The Kansas City Royals have died, for the purposes of the remainder of the 2012 season, as they were mathematically eliminated Sunday. Let us eulogize the season that was.
What went right
Once he returned from injury, promising young catcher Salvador Perez showed he can be a part of the future foundation. Mike Moustakas has shown flashes of good power, Billy Butler has proven a legitimate cleanup hitter and Alex Gordon has safely shown that his 2011 breakout campaign wasn't a fluke. There's more offensive help on the way, too, as Triple-A outfielder Wil Myers was named the minor league player of the year in all of baseball. Finally, the bullpen is pretty good, too.
What went wrong
Perez was injured in the spring. Then the Royals had a 12-game losing streak that left them 3-14 and zero-for-April at home. It's pretty tough to dig out of that hole. Eric Hosmer's bad sophomore slump didn't help matters, nor did the fact that the organization's once-heralded pitching prospects haven't developed as well as many of the position players have.
MVP: Why, Country Breakfast, of course. Not only for the power, but for the nickname and for how his presence at the All-Star Game helped lead to a hilarious side storyline during the Home Run Derby in Kauffman Stadium.
LVP: Tough call between Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen and Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez did net Jeremy Guthrie in return -- who has been surprisingly good -- so he's out. Let's go with Hochevar.
Free agents to be: SP Jeremy Guthrie, RP Joakim Soria (club option)
Game plan heading into the offseason
The Royals have to find a way to get the starting pitching up to snuff. The position players are on their way to becoming a very good offense/defense -- and there's still plenty of improvement coming from Hosmer, Moustakas, Myers (when he's promoted), Johnny Giavotella, Lorenzo Cain, etc.
Jake Odorizzi had a good season for Triple-A Omaha and we'll see him in the bigs here a few times before the offseason, but Mike Montgomery was awful in both Triple-A and Double-A this season. The aforementioned Hochevar is clearly a bust while Chen, Guthrie and a few others are just spot-fillers. Danny Duffy won't be back for a bit due to Tommy John surgery. Will Smith never really put up great numbers in the minors and he's been roughed up in the majors this season.
So it's a matter of finding value in excess and using it to fill a hole. Jeff Francoeur doesn't have any trade value, but what about Cain? With Myers clearly ready to join the bigs, the Royals may be able to land a starting pitcher for Cain, due to his strong athletic ability. A team in search of a center fielder with extra pitching depth (Nationals? Just thinking out loud) might be an option.
Also, picking up Soria's club option -- he's also recovering from Tommy John surgery -- in the hopes that he returns to form and can land starting pitching in a trade would be another avenue to pursue.
Regardless of how it gets done, it's pretty clear the Royals are in good shape with position players and the bullpen and in terrible shape with starting pitching. If that somehow gets fixed, they have a real shot at being the breakout team in 2013.
Ridiculously premature prediction for 2013
You know how the Orioles, A's, Nationals, and several other teams have pleasantly surprised to different degrees this season? Mark me down for picking the Royals as one of those in '13.
