Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Kansas City Royals fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Earlier this week, we asked you to grade how Royals General Manager J.J. Picollo’s trade deadline went:
Honestly, I’m a bit baffled by these results. Back when we asked how many players the Royals needed to trade away by the deadline, almost everyone agreed they needed to trade at
least three, with five or more coming in just behind three to four. The Royals ended up trading only one player from the 40-man roster. And yet, 22% of respondents to this poll thought they managed at least a C at this trade deadline. 4% of you gave them a B! Please, I’m begging you, if you gave a B, I’d love for you to tell me why in a comment.
I’ve already written extensively about why I think this trade deadline is an F. So even the 54% majority of you who gave them a D are significantly higher on the Royals’ performance at the deadline than I am. To summarize my thoughts, it seems to me that the Royals made a massive mistake by not trading every expiring contract they have, including John Schreiber and Starling Marte. I also don’t think Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo are going to be the difference between next year’s team being a contender and not, and whatever trade value they have now will likely be greatly diminished by this time next season.
It’s possible the Royals talked to all of those players and came away with the impression that none of them wanted to be traded and the team didn’t get offers large enough to override those preferences. And I have some sympathy for the players involved, certainly. But if I were offered a few hundred thousand to do my job somewhere else for a few months, I think I’d probably figure it out. These guys can, too.
Anyway, what’s done is done. And, frustratingly, it seems like we are going to be stuck watching these veterans play out the string on the current MLB roster before departing for other homes this offseason instead of getting a look at anyone else who might offer more now or in the future. I guess that means we have the offseason spending spree* and lockout to look forward to instead. How exciting.
*If the Royals want to even pretend like they’re going to compete next year, they’re going to have to throw a lot of cash at a lot of players just to fill out the roster.
These survey results are sponsored by FanDuel.
