Its now 2014 and we haven't made any notable moves

[theobird]

Yes but the whole point is Nate had a track record that proved he was capable. I am supposed to think Lough is suddenly going to hit 20 bombs in his first full season? Give me a break. Most likely he will be decent but not great.

He will be great defensively, and playing half his games in OPACY, and most of them in the band box AL East parks...It won't surprise me at all if he hits 20 HR's. I live here in Royals country, I have seen him play a lot both in Omaha and in the Majors. He is a very good, complete baseball player. It is the only trade that DD has made since he took over the GM duties that can be counted as a clear win. You will see.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Yes, but if he was as valuable as you say, they could've gotten more than a poor defensive 3B that only hits lefties. Lough's OPS dropped off by 70+ points in the second half last year; I suspect his first half numbers were something of a mirage.

KC needed a guy that could hit LHP and play 3b. Valencia filled that need pretty well. Nobody is saying Lough is some great player but virtually everything I have seen from outside sources agreed we got the better of the deal. Of course there's some uncertainty with Lough. He may stink and be DFA'd in May. I don't know if a decline of 70 points in OPS in 140 ABs in the second half means much of anything. He had an 800 OPS in Sep in 40 AB's. His away stats were 813 OPS away form KC. I don't know if that means anything either. Who the heck knows. By all accounts he's likely a much better defender than noodle arm Mclouth. Looks like it'll be a matter if he hits or not. If he doesn't then he's a ML minimum guy that cost us Danny Valencia.

[CA-ORIOLE]

He will be great defensively, and playing half his games in OPACY, and most of them in the band box AL East parks...It won't surprise me at all if he hits 20 HR's. I live here in Royals country, I have seen him play a lot both in Omaha and in the Majors. He is a very good, complete baseball player. It is the only trade that DD has made since he took over the GM duties that can be counted as a clear win. You will see.

Thanks theobird. That's some good personal insight. I just took a glance at his home/away splits and the home stats were pretty poor. Most of the parks in the AL West (other than Texas) are pretty rough actually. He has a 450 SLG in the Minors (PCL). Not really great, but not Juan Pierre either.

[Ommaculate]

I'm not that worried about Lough because we have other guys who can play LF. The pitching has not been addressed and that is unforgivable. If this team was serious about winning they would have signed a couple of starters by now. Burnett and Arroyo or something of that nature.

Like I said they only care about giving people a reason to watch the games so they get our money. I don't think they care about World Series.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

KC needed a guy that could hit LHP and play 3b. Valencia filled that need pretty well. Nobody is saying Lough is some great player but virtually everything I have seen from outside sources agreed we got the better of the deal. Of course there's some uncertainty with Lough. He may stink and be DFA'd in May. I don't know if a decline of 70 points in OPS in 140 ABs in the second half means much of anything. He had an 800 OPS in Sep in 40 AB's. His away stats were 813 OPS away form KC. I don't know if that means anything either. Who the heck knows. By all accounts he's likely a much better defender than noodle arm Mclouth. Looks like it'll be a matter if he hits or not. If he doesn't then he's a ML minimum guy that cost us Danny Valencia.

In a vacuum, it was a great move and we won the trade by a wide margin. Lough has three plus tools- defense, arm, and speed- while all Valencia does is hit lefties. In the context of our offseason, however, it's not so simple. At best, he's roughly an equal replacement for McLouth, or maybe a slight to moderate improvement over him if we're lucky. But last time I checked, we missed the playoffs by around 6 games last year, and we've lost ground in the rotation and bullpen. And DH remains a gaping hole until proven otherwise.

So roughly lateral moves aren't really anything to get excited about, IMO. Especially ones that come with as many offensive question marks as Lough. If we address some of our other deficiencies, you might be able to talk me into being okay with a glove-first corner OF on a supposed playoff contender in the AL East, but it's a tough sell right now.

[CA-ORIOLE]

In a vacuum, it was a great move and we won the trade by a wide margin. Lough has three plus tools- defense, arm, and speed- while all Valencia does is hit lefties. In the context of our offseason, however, it's not so simple. At best, he's roughly an equal replacement for McLouth, or maybe a slight to moderate improvement over him if we're lucky. But last time I checked, we missed the playoffs by around 6 games last year, and we've lost ground in the rotation and bullpen. And DH remains a gaping hole until proven otherwise.

So roughly lateral moves aren't really anything to get excited about, IMO. Especially ones that come with as many offensive question marks as Lough. If we address some of our other deficiencies, you might be able to talk me into being okay with a glove-first corner OF on a supposed playoff contender in the AL East, but it's a tough sell right now.

Well, yeah, I'm not saying I'm satisfied. Just saying we saved around 10 mil and very well may have a guy that might put up similar production to Mclouth and I was very much favor of signing Mclouth. I'm guessing we have another 10-15 mil to spend instead of 5-10 at this point. We'll see what happens.

[scOtt]

The Royals know him better than anyone and they dumped him for peanuts because they didn't have room for him. That speaks volumes, IMO.

They dumped him for peanuts because they don't have room for him. DD knew they were in a tight spot and took advantage.

[mdbdotcom]

They dumped him for peanuts because they don't have room for him. DD knew they were in a tight spot and took advantage.

They were looking specifically for a 3B who could hit lefties. The Royals have a taste for Valencia Peanuts.

[scOtt]

They were looking specifically for a 3B who could hit lefties. The Royals have a taste for Valencia Peanuts.

Actually I think it was a good trade for both teams. I think we got a little better of the deal but still fills holes for both teams.

[mdbdotcom]

Actually I think it was a good trade for both teams. I think we got a little better of the deal but still fills holes for both teams.

That's how trades are supposed to be. The idea is to help your club, not to outdo your trade partner.

[scOtt]

That's how trades are supposed to be. The idea is to help your club, not to outdo your trade partner.

Agree completely. Now KC will be open to trading with us again.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

They dumped him for peanuts because they don't have room for him. DD knew they were in a tight spot and took advantage.

I just don't think he's the 3 WAR everyday LF that many others seem to think he is. If he was, they probably would've either found room for him or asked for more from us in return.

[mdbdotcom]

I just don't think he's the 3 WAR everyday LF that many others seem to think he is. If he was, they probably would've either found room for him or asked for more from us in return.

You don't seem to get it. They wanted Valencia. Mike Moustakas put up a .546 OPS against lefties last year. Valencia was the guy they wanted.

[LA2]

I just don't think he's the 3 WAR everyday LF that many others seem to think he is. If he was, they probably would've either found room for him or asked for more from us in return.

The starting OF in KC is Gordon, Cain, and Aoki, with Dyson and Maxwell as back-ups. The Royals are desperate to find a way to salvage Moustakas' career and one experiment is to sit him down vs. LHP (136 pt. difference in OPS last year and 101 pts. during his career). Lough put up 2.7 WAR in just 96 games and so I don't see what's so unrealistic about expecting 3 in, say, 130 games.

[weams]

The starting OF in KC is Gordon, Cain, and Aoki, with Dyson and Maxwell as back-ups. The Royals are desperate to find a way to salvage Moustakas' career and one experiment is to sit him down vs. LHP (136 pt. difference in OPS last year and 101 pts. during his career). Lough put up 2.7 WAR in just 96 games and so I don't see what's so unrealistic about expecting 3 in, say, 130 games.

They think Maxwell is Gary Matthews Jr pre 50 million dollar contract. He's not.