016.)

That’s four everyday hitters, including the 2-3-4 hitters for much of this season, as well as the best closer in the game, and Duffy and Dyson are hardly chopped liver. Maybe the Royals think they can weather the storm and still be competitive in 2018. And if they do, maybe they’re right; while I’m not getting out of the predicting-the-Royals-are-wrong business permanently, I do think a sabbatical is probably in order. But from where I stand, I think it’s going to take an incredible amount of skill and a good deal of luck for the Royals to be a contender in 2018.

And you know what? That’s fine. We knew, pretty much from the moment Eric Hosmer was called up from Omaha to make his major league debut in May of 2011, that the window for The Best Farm System Ever was 2011-2017. The first year was a grace period, 2012 was a disappointment, and 2013 was good but not good enough – but two pennants and a world championship in the last two years matches any reasonable expectation for the entire seven-year run. Anything they do over these next two years is delicious, delicious gravy. If they can make the playoffs in each of the next two years, this particular crop of Royals players will have four postseason berths, two pennants and a title to their names at the very least. They will have fulfilled every expectation we could have had for them.

And if in 2018 they have to start over again, I’m good with that. The rebuilding process won’t take nearly as long as the last one, if for no other reason than that the Royals’ Latin American pipeline has been running at full capacity for years now. Guys like Raul Mondesi and Bubba Starling and Kyle Zimmer should have established themselves in the majors and still be on the upslope of their careers. The Royals will still have Salvador Perez and Yordano Ventura under contract, giving them a couple of very valuable trade chits if they want to supercharge the rebuilding process. And of course they still have two drafts and two Latin American signing periods between now and then to add more talent.

But it’s hard for me to see how they can win in 2018 with the talent they have on hand, unless they nail every mid-level free agent signing – granted, Moore basically did that last winter. Maybe they sign one of their young players to an extension. Hosmer, I think, is as good as gone, and Cain will turn 32 just after Opening Day in 2018, but I do wonder if Moustakas would be amenable to an extension this winter. But even with Moustakas, and Mondesi at shortstop, and maybe Christian Colon at second base, and Perez behind the plate…they have no first baseman and no outfield. Ventura is their only starter under contract; Kelvin Herrera is their only reliever.

A lot can happen in the next two years, absolutely. If the Royals continue their mimicry of the St. Louis Cardinals by having a lot of Grade B and C prospects come up and perform better in the majors than they did in the minors, this discussion could be moot. But realistically, I think the Royals need to approach this off-season with a mindset that they should be willing to sacrifice wins in 2018 and beyond in order to maximize their ability to win the AL Central in each of the next two years.

To put that in more stark terms: the Royals should be willing to sacrifice the long term for the short term. This is a position that I’m not terribly familiar with, but then I’m not terribly familiar with the experience of being the fan of the defending world champions either. We all have to adjust. There is a time for being prudent with your resources, for spending wisely and hoarding prospects carefully. This just doesn’t happen to be one of those times.

That’s why I find the Royals’ seeming reluctance to commit to a long-term deal for Alex Gordon so annoying. I get their reluctance to pay the market rate for Ben Zobrist: Zobrist’s value is elevated greatly by his ability to play second base, and if the Royals re-sign him, it would not be to play second base. For one thing, he would be taking Alex Gordon’s money – and so, as when the Royals traded for him, they would have a huge hole for him to fill in left field. Also, the Royals have another option at second base to consider.

No, not Omar Infante – at least I hope Infante wouldn’t keep them from re-signing Zobrist. Contracts taste like crap, but sometimes eating them is the best thing for your long-term health. No, I’m referring to Christian Colon, who might actually be a league-average second baseman, and definitely will be a league-minimum-salary second baseman. Postseason heroics aside, Colon’s career line in the majors is .303/.361/.382 with a 12.5% K/PA rate, and in 137 Triple-A games over the last two years he hit .300/.362/.401 with a 7.8% K/PA rate and 23 steals in 28 attempts. He’s probably not a .300 hitter in the majors, but a .270 hitter with good bat control and at least average defense? That’s a damn sight better than what the Royals got from Infante last year. Letting Colon play second base would free up dollars elsewhere.

Like, say, signing Gordon. Look, it’s possible that some team is going to blow the Royals out of the water with a 6-year, $120 million contract, in which case I wish him well. But if it turns out he signs for more reasonable terms – say, 5 years and $80 million, maybe even 5/$85 – and the Royals pass on him anyway, I think it will be a mistake.

For one thing, it’s quite possible that he will earn back the terms of that contract anyway. Yes, Gordon will turn 32 before spring training starts. But he takes excellent care of himself, and just as Billy Butler was a bad bet to age well because of his lack of physical fitness, Gordon’s dedication to keeping himself in prime physical condition makes him a good candidate to be productive into his mid-30s. So does his broad range of skills – Gordon isn’t simply a one-trick pony, whether that trick is power or speed. He has good power, and runs well, and draws walks, and hits doubles, and plays excellent defense. Studies have shown that players with a broad range of skills age better than players who don’t, because they have multiple ways of adjusting to the slow erosion of their natural skills as they age.

While Gordon isn’t quite as good a hitter, he’s very comparable to Dwight Evans, who (like Gordon) was a very underrated player throughout his career – he should have Jim Rice’s spot in the Hall of Fame, to be perfectly honest. Evans wasn’t elite in any one category, but hit for power, drew walks, and played great defense. After an off-year when he was 31 (he hit .238/.338/.436), Evans was terrific for the next six years; he was worth at least 3.0 bWAR every year from age 32 to 37.

That’s a best-case scenario for Gordon, admittedly, but I see no reason from where I stand why he can’t be at least a league-average player by the end of his contract. But more to the point, the Royals don’t really need him to be a good player at the end of his contract. They need him to be a good player for the next two years.

In any long-term free agent contract, the goal of the team is to get enough value from the player in the first half of his contract to make up for the fact that he’ll be overpaid in the back half. If the Royals are paying Gordon $17 million to do not much in 2020, that’s an acceptable concession for the right to pay Gordon $17 million to be an above-average everyday player in 2016. Frankly, the Royals might not have a lot of players worth paying eight figures to in 2020, so if they’re overpaying Gordon to be a clubhouse leader and face of the franchise, it’s not like he’ll be hoarding payroll space that they would otherwise spend on a free agent who might put them in the playoffs.

And that assumes he isn’t worth much in 2020. I think there’s a chance he will. More to the point, I think Gordon is a better option for left field in 2016 and 2017 than anyone else the Royals are likely to get to replace him. If they have to overpay him in 2018 and beyond in order to secure his services the next two years, I think that’s a tradeoff worth making.

The Royals may not agree, and they have the benefit of knowing him better than anyone else – maybe they think his groin injury is a sign of things to come. And certainly they have earned the benefit of the doubt. But I’d hate to see them hand his job to someone who gives the team payroll space, flexibility – and a worse performance the next two years.

Whether or not the Royals re-sign Gordon, though, I would like to propose another idea – not a fully-formed idea, but more of a thought bubble – that will be far more controversial. Consider that the two long-term assets every franchise can leverage into short-term success are payroll dollars and prospects. Signing Gordon would leverage the first asset. In order to leverage the second asset, the Royals could…trade Raul Mondesi.

This might seem ludicrous to many of you, particularly coming from me, the guy who thought trading Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi for James Shields and Wade Davis was the worst calamity to hit Kansas City since Bonnie and Clyde. But one of my greatest objections to the Shields/Davis trade was that the Royals weren’t quite ready to win just yet. The Royals aren’t just ready to win right now, it’s possible they won’t be in two years. Trading their top prospect for two years of a really valuable asset seems like a sensible idea.

They could try to trade Bubba Starling, but given Starling’s local roots and his choppy development as a hitter, the mere act of putting him on the trade market would send his value plummeting as teams would wonder why the Royals were willing to pull the plug. The same thing applies to Kyle Zimmer – putting a pitcher on the market with #1 upside and a medical record that can’t fit on a flash drive would give other teams reason to worry. Mondesi, alone among the Royals’ top prospects, has a prospect status that won’t be degraded by making him available for trade.

What could the Royals get for him? Well, he’s not Myers, who was a top-five prospect in all of baseball when he was dealt. But Mondesi is a top-50 prospect, maybe top-25; the big risk with him is that he’s still a year or two away from being major league-ready, but he’s also just 20 years old. (This, by the way, is another reason why I’d trade him now when I wouldn’t have traded Myers three years ago. Myers was ready to contribute in the majors right away – he won the Rookie of the Year award in 2013, let’s not forget – while Mondesi probably won’t be ready for the majors until mid-2017, and probably won’t be an impact player for another year or two after that.) Package him with, say, Miguel Almonte and a third prospect from the lower rungs of the minors, and you could probably get two years of an impact player from a team that’s rebuilding.

The Braves are selling everything that isn’t nailed down – Shelby Miller is being hawked everywhere. He’s not as good as Strasburg, but he’s also under team control for three years, not two. If not Miller, how about Julio Teheran, who’s admittedly more expensive (he’s under club control for five years)? Jose Fernandez would take a lot more than Mondesi – you might have to completely clean out the farm system – but he’s a true #1 starter who you’d get to keep for three years. Maybe Mondesi straight-up for Tyson Ross? I’m just spitballing here, but these are the ideas I’d like to see the Royals entertain, and that’s just among the class of starting pitchers.

Truthfully, I doubt that they will, and I’m in no position to complain if they don’t. The front office built a two-time AL champion right at the moment that many of us gave up on them; if they want to go the Cardinals route and try to build an organization that can weather the loss of free agents year after year after year, more power to them. But I just want them to know that if they decide to mortgage the future in an attempt to turn a world championship team into a veritable dynasty, I’m behind them 100%. I suspect most of you would be as well.