The Royals biggest off-season question mark was at starting pitching, and after re-signing Bruce Chen and acquiring Jonathan Sanchez, there's naught to speak of -- unless signing Jonathan Broxton frees up Aaron Crow to take a shot at the rotation, which is exactly what he'll do. Assuming he makes it, that means the rotation will be Chen, Sanchez, Hochevar, Crow, and...here we are:
Royals Could Still Add Jackson or Oswalt - Rany Jazayerli
"Well, as I write this, it’s six days until Christmas and both Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt – my two favorite free-agent targets this off-season – remain unsigned. Maybe the Royals reel in one of them, or maybe they pull off a trade for a starting pitcher. While it’s hard to see the Royals giving up the amount of talent the Reds surrendered for Mat Latos, the price that the A’s sold Trevor Cahill for was shockingly low..."
The Case for Trading Billy Butler - Royals Review
"The Royals are in a tough position. As a small market team, they need some long-odds bets to payoff. Obviously, trading Butler and then watching him blow up would be devastating to the Royals. But you can't manage a team based on fear. Butler is a nice player for the Royals, but he isn't pushing them to a championship right now. If Eric Hosmer was an outfielder, this might be a different discussion, but he's not. And as such, Butler is just short of being in the way."
Don't miss the above speculation and analysis by Royals Review, which raises some excellent points. Any teams out there need an immobile but good on-base DH with a touch of doubles power?
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