Side note:
If Billy Butler does not pick up his offensive production enough to justify his $12 million option, the Royals will HAVE to add a bat entering next season if they hold any illusions of being competitive (this assumes Ventura continues to pitch well and one of Duffy/Zimmer pitches like a No. 3 piece without injury).
Market is pretty ugly. I'm sure they'll bring in a guy who has some positional versatility (Ideally, someone who can play RF and maybe a little 1B).
Best options are probably the ancient Michael Cuddyer (36, probably will be expensive after another great Coors-driven year) or Melky Cabrera.
Awesome.
