Lol. I love my Royals, but there is NO way this team is contending for anything over the period of a full season. Fans need to let go of that pipe dream and any what/if scenarios. The rebuild is officially on. Expect 3 or 4 guys to go at the trade line. We’ll see more Triple A players the second half and the start of next year.

The real strength of the farm system (the single A guys) are still a few years away.

Herrera should bring some nice pieces back... not sure.if anyone else would that we would part with.

I never said I think they are contenders, but if you want Dayton to start unloading guys you may have to get this team farther than 5 or 6 back. That's nothing, even at the trade deadline. And you know how Dayton feels about losing on purpose.

This team isn't in the ballpark of teams like the Red Sox or Yankees or Angels at this point. But our division looks absolutely terrible and that's just about half your schedule.

Yeah, but I'm not too confident that the Royals will challenge the division because of several factors below:

- Run differential is -58, 2nd to last in MLB (Baltimore has the worst at -72).
- Royals team OPS is .696, 24th in the MLB.
- Royals pitching ERA is 5.14, 2nd to last in MLB (Cincinnati is at 5.18)
- Batting opponent average against the Royals is .273, 3rd worst in MLB.
- Opponents OPS against the Royals is .792, 5th worst in MLB.
- Royals pitching WHIP is 1.42, 24th in MLB.
- Royals pitching K/9 is dead last in MLB at 6.90.

I can go on and on, but this team does not meet the eye test of contending the division, regardless of how bad the division is at this point.

I'm still not saying they're going to win the division. Bullpen's not good enough. I'm saying they may very well end up in purgatory though. But part of that is Duffy is hurting his value right now and I am not convinced there's going to be some crazy market for Moose. You may need the Braves to keep winning and you need Jose Bautista to not work out for them. Still time for the market to play out though, but I'm worried we're going to end up in some weird middle ground.

Those stats are terrible yes, but they probably don't entirely reflect the current team either. Moose is playing well, Soler suddenly looks great, really great... Perez and Gordon are back and playing well. Whit hasn't gotten going yet. We're almost halfway to getting Bonifacio back. Mondesi is off to another blazing start in AAA and may be back up at some point. The bullpen isn't good enough and that should keep us down, but there is also reason to believe this team can at least play better than 5-20-ish baseball. If they can find a good deal for Herrera, we'll probably become a pretty frustrating team to watch.

Royals take 3 out of 4.
At home
From the TIGERS.
Erections follow.

It might be now. I have no effing clue why we started the year utilizing Grimm, Maurer and Boyer. That is on Ned more than Dayton. Those guys are ****ing atrocious. Everyone knew they were bad but we all though, hey this is Dayton he'll have a good bullpen.

Now with Keller, McCarthy and likely Staumont and/or Lovelady at some point could be alot better.

Yeah, it’s ridiculous.

The guys on 610 this morning were trying so hard (I know, I know, Royals flagship station) to sell the idea that the Royals are only 6 games back and a hot streak for a couple weeks and they’re right back in it.

Most knowledgeable Royals fans see this team for what it is. A dead end. The rebuild has started. Pieces will be traded before or near the deadline. It is what it is. Know it. Learn it. Accept it.

Problem with the whole “only six games back!” Thing is that the Indians are still incredibly talented and haven’t played well yet. They’ll start cruising soon, especially when they start facing the Tigers and Royals and White Sox.

Hope the trade chips keep dominating, hope the good young players keep showing improvement.

Hope the team eventually slides and lands a top 5 draft pick for 19.

Funny thing about the Indians is they've got several guys hitting for power and their starters are doing well and looking like a top rotation, but their bullpen is a disaster. They should get Andrew Miller back this week and that'll help. I saw something that said since he went out in late April their bullpen has allowed 38 runs and posted a 10.79 ERA. It used to be bullpens were the guys who couldn't start, but now you have to have one to have a shot. They have plenty of time to figure it out, and I'm not sure anyone in the division has it together enough to challenge them.

Everyone thinks I’m an idiot for rooting for them to lose. I’d trade Moose, Perez, Herrera, Duffy, Merrifield, Duda, Jay & if there are teams who are desperate...I’d trade them Gordon, Escobar, Kennedy, Hammel.

Bring up the young guys to let them play with Soler for a couple of years & get ready to contend in 2020.

I’d keep Salvy as you’re gonna need someone to nurse that next group of young pitchers as they come up. Plus, Salvy brings a degree of credibility and losing him might lose a chunk of the fanbase (new Royals fans from 2013 till now). I like Duffy, but he’s a bargaining chip at this point. Herrera should bring a solid return. Merrifield is cheap and controllable for a number of years and has position versatility, so would need a nice prospect (Top 50?) to part with him. Think Sean Manea for Ben Zobrist. The rest of those guys; trade em if you get a halfway decent offer.

I think 2020 is a bit optimistic on the window for contention, as many of our best Single A prospects may not be ready by then. I guess we’ll see . . . . .

I think if you look at recent years, someone like Herrera will probably bring back an A-ball prospect or two, probably a decent younger player in someone's top 15. But it all depends on who you match up with though so it's hard to predict. Another option is doing a deal where you pair someone like Moose and Herrera together, if you can match up with someone. White Sox did that last year with Frazier and Robertson and got a decent return.

Nah this is GMDM. He'll trade Merrifield for a bullpen reclamation project. Herrera will go for an 24 yr old A Ball pitcher with shitty peripherals. And Duda will go for an extremely over-rated defensive Shortstop that makes too much money and struggles to show a .600 OPS. But he's a "Team player with the right attitude".

Payroll will go down a couple mil, the rebuild will be in full swing.

We will all go back to being the pessimistic ****-stick Royals fan we remember (I think it's already happened to me).