Written by Joe Lucia at Bloguin
The Kansas City Royals clinched their second straight AL pennant on Saturday night after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 in Game 6 of the ALCS. The Royals came up one win short of a World Championship last year, and will look to claim their first title since 1985 against the Mets in this year’s World Series. But whether or not Kansas City ends up winning the championship, this is a franchise looking at some major, unavoidable changes this offseason.
Kansas City went all-in at the 2015 trade deadline, as GM Dayton Moore acquired Johnny Cueto from the Reds and Ben Zobrist from the Athletics. Those moves have put the Royals in a good position for success this month, but they’re also short-term solutions. Both Cueto and Zobrist are free agents this offseasons, and both will be in line for massive paydays – especially now that draft pick compensation will no longer be tied to either player.
In addition to losing Cueto and Zobrist, the Royals are facing the prospect of losing franchise left fielder Alex Gordon. Gordon has a $12.5 million player option for 2016, and it’s largely assumed he’ll decline that option in order to hunt a longer-term, larger payday. Even if Gordon exercises that option, he’ll likely end up leaving the organization that drafted him after the 2016 season.
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