Around the League in 30 Days - The Kings of KC

The Royals, no longer royalty in the AL have one household name in Cy Young winner Zack Greinke who is poised to prove that 2009 was no fluke. Greinke is easily one of the top 5 pitchers in baseball and at 26 years old, he'll surely hold that title for a number of years to come. Joakim Soria gives the Royals a top-notch closer. Brian Bannister is ready for a rebound year and he should provide solid depth in the starting rotation. The time is now for Luke Hochevar to become the top-flight starter he is expected to be. The offense leaves a lot to be desired aside from Jose Guillen, David DeJesus, and Billy Butler. The jury is still out on Alex Gordon.

Additions - The Royals made a number of signings, some good - like Cuban starter Noel Arguelles (5 yrs, under $7mil), Rick Ankiel (1 yr/$3.75mil), Scott Podsednik (1yr, $1.75 mil), and a host of minor league signings that could fill out the roster (Wilson Betemit) and staff (Philip Humber, Matt Herges, John Parrish, Brian Bullington, and Bruce Chen) respectively. Not all the moves made sense as the Royals overpaid for Jason Kendall (2 yrs, $6mil). Kendall brings nearly no value at the plate and having a veteran backup to Brayan Pena could have been solved w/minor league signing of Vance Wilson. Kendall is right there w/the horrible signing of Jose Guillen a few years ago. They also acquired Chris Getz and Josh Fields via trade.

Subtractions - Mark Teahan is gone (traded for Fields and Getz) as is Mike Jacobs, Tony Pena Jr., Miguel Olivo, Coco Crisp, John Buck, and Sidney Ponson. Of that group, Teahan will be missed but the deal should net positive for KC. Jacobs provided power but the low AVG/OBP/SP line won't be missed. Of the rest of the bunch, only Ponson had some value but his off-the-field shenanigans are likely his demise.

Outlook - There's not much reason to believe the 2010 Royals will fair much better than the '09 variation. Of the team's 65 wins in 2009, 16 belonged to Greinke and I'm sure he could have easily pitched his way to 20 on a team with some offense. Bump them up to 70 wins because of offensive improvement and save the cellar for the Tribe.