NEW YORK — Hey, remember when the Royals won the World Series?
That was fun, wasn’t it, Kansas City? Soon and very soon, though, general manager Dayton Moore and the rest of the Royals brain trust are going to have some difficult decisions to make.
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This will be an interesting offseason for the franchise, to say the least.
— Franchise standard-bearer Alex Gordon can become a free agent, if he wants. He has a 2016 player option for $12.5 million. It’s easy to imagine he’d love to stay in Kansas City, but it seems doubtful that he’d do so for a guarantee of just $12.5 million.
Because it’s easy to imagine that he could land a deal with a guarantee north of $100 million as a free agent. He’ll be 32 when the 2016 season starts, so he’ll only get one opportunity to cash in with a long-term deal. Does he really want to play one more season on a one-year deal and risk injury? Again, seems doubtful.
— Johnny Cueto is a free agent, but you already knew that. He was brought in as an ace-for-hire, and nobody really expected the Royals to make much of an effort to resign him. With his up-and-down months with Kansas City — the highs were brilliant, the lows were crushing — that hasn’t changed. If the Royals decide to hand out a nine-figure free-agent deal, it won’t be to a pitcher who was that spotty wearing the uniform.
— Like Cueto, trading for free-agent-to-be Ben Zobrist was mostly a rental move. But the Royals would love to bring him back, partially because it will take a lot less cash than it would to keep Cueto, because Zobrist is already 34. And Zobrist can also play multiple positions, which is huge. He’ll be very in demand on a three- or four-year deal this offseason, after hitting .303 with eight doubles in 16 playoff games in 2015.
— The Royals have to decide whether to pick up Wade Davis’ option, which is $8 million for 2016. That’s a lot of money for a franchise that’s still operating with a smaller payroll than many clubs and maybe they won’t pick … just kidding. Picking up his option is the no-brainer of all no-brainers. It’ll be done immediately.
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— Speaking of no-brainers, Alcides Escobar’s $5.25 million option will also be picked up immediately.
— The decision on Alex Rios is a bit different, though. His 2016 option is $12.5 million, and though he had his moments in 2015, he wasn’t the bat they thought he would be. He had just a .640 OPS, four homers and 32 RBIs in 105 games. That’s not very good. Expect the Royals to go in a different direction for right field in 2016.
— Jeremy Guthrie has been a huge part of the Royals’s success over the past couple of seasons, on the mound and in the clubhouse. But he wasn’t very good in 2015, putting it kindly, and he was only vocal support in the postseason. They’ll pay his $3.2 million buyout instead of exercising his $10 million option.
— Greg Holland probably won’t be back, either, but for different reasons. He’s scheduled for his third season of arbitration, after making $8.25 million in 2015. But he’ll be coming off Tommy John surgery and won’t pitch. And he’s a free agent after the 2016 campaign. The Royals can’t — and shouldn’t — pay him close to $10 million in 2016 do rehab.
— Fellow relievers Ryan Madson and Franklin Morales are free agents. Both were exceptional and durable for the Royals in 2015 — Madson had a 2.13 regular-season ERA in 67 games and Morales had a 3.18 ERA in 68 — and they’d like both to return. Madson will get a big bump in salary (he made just $850,000 in 2015) and Morales was reasonable, too ($1.85 million). Whether they come back depends on what they find on the market.
