#1. It is only a 3 year commitment. The Royals missed out on the one guy they considered a franchise type player. The Angels shocked everyone buy going so far above what everyone considered, the Royals fell back into a slight panic mode.

The had one glaring need this offseason. Righthanded legitamite power bat. Now he wasnt the premier slugger, but i’d think he was 3rd in this FA market.

[i]Guillen is still in his peak as a hitter and shows enough defensively that he’s well worth a multiyear commitment, although the makeup concerns from his past will probably limit offers to three years.[/i] Keith Law.

I generally respect Keiths opinion. The Royals filled their need without having to be concerned with money when it comes time to buy out Gordons and Butlers arb years. The only way Alex and Billy are going to see the pitchs they need to succeed is if the guy behind puts the ball in the fountains. Dayton has said repeatedly “The most important thing is getting the player.” Yes, the Royals could have haggled with over the 2-4 million he was projected to recieve. I would have been far disappointed if we had watched everyone else do something and us stand pat.

Right now, i would be floating Mark Teahens name as a LH 3b that can play an improving OF. I believe the Brewers are finding every reason in the world to move Braun to LF. Perhaps they could battle for 3rd with the loser defensively going to LF.

Joe, would you trade Billy Butler for a #1 starter? Whats your opinion of Billy Butlers future? I think hes a luxury we cant afford. Becuase of his lack of position, if i could get Matt Cain and some other prospects of Daytons choice, i would seriously consider moving him. The Royals arent going to get a chance at somebody like him any other way. And if we are going to win in the Central, it will be thru pitching and hustle. I love Billys potential, but hes an All Star in the batters box and a AA player outside. His desire cant make up for his slow feet. A luxury we cant afford.

They could just be waiting to see what comes of the league’s negotiation with the player’s union before fully committing to Guillen and the contract. I agree with Craig, 10-15 isn’t that severe, and I believe it would save us a little cash since we wouldn’t have to pay Guillen the money owed for that time…but then again, perhaps GMDM wasn’t completely convinced of the deal to begin with, and the word of the possibly suspension is starting to sway him the other way. Then again, maybe he’s just a frequent reader of this blog, and Joe’s insight is bringing him back to his senses…

Have to say I’m not really behind the Guillen signing myself. He strikes me as a more athletic (read: less clumsy) defender than Emil Brown, with a much better arm. Him in one corner and Teahan in the other gives us two great arms in the corner OF spots, but I’m not so sure Guillen is going to produce the offense justifying the contract. (I do, however, think Teahan returns to form, more or less, this season.)

If Craig Brown says it, it must be true.

Um, Cabrera is a free agent in two years.

As for the Tigers, I salute them for more reasons than money. The reason? They want it. They want to win a division. They want to win a Series. And they want to put those 119-loss years as far away as possible. We need that mindset.

The Royals had the juice to pull off a Cabrera deal, but they simply didn’t want it bad enough. You’re telling me Beinfest’s ears wouldn’t have perked up if Dayton had put together a package resembling Butler/Lubanski/Hochevar? And you’re telling me we wouldn’t want to do that? Cabrera is only 24 – we could have the rights to 10-12 years of HOF caliber hitting. He and Gordon could man 3B & 1B for a decade apiece.

But no, we don’t even sniff that. Why? Our small market mindset has Moneyballed us into thinking we shouldn’t DARE trade top prospects, even for one of the top 5-10 bats in baseball. Yeah, a guy like Butler is hard to deal, but look at the return. I’m not betting on Billy outperforming Cabrera over the next 10 years.

Dayton is cleaning up a train wreck pretty nicely, but there is still a hint of inferiority in the air. Sometimes, absolutely, we hold on to what we have and develop talent and work smarter given the limited resources. But when a Cabrera is there for the taking, we can’t sit on the sidelines if we have the ability to get in the game. So Joe’s headline is dead on – sigh…

They would’ve been much better off spending the first $12 million of this deal on this year’s draft and international free agents, and spending the rest of the money on someone better, younger and saner next year.

Or adding some of it to their Kuroda offer.