The Royals need starting pitching and the Orioles might be willing to part with Jeremy Guthrie. I think a package built around 1B Kila Ka’aihue, SS Mike Aviles and RSP Luke Hochevar could net the Royals Guthrie and either Chris Waters or Rich Hill. That would be a trade that would help both teams as Ka’aihue could start at 1B for the Orioles, Aviles could start at SS over Cesar Izturis if he is healthy and Hochevar would replace Guthrie in the starting rotation. Guthrie would slot behind Zach Greinke and Gil Meche which would give the Royals a pretty decent top three of the rotation. Hill or Waters could then battle Kyle Davies for the last spot in the rotation behind Brian Bannister. This would be a good trade for both teams.

The Royals need to clean house over the winter and get rid of some players. It all starts with the six free agents they have as I feel they should let them all leave. Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo, Jamey Wright, Sidney Ponson, Horacio Ramirez and Yasuhiko Yabuta are all no longer needed in Kansas City. The Royals will also look to move or simply not tender contracts to John Buck, Mark Teahan and Mike Jacobs. The Royals will likely be looking for a new catcher this winter. Bengie Molina or Ivan Rodriguez would likely be the best fits for the Royals who need offensive punch out of the position. If they miss out on both of those guys then they would likely consider guys like Jason Kendall, Rod Barajas, Brian Schneider, Yorvit Torrealba or Jason Varitek (should he become available). The Royals need a player with some punch in left field likely moving David DeJesus back to CF for the 2010 season. It would be nice to bring back Johnny Damon to finish his career with the Royals. If not Damon then maybe someone like Marlon Byrd, Mike Cameron, Rick Ankiel or Xavier Nady. The Royals will likely need a couple of veteran starters to back up Zach Greinke and Gil Meche in the rotation. The Royals could use a lefty in the rotation with likely targets being Erik Bedard, Doug Davis or Jarrod Washburn. Righties that the Royals would likely consider are guys like Jose Contreras, Justin Duchscherer, Vicente Padilla, Jason Marquis, Rich Harden, Carl Pavano, Brett Myers or Kelvim Escobar. The Royals also need a lefty for the bullpen and they will likely look at guys like Joe Beimel, Scott Eyre, John Grabow, Darren Oliver or Brandon Shouse. The Royals will have a very busy winter.

The Royals have granted free agency to 28-year old righty swinging shortstop Tony Pena. He played in 40 games for the Royals last season and he was 5 for 51 (.098 avg, .250 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. The Royals demoted Pena to the minors after his slow start and they used him as a pitcher at three levels in the minors and he looked good. Pena pitched in 10 games (3 starts) in Rookie+A+AAA ball last season and he was 1-2 with a 2.33 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He worked 19 1/3 innings in the minors allowing only 12 hits while striking out 18 batters. In three years with the Royals, Pena played in 287 games in which he was 179 for 785 (.228 avg, .545 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 3 homers, 63 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. If the Royals were a National League team they might have kept Pena around as a two way player. It will be interesting to see which team takes a chance on Pena over the winter.

36-year old righty reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta has a $4 million dollar option for this season but his agent shouldn’t even make the call to see if the Royals will pick it up. He will receive a $500,000 buyout and he should wear a ski mask when he cashes that check because he robbed the poor Royals. Yabuta pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Royals this season and he was 2-1 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.57 WHIP. In two years with the Royals, Yabuta pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Royals and he was 3-4 with a 7.14 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. He should just go back to Japan where he can get some hitters out.

UPDATE: The Royals have declined Yasuhiko Yabuta’s option for the 2010 season.

The Kansas City Royals will be paying Coco Crisp $500,000 bucks to leave rather than giving him $8 million bucks to stay in 2010. The 29-year old switch hitting Crisp had a injury filled year in K.C. playing in only 49 games for the Royals last season in which he was 41 for 180 (.228 avg, .714 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He is a much better player than he showed last season but he’s not good enough for the Royals to bring back. He has now played in 832 games in his major league career and he is 860 for 3,106 (.277 avg, .738 OPS) with 463 runs scored, 59 homers, 327 RBIs and 137 stolen bases. He will likely get a incentive filled deal with some other team over the winter.

UPDATE: The Royals have declined Coco Crisp’s option for the 2010 season making him a free agent.