ChiefsPlanet - Royals 2011 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

Rany has part 4 of his story on pitchers that the Royals might acquire.

The post below is a much abbreviated version.

See Rany’s full story at - http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/

For Want Of A Pitcher, Part 4.

Moving on to a list of more classic trade targets – established starting pitchers on teams who are (or should be) rebuilding:

Pitcher: Jeremy Guthrie, BAL
Contract Status: Final year of arbitration, eligible for free agency after 2012. Made $5.75 million in 2011
Likely cost (in terms of prospects): Low to moderate

Pitcher: Mike Pelfrey, NYM
Contract Status: Two years of arbitration remaining, eligible for free agency after 2013. Made $3.925 million in 2011
Likely cost: Moderate

Pitcher: Ricky Nolasco, FLA
Contract Status: Signed for $9 million in 2012, $12.5 million in 2013
Likely cost: Moderate

Pitcher: Anibal Sanchez, FLA
Contract Status: 1 year of arbitration eligibility; free agent after 2012. Made $3.7 million in 2011
Likely cost: Moderate

Pitcher: Charlie Morton, PIT
Contract Status: Eligible for arbitration for the first time in 2012; eligible for free agency after 2014
Likely cost: Moderate

Pitcher: Paul Maholm, PIT
Contract Status: Free agent after Pirates decline 2012 option
Likely cost: None

Pitcher: Bud Norris, HOU
Contract Status: Not arbitration-eligible until 2013; a free agent after the 2015 season
Likely cost: Moderate to high

Pitcher: Matt Garza, CHC
Contract Status: 2 years of arbitration eligibility, free agent after 2013. Made $5.95 million in 2011
Likely cost: High

Pitcher: Chad Billingsley LAD
Contract Status: Under contract for $9 million in 2012, $11 million in 2013, and $12 million in 2014, with a $14 million option/$3 million buyout in 2015
Likely cost: Moderate to high

Pitcher: Gavin Floyd, CHW
Contract Status: Signed for $7 million for 2012, with club option of $9.5 million for 2013
Likely cost: Moderate to high

Pitcher: Carl Pavano, MIN
Contract Status: Under contract for $8.5 million in 2012, with some minor performance bonuses
Likely cost: Low

Pitcher: Francisco Liriano, MIN
Contract Status: 1 year of arbitration eligibility; free agent after 2012. Made $4.3 million in 2011
Likely cost: Who knows?

Ranking the pitchers above in terms of value (factoring in both performance and contract status), I’d go like this:

1) Garza
2) Norris
3t) Billingsley
3t) Floyd
5) Nolasco
6) Sanchez
7) Liriano
(big gap)
8) Pelfrey
9) Morton
10) Guthrie
11) Pavano
12) Maholm

When you factor in the price the Royals would have to pay in terms of prospects – which, granted, is purely a guess on my part – Liriano strikes me as a potential bargain. But every one of these pitchers, at the right price, is worth acquiring, and yet I could see every one of them slapped with a price tag from their current team that wasn’t worth paying.

The Royals won’t know which way each pitcher is leaning until they try, so we can only hope that they put a lot of lines in the water. Moore has a history of striking early in the off-season; given his options here, I hope he takes the time to do his due diligence first.

Next time, I’ll finish up with a look at starting pitchers on those rare pitching-rich teams – including one that Moore is intimately familiar with – that might part with one of their prized starters for the right price.

http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/