Exactly

Our window gets much shorter if we trade Duffy. We have a 3-4 year window currently which is pretty good. Then if we hit on a couple of guys like Raul, Manaea, Zimmer, Eibner our window will expand.

Lets go for the ship. What the Cardinals have done this past decade is amazing but it's expectation to the rule. We have a damn good shot this year, we need to capitalize.

It's like Duffy is a proven commodity. He's not. He's a flawed pitcher at this point, and if he was what we hoped and wanted him to be there would be far less talk about Cueto.

If we can get Cueto for Duffy? Shit, I'd pay the one-way ticket to Cincinnati for Danny. Whitlock style.

Just not sure we are going to be in a better position to go all in than this in our 3-4 year window. Leading our division, winning close games but still without a front line starter. Duffy is a crapshoot at this point. I'd be willing to risk winning this year for the chance Duffy maybe continues to be an erratic middle of the rotation kind of starter. He's done nothing to prove he's anything more than that at this point.

I say this as a massive Duffy fan.

If Cinci will take Duffy + Finny + minor leaguer that isn't Mondesi or premier pitcher for Cueto, you have to do that. You can talk about windows all you want, but that window can be significantly shortened due to injury, regression or just bad luck (among numerous other reasons). If Dayton thinks Cueto is the piece that gives us the Commissioner's Trophy this season, I'm inclined to trust the man. He's stocked the farm system from nothing before, I have to believe he can recover from a couple missing pieces, no matter how important, in exchange for a legitimate shot at a world title.

Seriously.

Duffy posted a 2.53 ERA with a 3.6 WAR, 1.1 WHIP, and 6.8 H/9 IP (that's Nolan-esque) in 150 Innings. This team does not make the playoffs without Duffy last year. He was our best starting pitcher, in the year we go to the playoffs for the first time in three decades. I don't get it. The guy is having issues this season, yes. He's also 26 years old, and posted half his career innings last season. He's young with a shit metric ton of ability. He's been extremely successful at a very young age. He's a most definite proven commodity. We have seen what he is capable of.

With DM and a middle of the pack budget Im not sure we are reduced to "A window". Some seasons will be better than others but I think years of having a bottom feeder are a thing of the past.

But if he doesn't revert back to old Danny D in a season like this and we stand pat, we might miss a great run that this team is capable of given our other areas of strength. The taste of winning make me want us to take a sure thing on a short time frame than the unexpected thing for the long term. Who knows what next seasons will bring but being in the driver's seat now is known.

So 1 year is a proven commodity?

I don't think anyone here is questioning what he's capable of, the question is whether the Royals can count on him being that guy for a full season (and through a playoff run). To this point, he hasn't been that guy and they shouldn't count on him in a big spot. Some of that is just bad luck with injuries and some of that is ineffectiveness, but I don't see how Cueto wouldn't be a huge upgrade for the rest of this season + playoffs.

Again, I love Duffy, but I'd trust Cueto a hell of a lot more than him in a must-win game this season. We can worry about the 2016 rotation & beyond after we make a run at that 2015 Championship.

I see both sides of trade vs keep Duffy. Therefore, I'm gonna do what ultimately we all have to anyway. Trust DM to do the right thing.

Yea, and I won't be mad with whatever we choose. Trade or stand pat. I too can see both sides and those privy to working with Duffy in the organization might know something some douches on a message board don't about his ability to transform into a front line starter. One this is for certain, moves or no moves, this second half is gonna be another awesome ride.

I think Duffy's the choice because we only have him for two years after this one. The other prospects are more of a crapshoot, but we still have 6 years control over all of them.

I also don't think our window is that short if we play it right. I agree you have to go for it, because you never know. But if Ventura matures and even one of these other young pitchers turns into something, we'll have something to build on. We have Ventura through 2021 if we want, and I think eventually we'll have Perez for a long time too. I assume if they rework his contract, we'll trade money for control. At least I'd hope so.

I get that, i'm not sure I completely agree with it, but I certainly get it. I just don't understand people dismissing what Duffy did last year, as if it never happened.