Winter Meetings

The Royals have watched Paul Byrd take $7 million less to play for the Indians. So, that begs the question. Will any free agents come to Kansas City? Maybe so, if money is the bottomline. But, the Royals have done little to make Kansas City an attractive destination.

The Royals are likely destined for the second-tier of starters including Kenny Rogers, Jason Johnson, Byung-Hyun Kim, Scott Elarton, or Tony Armas. Most of those pitchers are certainly an upgrade to the rotation and should be a better investment than Paul Byrd for 3 years, $21 million. The Royals are also interested in acquiring Kris Benson from the New York Mets, probably for relief help (Affeldt or MacDougal). The Royals would save a compensation pick by trading him. However, the Royals are very closing to signing Elmer Dessens and Todd Pratt, both of whom will cost a second-round pick. Furthermore, the Royals are letting DJ Carrasco, one of just two starters with an ERA under 5.00. Is there a big difference between Dessens and Carrasco that I'm missing?

Just as I'm writing this, the Benson to the Royals rumor continues to gain momentum. It's sounds like the Royals don't want to give up MacDougal and Affeldt for Benson (rightfully so) and might just trade Affeldt and a prospect. So long as that prospect isn't Butler, Gordon, Huber, or Cota, that's a fine deal to me.