The Kansas City Royals have been an abject disaster this season. That is not a surprise to their ownership.
Team owner John Sherman had discussed the state of the Royals on Thursday. Not only did he express confidence in manager Matt Quatraro and J.J. Picollo, but he also indicated that this season was to be expected. Sherman took accountability for the performance of the team, stating that this was a full season of evaluation to see what they have to build around.
No quick fixes for Kansas City Royals
At least Sherman has people atop the Royals brain trust that he believes in. While one can quibble about Picollo’s ability to build a roster – seriously, two years for Jordan Lyles??? – he had gotten rid of plenty of dead weight. Most of his moves during the offseason haven’t been terrible, but his performance during the trade deadline and the MLB Draft will go a long way to burnishing his credentials.
Likewise, Quatraro was a highly regarded coach before joining the Royals as a manager. He is stuck with a roster filled with underperforming players and a distinct lack of talent. It is almost impossible to evaluate his performance considering he has nothing at all to work with.
But that was the plan. The Royals needed to evaluate what they had throughout the organization. The answer is: not much. While players such as Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Bobby Witt Jr. could be building blocks, the Royals do not have a bright future. A terrible roster and a farm system devoid of any top 100 prospects means that it will take years before the Royals can contend. Sherman has been clear that he wants to build the Royals into a contender once again, but there have to be actual pieces to construct the roster around. That just is not the case.
The Kansas City Royals knew that this would be a rough year. That is not going to change any time soon.
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