For Grienke, you need the motherload, or you simply don't do it. Soria, however, cannot be placed in the same category. Bad teams don't need elite closers, but this doesn't mean you don't expect a damn good return. Otherwise, again, it would be stupid to move the player.

Royals Arizona Fall League update

From Friday

Mesa Solar Sox 8, Surprise Rafters 7
2B Johnny Giavotella 4-for-5, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 CS
C Santiago Perez 1-for-5, 1 RBI, 1-for-1 in gunning down base stealers
LF Derrick Robinson 1-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 R, 3 K
LHP Brandon Sisk 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HOLD (32 pitches - 20 strikes)

No, and I think he's made that pretty clear. That's why it is so critical to start winning NEXT year, not 2012 or beyond. Don't ask me how they plan to do it; all I know that if they want to keep Grienke for his money years, losing isn't an option from here on out.

And I'll agree with Deez on his Soria take, but begrudgingly. You better sell way high if you plan on trading a guy that can get 43 saves on a sub 70 win team.

The Yanks probably would give up a good ton for Soria...

Also Zack they better get that trade right, wouldn't surprise me if hes gone at the trade deadline cause we are going to suck

I hate to break it to you, but you ask the impossible. The Royals cant start winning next year, even with an unlimited budget. Their team mostly sucks, and the "#1 farm system in baseball" is not ready yet.

Can you imagine Zack in the National league? He'd be a lock for 20+ wins every year....

Too true, I'm afraid. Likely means they'll trade Zack at the deadline for some 30+ former power outfielder and a slew of AA or AAA guys. I will officially consider giving up on the team when that happens. Point being, you DO NOT lose a talent like Grienke on account of the team not being able to stop sucking through your superstar's six+ years with the team.

My contention is that you absolutely cannot lose a talent like Greinke because you're unwilling to pay him. This would be an inexcusable decision.

If we keep Greinke and Soria and a couple of these prospects turn into stars, while still others are ML players, we'll go from bad to good very quickly.

Or that. I'm not sure which would be worse - drive the superstar away for being cheap, or beng unable to put together any semblence of a winning team.

I wonder what team has enough to get greinke from us? if we traded him to the yanks id want phil hughes back to start

I think this will change. Really do. I'd have much more confidence if Moore would be a bit more competent in assembling a ML roster, but I'm hopeful that we've invested enough in the draft so that it would take an absolute will to **** things up at the ML level.

I think KC is putting that out there, just to see what kind of offers they can get. They would be very incrediously stupid to trade him already. Unless somebody really blows them away, I can't fathom KC really trading him away.

To brighten up Royals fans for the offseason I thought I'd share this email from Baseball America:

<TABLE style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 267px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; EMPTY-CELLS: show; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=rightAlignTable border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=right><TBODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(61,57,196); FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-WEIGHT: bold" class=headerRow><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" align=middle>MIDWEST LEAGUE
TOP 20 PROSPECTS</TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(232,232,232); FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" class=altRow><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">1. Mike Trout, of, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels)
2. Shelby Miller, rhp, Quad Cities River Bandits (Cardinals)
3. Wil Myers, c, Burlington Bees (Royals)
4. Jacob Turner, rhp, West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers)
5. Aaron Hicks, of, Beloit Snappers (Twins)
6. Nick Franklin, ss/2b, Clinton LumberKings (Mariners)
7. Trey McNutt, rhp, Peoria Chiefs (Cubs)
8. Jake Odorizzi, rhp, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers)
9. Matt Davidson, 3b, South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks)
10. Tyler Skaggs, lhp, Cedar Rapids (Angels)/South Bend (Diamondbacks)
11. Allen Webster, rhp, Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers)
12. Jean Segura, 2b, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels)
13. Hak-Ju Lee, ss, Peoria Chiefs (Cubs)
14. Fabio Martinez, rhp, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels)
15. Rubby de la Rosa, rhp, Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers)
16. Alex Colome, rhp, Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays)
17. Chris Owings, ss, South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks)
18. Jerry Sands, 1b/of, Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers)
19. Matt Lollis, rhp, Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres)
20. Chad Jenkins, rhp, Lansing Lugnuts (Blue Jays)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 267px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; EMPTY-CELLS: show; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=rightAlignTable border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=right><TBODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(61,57,196); FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-WEIGHT: bold" class=headerRow><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" align=middle>CAROLINA LEAGUE
TOP 20 PROSPECTS</TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(232,232,232); FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" class=altRow><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">1. Julio Teheran, rhp, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Braves)
2. Eric Hosmer, 1b, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)
3. John Lamb, lhp, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)
4. Wil Myers, c, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)
5. Devin Mesoraco, c, Lynchburg Hillcats (Reds)
6. Randall Delgado, rhp, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Braves)
7. Chris Dwyer, lhp, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)
8. Oscar Tejeda, 2b, Salem Red Sox
9. Christian Colon, ss, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)
10. Jason Kipnis, 2b, Kinston Indians
11. Derek Norris, c, Potomac Nationals
12. Xavier Avery, of, Frederick Keys (Orioles)
13. Will Middlebrooks, 3b, Salem Red Sox
14. Michael Burgess, of, Potomac Nationals
15. Gregory Infante, rhp, Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox)
16. J.J. Hoover, rhp, Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Braves)
17. Ryan Lavarnway, c, Salem Red Sox
18. Tyler Moore, 1b, Potomac Nationals
19. Jordan Henry, 1b, Kinston Indians
20. Santos Rodriguez, lhp, Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TABLE style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 267px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; EMPTY-CELLS: show; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=rightAlignTable border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=right><TBODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(61,57,196); FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-WEIGHT: bold" class=headerRow><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" align=middle>TEXAS LEAGUE
TOP 20 PROSPECTS

</TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(232,232,232); FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" class=altRow><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">1. Mike Moustakas, 3b, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals)
2. Eric Hosmer, 1b, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals)
3. Mike Montgomery, lhp, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals)
4. Wilin Rosario, c, Tulsa Drillers (Rockies)
5. Martin Perez, lhp, Frisco Roughriders (Rangers)
6. Aaron Crow, rhp, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals)
7. Jordan Lyles, rhp, Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros)
8. Simon Castro, rhp, San Antonio Missions (Padres)
9. Blake Beaven, rhp, Frisco Roughriders (Rangers)
10. Christian Friedrich, lhp, Tulsa Drillers (Rockies)
11. Cory Luebke, lhp, San Antonio Missions (Padres)
12. Jordan Walden, rhp, Arkansas Travelers (Angels)
13. James Darnell, 3b, San Antonio Missions (Padres)
14. Eduardo Sanchez, rhp, Springfield Cardinals
15. Rex Brothers, lhp, Tulsa Drillers (Rockies)
16. Louis Coleman, rhp, Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Royals)
17. Charlie Blackmon, of, Tulsa Drillers (Rockies)
18. Engel Beltre, of, Frisco Roughriders (Rangers)
19. Wynn Pelzer, rhp, San Antonio Missions (Padres)
20. Trevor Reckling, lhp, Arkansas Travelers (Angels)



</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 267px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; EMPTY-CELLS: show; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" class=rightAlignTable border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=right><TBODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(61,57,196); FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-WEIGHT: bold" class=headerRow><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" align=middle>AZL TOP 20 PROSPECTS</TD></TR><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(232,232,232); FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial" class=altRow><TD style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial">1. Guillermo Pimentel, of, Mariners
2. Yordano Ventura, rhp, Royals
3. Robinson Yambati, rhp, Royals
4. Tyler Roberts, c, Brewers
5. Junior Arias, ss, Reds
6. Donavan Tate, of, Padres
7. Cheslor Cuthbert, 3b, Royals
8. Luis Sardinas, ss, Rangers
9. Ismael Guillon, lhp, Reds
10. James Baldwin, of, Dodgers
11. Austin Reed, rhp, Cubs
12. Jonathan Correa, rhp, Reds
13. Chuckie Jones, of, Giants
14. Christian Villanueva, 3b, Rangers
15. Carlos Melo, rhp, Rangers
16. Heath Hembree, rhp, Giants
17. Chevez Clarke, of, Angels
18. Ji-Man Choi, 1b/c, Mariners
19. Teodoro Martinez, of, Rangers
20. Ralston Cash, rhp, Dodgers



</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Sent


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I obviously would prefer to pay Zack and keep him. However, if either 1) We are blown away by a ludicrous offer lopsided in our direction, or 2) We are convinced he will walk after his contract is up and we get a pretty good deal that is tilted our way (not an equal deal, but a deal tilted to us), then I trade Greinke. If I don't get that, I keep him, still try to re-sign when his contract is up (hopefully we'll be .500 and ready to start winning by then) and let him walk and pick up the compensation prospects if that is what he wants.

If money is not the issue, and a move would improve the team, then you do it and ignore the outrage from the fans. They will pack the stadium when you win, with Greinke becoming a faint memory. I am, first and foremost, a fan of the team, not of Soria and Greinke.