Kansas City's apparent signing of Jose Guillen for 3 years, $36 million is a curious move considering how tight the Royals payroll is. At .290/23/99, Guillen had a solid season. His defense is good enough to keep him in the OF for the rest of that contract. But there is a reason he has played for 11 teams in 8 seasons. Chalk it up to injuries, his temper, roids, whatever...Guillen is an average starting major league OF when healthy.
For some reason I can't help but root for KC to pull it together. But it seems they are stuck in a kind of small-market-limbo, where they can't afford to bring in real talent, and their prospects (especially SP) never pan out. A lot of questions after the Guillen deal. Can KC afford to pay an average player $12 million a year? Or are they forced to overpay for players in order to get them to come there? (Answers: No and Probably.) The Royals need to ask themselves another question before they spend their precious payroll: WWBD? If Beane wouldn't even dream of making a move for a player in Oakland, why should the Royals?
Here's a crazy idea...since KC had $36 million burning a hole in their pockets, why not toss a few prospects at some teams for a player going into arbitration, or with a couple years left at $17 mil a year, that could bring some excitement to the team. Miguel Cabrera comes to mind. What's wrong with bringing someone like that in for 2 years instead of 3 years of Guillen?
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