Royals' offseason dealings commence

The Royals are in on everyone, at least according to Allard. As long as that excludes Jose Lima, that's great news. Unlike last year, the Royals are frequently mentioned in rumors other than the Sweeney-to-the-Angels deal. Today's Kansas City Star Article basically said that the Royals have already been rejected by top free agents Rafael Furcal, Kevin Millwood, Jarrod Washburn and Kenny Rogers. Not really surprising.

Here's who Baird has met with already: Bret Boone, Jeromy Burnitz, Elmer Dessens, Brian Giles and Mark Grudzelanik

Other players the Royals have shown interest in: Jacque Jones, Reggie Sanders, Paul Byrd, Tony Graffanino

Here's the latest on some free agents the Royals are or might be targeting:

Starters:

Estaben Loaiza: Negotiations with the Nationals aren't going well, so he's probably going to be on the open market. He's reportedly asking for $21 million over 3 years. The Royals have been mentioned as one of the teams interested in Loaiza.

Matt Morris: Seattle and Colorado have expressed interest in Morris. No indication that the Royals are interested.

Paul Byrd: Byrd sounds like he wants to resign with the Angels and would do so for less money. The Royals have some interest here, but would probably have to make an outlandish offer to get him.

Ted Lilly: Lilly is flying under the radar so far. Even with a 5.56 ERA last year, Lilly was still better than most of the Royals' rotation. That was Lilly's worst performace in 5 years. In 2003 and 2004, Lilly averaged a 4.18 ERA with 158 K's per year.

Jason Johnson/Byung-Hyun Kim/Jose Lima: I'll be a bit surprised if one of these starters isn't in our rotation next year.

Corner Outfielders:

Brian Giles: Lots of teams interested and will probably push bidding out of the Royals' range.

Jeremy Burnitz: Probably not one of the favorites for most fans, but Burnitz is probably the most likely to sign a one-year deal. He put up pretty good numbers last year (31 doubles, 24 HRs) and is still an above-average defender in RF (7 FRAA) and a huge improvement over Brown. He lets the Royals move Brown to left and gives the Royals flexibility for the future. Giving long-term deals to Giles or Jones just doesn't make sense with Butler and Gordon not far away.

Second Basemen:

The middle infielder market is pretty poor, with Furcal at the top followed by nothing. After Furcal, the best second base options are Grudzelanik and Graffanino. There are several non-tender possibilities and the Royals are seeking second basemen through trade avenues as well.

This offseason is very important to the future of the Royals. If the Royals spend $25 million on long-term contracts that turn out badly, then the Royals ability to improve the team down the road is severely hindered.