Good list, thanks for posting.

I would think 4 or 5 for $80M would be the cap for the Royals with Gordon, and that may even be pushing it.

Seems like a Zobrist and Parra combo for the same money (and fewer years) as Gordon by himself may be a better long term fit.

Don't love Happ, but whatever. Pelphrey at that cost for back of the rotation would be ok.

WTF? So we pass on a 3 year deal to Zobrist at $17mm per, but we sign Gordon to a 5 year deal at $21mm per? No

I think I'd rather have Zobrist than Gordon. Fortunately, Moore is making those decisions and not me.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">KC is open to trades, but they really don&#39;t have much to deal. Hard to see them moving core guys, and the prospect pool is depleted.</p>&mdash; Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) <a href="https://twitter.com/McCulloughStar/status/663839430801682432">November 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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If we were in a similar position like we were this summer, where some rentals could really make a difference in us going all the way or sputtering in the playoffs, what would we have available? Anything?

Any reports on the young pitchers we just drafted from Indiana?

So here's a question relating to the MLB trade rumors article: If the Royals are willing to pay Gordon a deal for 5/105, why on earth wouldn't they go 10/200 on 26 year-old Heyward with a mid-contract option? Heyward is exactly a DM type guy, too. Plus plus defense, puts the ball in play, plus base-running, hard-working and high character.

Far, far too many years. Taking the risk of injury or decline with a lot of money past 4 or 5 years would be insane for a team like the Royals.

Though it is just the opinion of mlbtraderumors, it's a far cry from the people that thought he could be had at 5/$80-$85MM. I don't think he is taking $20-$25MM less to stay with the Royals.

While it is a long contract, you can mitigate injury risk with insurance and your decline risk is probably even lower than the Gordon deal given that Heyward is 26 and Gordon is 31. Furthermore, the back-end of the deal will be offset by greater revenues from the new TV contract and inflation.

26 year old outfielders aren't injury risks. Even if he sucks the last few years, that would be a bargain. $20mm per year 8 years from now will be league average for a starter.

Let's just exist in fantasy land for a minute:

If you can get Glass to bump the payroll to 155, you could even look at adding Heyward, Gordon, Zobrist and a #5 SP type. (155M payroll shouldn't even be a stretch after considering the revenue the last two years has brought and the earnings potential going forward. Additionally, the increased value of the TV contract if he keeps the fan-base engaged with a winning team will have a substantial impact on the franchise's value.)

As an additional idea, you could even look at dealing a Jarrod Dyson/Omar Infante package to provide some payroll relief in this scenario. Talk about a monster of a lineup, though:

1) Heyward
2) Zobrist
3) Cain
4) Hosmer
5) Morales
6) Moose
7) Perez
8) Gordon
9) Escobar

You have improved every aspect of your line-up here. Plus you give Holland a Medlen-like deal that gives him a chance to rehab, perform and re-enter free agency. (2/5.5/10[M])

This team is going to be rebuilding after 2017. We may never see a core group of guys like this again in our lifetimes. Why not sellout to keep Gordon and Zobrist, enter 2016 and likely 2017 as WS favorites, and who cares if that screws us for a few years after 2017?

Opportunities for a 4-year WS run basically never come along for a team like the Royals. We have to go for this.

I don't know that we have to. We should be huge favorites to win the division this year. If we need to add expensive players, we can find it at the deadline.

I agree we should sell out to win now, as you must strike while the iron is hot. But I wouldn't write off our long-term prospects either. We have excellent deals in place with Ventura and Perez that provide some cost control. Additionally, we have some high ceiling prospects that can supplement the organization in the near-term and replace some of the outflow in 2018.