Off-Season Review

My opinion of Dayton Moore since coming to Kansas City has fluctuated somewhat like the tachometer on my car during HWY 26 rush hour. Largely, that fluctuation has to do with the difference between what he is doing in the minors versus the majors. This off-season, was Dayton's best to date. Whoa, I cannot believe I just wrote that. Okay, deep breath...really, this one was pretty good. He didn't bring in another Gil Meche type free agent, but he also didn't lock the club up with another Jose Guillen. This off-season, Moore spent little to get a lot. A lot of what???...... DEPTH.
I have been a big basher of many of the signings made as of late, and that's because I don't like most of them. I didn't want the Royals to get Podsednik, Ankiel, Kendall, or Anderson. None of these players are going to push the Royals close to or above a .500 record. None of these players are going to be All-Stars for 2010, not even for the Royals. None of these players are long-term solutions, but they do offer depth.
Depth to a club that suffered more injuries last season than I can remember in a long time. Podsednik, Ankiel, and Kendall are everyday players, and they should be. No one team should likely have all three of them on their roster, but they are Major League caliber players that can each handle potentially 400 at bats in a season. These guys will keep the Royals from using guys like Bloomquist way too much.
The money situation for the Royals is what it is. They are not going to buy wins (in case any of you had been living under a rock). The goal of this off-season needed to be: acquire depth and don't spend money, and Dayton Moore accomplished both. There were arguably better options out there, but we are not general managers and who knows what it is like to be one.
The biggest off-season accomplishment: the signing of Noel Arguelles. Here is a quick review of the Royals Major League signings, in case you missed any (I'm not putting the numbers, because I will get angry when it comes time to type in Kendall's).

Major League Signings:
-Noel Arguelles SP
-Jason Kendall C
-Rick Ankiel OF
-Scott Podsednik OF
-Brian Anderson OF

As far as minor league contracts, I personally don't care until they are on the roster. If you want to take a look, here's the link: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/kansas_city_royals/index.html