As the long, disappointing 2019 campaign comes to a close for the Kansas City Royals, changes are on the horizon. New ownership, a new manager and the development of minor league prospects will be all anyone will focus on from this point forward. And rightfully so. Fans will be glad to flush this 100-loss season and look to the future.

But an inventory of the 2019 season reveals some impressive – even historic – individual accomplishments that are worth celebrating. When fans look to the future, they may just find there are some high quality elements to build upon.

Most notably, Jorge Soler will lead the American League in home runs. This should not go unappreciated. Only twice in the 51 years of the franchise has a Royal even come close to this accomplishment. In 1975, John Mayberry finished third in the home run race, two behind George Scott and Reggie Jackson. In 1985, Steve Balboni came in third, four homers behind Darrell Evans. To achieve this feat in the second largest park in baseball is significant. Soler also entered the final series of the season fourth in the AL in runs batted in.

Some recommend the Royals try to trade Soler during the offseason. The logic is that his value may never be higher, and with arbitration conditions promising to push his salary up the next two years of his contract, the Royals would be better off swapping him for valuable prospects. But for now, Soler provides the kind of power potential the club has never had.

Whit Merrifield, another candidate to be traded this offseason, will lead the AL in hits for the second consecutive year. Merrifield is just the eighth Royal to record 200 hits in a season. Some argue that, like Soler, Merrifield should be dealt to build for the future. But with three years left on his contract with Kansas City, he is a Swiss Army knife the team can use all over the diamond.

Had Adalberto Mondesi not been sidelined for more than a third of a season by injury, he would have put together some remarkable speed stats. As it is, he entered the final weekend of the year leading the AL in triples, second in stolen bases, and first with a stolen-base success rate of 86 percent.

These three along with Hunter Dozier constitute an enviable foursome. Dozier entered the final weekend with 26 homers, 84 RBIs, and a .281 batting average.

This quartet gives the club hope for the future. The loss of Salvador Perez really hurt the 2019 Royals. But he appears on track for a return in 2020, and gives the Royals a fifth elite piece to build around.

Alex Gordon experienced a remarkable rebound in 2019, and currently sits at .266 with 13 homers and 75 RBIs. Fittingly, the tough-as nails outfielder is leading the American League in times hit by a pitch. The 35-year-old Gordon might return for a swan song in 2020, but it should only be on a very club-friendly contract, and expectations for him going forward should be kept low.

Beyond that, there are a million question marks, as too many members of the club either underperformed or are still in the developmental stage. Probably the biggest disappointment with the bat was Ryan O’Hearn, who is finishing strong again this year, but will close with a batting average well below .200. Despite his total inability to hit left-handed pitchers, O’Hearn will get plenty more chances in 2020, as will recently acquired Ryan McBroom.

Others who got their feet wet in 2019 and will be given plenty of opportunities as the rebuild continues are infielder Nicky Lopez and outfielders Bubba Starling and Brett Phillips. The team’s Rookie of the Year, Lopez will finish the year with nearly 100 hits and having demonstrated an ability to excel at multiple infield spots.

As bright as some of the lights were at the plate for the 2019 Royals, the team’s pitching cast a depressing shadow over the season. The team’s best young starting pitcher, Brad Keller, wasn’t good enough to produce wins for the team. He was shut down early with a 7-14 record. His 4.19 ERA, while not horrendous, was a full run worse that last season. Leading the team in victories with nine is Jakob Junis, but that’s about the only good thing you can say about his season. Junis was lit up to the tune of a 5.24 ERA. Acquired mid-season, Mike Montgomery wasn’t any better. His ERA was 4.64, but he was inconsistent and posted a record of just 2-7 as a Royal.

Veteran Danny Duffy continued to be just good enough to keep up hopes for something better. He was 7-6 with a 4.34 ERA in an injury-shortened campaign. Whether Duffy will remain in the starting rotation, be moved to the bullpen, or traded remains to be seen.

Beyond the shaky production of that foursome, nothing good came from the current starting options. The best thing that can be said about Glenn Sparkman, Jorge Lopez and Eric Skoglund is that they were inconsistent. The only reason their audition will continue into 2020 is that the team’s collection of heralded pitching prospects is at least a year away.

If there emerged one star of the pitching staff in 2019, it was Ian Kennedy. Moved to closer primarily because he wasn’t cutting it as a starter, Kennedy found himself. He entered the last weekend of the season with 30 saves, good for fourth in the AL. His 88 percent save percentage ranks among elite closers. Kennedy may have demonstrated enough worth as a closer that the Royals will decide to trade him prior to the final year of his contract.

After Kennedy, the bullpen was a disaster. Auditions will continue in 2020, with some talented arms to work with. Scott Barlow, Kyle Zimmer, Josh Staumont, Richard Lovelady at least have youth and potential on their side.

While some impressive statistics were accumulated in 2019, the only numbers that matter are the wins and losses. And those will once again be bleak. But with some impressive individuals to build around, and a large group to audition in 2020, hopefully the new owner and new manager will have plenty to work with moving forward.

Major League Baseball mandates that teams play out the games scheduled in September, regardless how far out of contention they are. Players are contractually obligated to play in those games.

Fans, on the other hand, are under no obligation to watch or listen to those games, check the box scores, or to give any regard whatsoever to what happens.

Most fans of the Kansas City Royals have moved on, as of last Sunday, to football season, and rightly so. But still, the baseball games go on. And a lot has happened, and will happen, this September that is worthy of note.

New Ownership:

The sale of the Royals to Kansas City businessman John Sherman requires approval at the league meeting this winter. But with that approval essentially guaranteed, Sherman can get a jumpstart this fall on deciding the direction of the franchise. He’ll certainly be paying close attention to the product on the field, as well as evaluating what help can be realistically expected from the minor league system.

Little is known about Sherman’s plans for the team as it is currently constituted. There are rumors that he’ll keep general manager Dayton Moore in some capacity. Whether or not manager Ned Yost returns for another season remains to be seen.

Sherman’s evaluation, and his philosophy toward spending on free agents (to this point unknown) will affect the futures of several current Royals. Should Alex Gordon be brought back for a swan song? Should the team lock slugger Jorge Soler up long term? Should veterans Whit Merrifield, Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy be traded for prospects?

Roster Expansion:

Major league teams are expanding their rosters in a big way for the last time this September. By rule, teams have been permitted to bring anyone on their 40-man roster up to the big leagues on September 1. If a club so desired, it could fill its dugout with prospects and give them a chance to gain experience on the big stage.

The tradition of roster expansion in September allows a handful of men every year to realize the dream of playing in the major leagues who would otherwise never make it. For all the players called up, the expansion allows them to showcase their abilities for future opportunities.

Backup catcher Nick Dini was called up to Kansas City earlier in the summer due to an injury to Cam Gallagher. But Dini knows what September roster expansion means to fringe players like himself.

“It’s huge. You play the whole season with the hopes of getting to play in the big leagues,” Dini said. “All the work you put in during the offseason, and during the season, it’s all for this, to get to get to the big leagues and show what you can do. September is a huge opportunity that we all want to take advantage of.”

Dini admitted part of the challenge of September call-ups is that playing time for so many players is limited. Men accustomed to playing every day suddenly find themselves sitting on the bench for days at a time.

“It’s tough but that’s part of being a professional,” the 26-year-old catcher said. “When it’s your turn to play, you’ve got to be ready to play. The days when you aren’t playing, you’ve got to put the work in to make sure you’re ready to go when your name is called.”

The rule of September roster expansion was recently amended. Starting next season, teams will only be allowed to expand their rosters to 28. Dini said this fact is well known to minor leaguers.

“Guys are aware of (the change) and how it’s going to affect opportunities. That’s 12 less slots for each team, so 12 less opportunities for guys to get called up. But that’s what’s going on. There’s nothing you can do about it. My mentality has been just to go out and prepare, and if, God willing, it happens, then you’re ready to go.”

The Royals’ September call-ups include utility player Erick Mejia and pitchers Gabe Speier and Jesse Hahn. Each has a good shot at being on the roster next summer, so this exposure should accelerate their learning curve.

Keller On Ice:

The Royals announced in late August that it would limit pitcher Brad Keller’s innings and pitch count. The team indicated that Keller still had a ways to go in the season, but it hinted at concern for the 24-year-old’s health. He got blasted on August 26, and that was all the Royals needed to immediately shut Keller down.

“It was a consensus among the coaches that it’s what I needed,” Keller said. “It sucks, from the competitive side. You always want to go out there and compete with the boys. But it’s like a stepping stone for the future. They’re looking out for my best interest, and I agree with what they’re doing. So I just have to (accept it) and keep moving forward.”

Keller’s absence in the starting rotation will open up opportunities for others. Giving starts to Jorge Lopez will open up relief opportunities for Speier, Hahn and others. The final month should see Kyle Zimmer, Josh Staumont and Eric Skoglund get a long look in the bullpen.

“I’m really excited to see how we do in September and what the other guys can do,” said Keller. “It’s a showcase. It’s going to give them a chance to get their feet wet, to get an understanding of what it’s like to play in the big leagues, on and off the field.”

Minor League Playoffs:

When the prospects that eventually won the 2015 World Series worked their way up through the farm system, a premium was placed on winning minor league championships. The franchise wanted the Royals of the future to learn to win together. New prospects, now at the lower levels of the minors, are reviving the winning tradition.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks, a club flush with premium prospects, is competing this weekend for the high A classification Carolina League championship. Meanwhile the lower A-ball Lexington Legends are playing for a South Atlantic League title. And down at the Royals Dominican Academy, a collection of Latin American prospects claimed the Dominican Summer League championship.

Fall League Action:

Some of the Royals’ top prospects in the minors will get additional seasoning in the Arizona Fall League. Brewer Hicklen and Kyle Isbel, seen by the Royals as outfielders of the future, will be joined by versatile slugger Gabriel Cancel. Pitcher Daniel Lynch, considered the Royals #3 prospect, will see some additional innings in Arizona to make up for time lost due to injury earlier in the summer. Lynch will be accompanied in Arizona by fellow pitching prospects Daniel Tillo and Tad Ratliff.

For the second year in a row, the Kansas City Royals look to be sellers as the July 31 trade deadline approaches, hoping to improve their farm system by trading away players who aren’t a long-term fit.

That means that, for the second year in a row, the team that finishes the season in Kansas City will look dramatically different from the one that started it.

While many more losses will follow the trade deadline, many interesting things could take place in Kansas City, things which hopefully will eventually lead to the resurgence of the franchise.

Which deals get made?

Last year the Royals were able to move players much more quickly than they have this season. By this time last year, the Royals had flipped Jon Jay and Kelvin Herrera for a considerable return. They would soon add more prospects by trading Mike Moustakas. And they would sell Terrance Gore and Lucas Duda, and trade Drew Butera.

This year’s trade market has been cold and the Royals have yet to make a single trade of significance.

They have several players under contract beyond 2019 that they would love to move if the right deal presented itself, starting with Ian Kennedy and possibly including Alex Gordon.

But they are more desperate to get anything in return for the guys with expiring contracts. Most likely to be traded are pitchers Homer Bailey and Jake Diekman and outfielder Billy Hamilton. Martin Maldonado and Gore might have some value somewhere. What the Royals can get in return may not be franchise altering, but anything helps.

Second round of auditions

Losing seasons open windows of opportunity for players trying to prove themselves. When a team no longer cares about wins and losses, it can patiently permit lenghty auditions, trying to find out which players are building blocks and which are merely stop-gaps.

Unfortunately, a few guys who looked like building blocks last season took a big step back this year. First baseman Ryan O’Hearn and outfielders Brett Phillips and Jorge Bonifacio all floundered in 2019, but may get a callback. Each is benefiting from a lack of other options at his position within the organization.

A year ago Cheslor Cuthbert’s career appeared to be dead. But injuries and O’Hearn’s failure gave the 26-year-old another shot at the big leagues, and he’s been at least passable. With Hunter Dozier locking down third base, Cuthbert needs to show he can handle first base and be a run-producer. O’Hearn may return to KC and take some of Cuthbert’s playing time down the stretch. But the opportunity is there for Cuthbert, and he needs to seize it.

Getting an even longer look have been the pitchers at the big league level. With so few big-league quality starting pitchers, Brad Keller and Jakob Junis will receive infinite number of chances to figure things out. Glenn Sparkman may not have as long a leash, as the Royals may try some other options. But if Bailey gets dealt, someone will have to start. Eric Skoglund, suspended for the first half of the season, will probably get another look.

Ready for openers?

With almost no starting pitchers in Triple-A pushing for a promotion, the Royals may experiment with using an “opener” rather than a starter. This strategy is gaining acceptance around the league, and the Royals look ready to give it a try. They’ve been toying with it with flame-throwing Josh Staumont and reclamation project Kyle Zimmer at Triple-A. Both guys have more than enough talent and just need to find the right fit. Opening may be just the ticket to finally tap their ability.

It’s finally Bubba Time!

Fans finally have the long-awaited debut of Gardner-Edgerton product Bubba Starling. At long last, the center fielder was healthy and hitting enough to be called up from Omaha. The Royals held him back, probably making sure his success is sustainable, and trying to get anything they can in exchange for Hamilton.

At worst, Starling is essentially a copy of Hamilton – a great defender who can’t hit. But Starling’s newfound success at the plate provides hope he’s finally ready to thrive in KC. His immense popularity on the Kansas side of the city will provide a boost at the box office, if nothing else.

Late season promotions

Expanded big league rosters and minor-league playoff races always cause a lot of player movement in September. Trades will open roster spots in Kansas City even earlier. The reshuffling the last two months of the season will provide lots of opportunities and some indication of who the Royals see as pieces of the future. Aside from Staumont and Zimmer, guys to watch for in KC will be pitcher Richard Lovelady, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez, and jack-of-all-trades Erick Mejia.

Movement in the minor leagues will be just as interesting. Will top prospect Khalil Lee get a promotion to Triple-A? Will stud pitchers Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch successfully adjust to Double-A? And will uber-prospect Bobby Witt, Jr., currently at the Arizona rookie league, get promoted to a full-season club? Witt is already 19 and should be ready for the challenge.

Soler’s historic chase

Jorge Soler is on pace to hit 42 home runs. That would easily surpass Moustakas’ team record of 38. The Royals bear the embarrassment of being baseball’s only team without a 40-homer season in their history. With home runs flying out of parks at a record pace league-wide, the accomplishment might seem somewhat tainted. But juiced balls and a tighter strike zone aside, Soler’s emergence has been a much-needed breakthrough for the power-starved Royals.

Another strong finish

Despite a horrendous overall record, the 2018 Royals finished with a flourish, inspiring great optimism for 2019. But the new season started with a thud, and too many guys – Keller, Junis, O’Hearn, Jorge Lopez – took a step back. It would be refreshing if some prospects could infuse some energy into the club once again this year. Wins and losses won’t matter, but a recovery of some hope could still be attained down the stretch.

Perhaps no city in the United States is more closely connected to Negro League baseball than Kansas City. Fittingly, the Kansas City Royals dedicate one game each season to celebrate the legacy of baseball played by non-white players prior to integration in 1947.

When the Royals host Minnesota on Sunday, they will do so in Kansas City Monarchs uniforms, pitted against the St. Paul Gophers in the annual Salute to the Negro Leagues.

New to the Royals this season, outfielder Billy Hamilton recognizes the importance of Negro League baseball to Kansas City, and is happy for the chance to celebrate it.

“The Negro League celebration is just special to the African American guys who are playing baseball today, to show that we’re still supporting (its memory),” Hamilton said. “What they did to give us the chance to play the game of baseball is a beautiful thing.

“It’s awesome to put on the type of uniform they used to wear, to see what the game looked like back in the day,” the centerfielder said. “I’m so glad that baseball is doing that for a lot more teams. It seemed like for a while it was just a couple of teams doing it. But now it seems like more teams around the league are getting into it.”

From the 1880s until 1947, segregation restricted the major leagues solely to light-skinned players. Due to the color barrier, Negro League teams provided an alternative for non-whites.

The Kansas City and Topeka areas were a hotbed for baseball amongst the African-American community for more than half a century. In fact, the Topeka Giants were celebrated as the “Black Champions of the West” in 1906, and the Kansas City Giants were named the “Colored Champions of 1909.”

Arguably the most important singular event in segregated baseball occurred at the Paseo YMCA in 1920, when eight owners gathered to form the Negro National League, which included the Kansas City Monarchs. The formation of a league brought new legitimacy to the brand of baseball played by non-whites.

From 1920 to 1965, the Monarchs were the most consistently competitive, profitable and well-known of the Negro League franchises. They crisscrossed the nation with players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neill, and were the team that launched Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier shortly after World War II.

Similar to African-Americans, dark-skinned Hispanic players were barred from the major leagues prior to 1947, a fact not lost on Puerto Rican native Jorge Lopez. It is estimated that up to 20 percent of Negro League players were from outside the U.S.

“It’s an honor to remember those Negro Leaguers and what they did for us,” the 26-year-old pitcher said. “We have a lot of respect for them and what they went through. I know the hard time they (endured) to play the game.”

The major leagues gradually accepted more and more non-whites, and today the game is brimming with players from Latin America. 2017 saw the highest percentage of non-white players in major league history at 42.5 percent. Of that number, 31.9 percent were categorized as Latin American.

Lopez said he can’t imagine growing up prior to integration and being told that he could not play in the major leagues. But he guessed that Latin Americans at that time were probably appreciative of the opportunity the Negro Leagues presented.

“It had to be weird to be told that,” Lopez said. “I couldn’t tell (how I would feel about it) because I didn’t grow up with that. It had to be so tough. Maybe Latin Americans saw it in a positive way, to have the chance to come to the United States and play, and make the most of it.

“But I’m so thankful that things seem to be getting better with every generation. When you hear about what that was like, it just makes you thankful things are so much better. And so you just appreciate what they did. So it’s an honor to play now and to show our appreciation.”

Fans are encouraged to suit up too. Sunday games were the biggest and best attended of the week for Negro League clubs, and fans often came straight from church, dressed in their Sunday best. Kauffman Stadium will host some nattily dressed guests again this year, as “Dressed to the Nines” has officially become a part of the annual celebration.

The short, baggy pants and the billowy jerseys with the Monarchs’ iconic KC logo on the chest will be auctioned to raise money for Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The first 10,000 fans will receive a Kansas City Monarchs Short Bill Cap.

The Royals/Monarchs’ opponent this Sunday, the St. Paul Gophers, was an all-black barnstorming unit from 1907 to 1916. For some of the period, they went by the name St. Paul Colored Gophers, Twin City Gophers, and Minneapolis Gophers.

The 2019 season has been a forgettable one in Kansas City. The game with Minnesota on Sunday, however, provides a reminder of an even more important struggle than that on the field. For one day, the Royals become the Monarchs, and win or lose, they play for something truly historic.

While not making it their intent this year, the Royals once again have a handful of players they may be interested in flipping this summer. Doing so could fetch some helpful minor leaguers, while clearing the way for younger Royals to gain valuable experience. It’s exactly what happened last season, and it’s the only thing that could salvage this wretched campaign.

The players in the clubhouse know it’s coming. It’s a harsh reality, but one they accept. It affects them professionally – who wouldn’t want to be traded from a cellar-dweller to a playoff contender mid season? But it also affects them professionally – should they move their families for what could be only a couple of months?

“It really doesn’t affect your daily approach to things at all,” said Terrance Gore, who was acquired late in the 2018 campaign by the playoff-bound Chicago Cubs from the Royals. “It more affects your family more than anything. You may have to pack up and leave at any point and time on short notice. But as a player it really doesn’t affect you. You just go out there and play the game the way you’ve been playing.

“If it happens, it happens. Sometimes it’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s a bad thing. But leaving the Royals, because I’ve been with the Royals so long, it’s definitely a bad thing, because I’ll always be a Royal no matter where I go. But if it happens to you, it’s just something you have to live with.”

Major League Baseball set a hard deadline for trades this year – July 31 is the cutoff. So deals may start happening a little earlier than in years past.

Players like Gore understand that deft trades at mid-season can change history. When the Royals won the 2015 World Series, it was in large part due to the trade-deadline acquisitions of Ben Zobrist and Johnny Cueto. And last year, the Royals were on the selling end, shipping Moustakas at the deadline to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jorge Lopez and Brett Phillips.

“Every player does look at it as an opportunity,” Gore said of being traded to a contending team. “It’s a chance to contribute to something special.

“We look at it as a business. Sometimes giving away one player you can get two players in return that will make the team better in the long run. I’m always a Royal, and anything that will help the organization in the long run, I’m cool with it.”

A few one-year flippables on the team might have some value on the trade market. First and foremost is Jake Diekman. While the bullpen has been pretty awful as a whole, the 32-year-old lefty has been tough, with a WHIP barely above 1.00 and more than 13 strikeouts per nine innings. The Royals signed him to a one-year deal knowing he could very well be trade bait.

Sadly neither Wily Peralta nor Brad Boxberger – other relievers on one-year deals – won’t attract similar trade interest.

Homer Bailey’s hot and cold performances might not attract a great haul, but some team in need of a starter might give him a try.

Two one-year position players might bring some prospects, if just the right trade partners can be found.

Martin Maldonado holds tremendous value for any contending team who finds itself in need of a catcher down the stretch. Maldonado is a whiz defensively and has shown he can quickly bond with a pitching staff. He won’t be a difference maker with the bat, but he could save a season for a team in need of a rock behind the plate.

Outfielder Billy Hamilton has failed to provide much offense, but the rest of the league knows what he can do: play great defense and steal bases. A team that could use a late-game pinch runner and defensive replacement could get some real good out of the 28-year-old speed demon. Trading Hamilton would also open a spot for prospect Bubba Starling to finally make his long-awaited debut.

The Royals should do anything and everything necessary to trade all of the players mentioned above. None of them fit the organization’s future plans, and will just be taking up space if they are on the roster after July 31.

And none of them hold any sentimental value to the organization. That cannot be said, however, for Alex Gordon, whose contract runs out after this year as well. Would the Royals actually consider trading the local product, the pillar of the franchise and fixture in the community?

Other teams have traded cornerstone stars at the deadline – Justin Verlander, David Price and Yoenis Cespedes are just a few from recent years. But for a beleaguered club to trade a guy who’s labored faithfully for 13 years is hard to envision.

Other difficult deals to swing could involve guys with more than one year left on their contracts. It was reported (although General Manager Dayton Moore denied it) that the Royals are open to trading nearly everyone on their current roster.

If a deal can be found for Ian Kennedy, the Royals shouldn’t hesitate. He shows some potential as a reliever, but he won’t be with Kansas City past next year, and his contract is an albatross.

Whit Merrifield would probably bring the most in return, and the Royals might be open to dealing him, despite having three very affordable years left on his contract. If Jorge Soler continues to crush home runs, he might also have value on the trade market. And Danny Duffy might be attractive to some team.

Those three players should only be traded for a haul in return, as they each hold value for the ongoing rebuild. But if enough is offered in return, none should be considered untouchable. Gordon might fall in a different category, and it would understandable if the Royals choose to keep him.

Otherwise, let the wheeling and dealing begin!

Homer Bailey says the thought his career might be over after 2018 never crossed his mind. But over the winter he had plenty of doubters.

Bailey signed with the Kansas City Royals to a minor league contract when it would seem few other teams were interested. Royals general manager Dayton Moore is known for turning over rocks in search of rebuilding help, and Bailey was worth the minimal risk.

Bailey isn’t setting any worlds on fire yet, but the results are positive enough.

Embarrassing as it was, you can discard Thursday’s disaster in which Bailey was drubbed after four solid innings. The defense behind him was much of the problem. Bailey entered Thursday with a 4-3 record in eight starts, a 4.83 ERA, and 38 strikeouts in 41 innings.

Bailey has been arguably the Royals best starter in 2019, though that bar isn’t set very high. Brad Keller, Jorge Lopez and Jakob Junis have all struggled, and Danny Duffy was late to the party due to injury. While he’s had a couple of rough outings, Bailey has also had a few very good ones. He two-hit the Cleveland Indians over seven shutout innings on April 13, then five days later he held the New York Yankees to just three hits and a run over six innings. On May 10, he held the powerful Philadelphia Phillies to just one run on four hits over five innings.

“We’ve got a couple of months ahead of us before we can say that (it’s been successful), but it feels great right now,” the 33-year-old said recently.

Bailey wasn’t assured much when he signed with the Royals. He had a glossy resume, but everything good on it was outdated. In fact, the veteran pitcher hadn’t posted an ERA below 5.56 since the Royals reached the 2014 World Series. His 9-27 record wasn’t just the product of pitching for the dreadful Cincinnati Reds. He was flat out bad, for a long period of time.

What now seems like ages ago, the Reds once placed the hope of their future on Bailey’s shoulders, and seemed well on the way to being rewarded for that faith. The seventh player picked in the 2004 amateur draft, by 2009 Bailey was one of a group of hot young pitchers that included starters Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake. Edinson Volquez, and flame-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman. Those young guns helped the Reds finish first in the National League Central in 2010 and again in 2012.

Bailey’s career reached its zenith when he fired a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates in September 2012, then repeated the feat against the San Francisco Giants in July 2013. Foreseeing greatness in his future, the Reds invested $105 million in the next six years of his career.

It all went downhill from there, and fast. Off to a good start in 2014, Bailey was shelved midseason due to “arm fatigue.” The problem eventually led to diagnosis of torn ulnar collateral ligament, which necessitated Tommy John surgery. Other injuries and surgeries followed, and both Bailey and the Reds went off the deep end.

Things hit rock bottom when, finally relatively healthy in 2018, Bailey was saddled with an embarrassing 1-14 record for the hapless Reds. Desperate to off-load some of his onerous contract, the Reds traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who promptly gave him his release.

Still believing in himself, Bailey sought a place to recover. Enter Moore and Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred.

“I never had any notions that I wasn’t going to get the chance somewhere,” Bailey said. “I was prepared for this season to happen, I just didn’t know where for a while. After talking to Dayton and Cal this offseason, it felt like this was going to be a really good fit this year.

Bailey was guaranteed little aside from a chance in spring training. But Bailey knew better than anyone the status of his health, and he believed a return to the majors was a good bet. He sensed his best shot was with the Royals.

“The conversations I had with Dayton and also with Cal were what it took,” said the 13-year veteran. “Talking with Cal about how he likes to prepare different things, and his philosophy about pitching in general, it seemed like he was just a really good fit for me personally. It felt like he was someone I would work really well with.”

Moore has shown that reclamation projects like Bailey are one of his strong suits. Ryan Madson, Kris Medlen, Joe Blanton, Peter Moylan, Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Minor are all pitchers the Royals have scooped up off the scrap heap and reinvigorated.

Moore’s motivation is not just to find quality pitching to fortify the Royals’ staff. He sees the opportunity to turn discarded pitchers into tradable assets. A player like Bailey on a one-year contract who performs well for half the season could be flipped for minor leaguers that bolster the franchise’s rebuild. He was never seen as a long-term piece for the Royals. But he could bring them some prospects who help make the Royals winners again.

It’s certainly a promising scenario for Bailey. Just a few months ago, he had little opportunity to make a big-league roster. Now he seems destined to be dealt to a playoff team by August. And if his effectiveness holds out, he might be in line for another multi-year contract in 2020.

A fresh start can’t come soon enough for the Kansas City Royals.

When the Royals take the field on Thursday, they hope to erase the memory of the second-worst season in the history of the organization. Only the disastrous 2005 campaign, in which the Royals posted 56-106 record, was worse.

Last season’s attempt to compete with retreads and one-year fliers failed miserably. Against the better judgment of virtually every analyst, the Royals tried to cut payroll, rebuild the minor league system, and still compete with a collection of misfits. No one was surprised when the experiment was a complete catastrophe. When the Royals got off to a 7-21 start, the season seemed to be wasted. By May of 2018, fans were already resigned to fast-forward to 2019.

But looking beyond the win-loss column, something happened in the second half of the season that provides cause for optimism.

Once General Manager Dayton Moore was forced to give up hopes of competing, he shifted to what most believed should have been the plan all along. He finally started flipping his trade pieces for prospects. Fans bid farewell to holdovers from the championship team like Kelvin Herrera, Mike Moustakas and Drew Butera. With considerably less sentimentality, the Royals also flipped one-year stopgaps Lucas Duda and Jon Jay.

The prospects the Royals received in return went a long way toward rebuilding the farm system. But perhaps even more importantly, emptying the cupboard allowed youngsters a chance to show what they could do. Enter athletic types Adalberto Mondesi, Ryan O’Hearn, Brett Phillips, Brian Goodwin and young arms Jorge Lopez and Heath Fillmyer.

Those newcomers joined a young cohort already in Kansas City – Brad Keller, Jacob Junis, Hunter Dozier – and suddenly things clicked.

Buried on August 24 by a 39-90 start to the season, this revamped roster started playing with passion. The kids played to show what they could do, essentially auditioning for roles in 2019. They played at a .586 clip the rest of the way.

A youth movement is now afoot. With it comes tempered expectations. No one anticipates the 2019 Royals winning anywhere near 58 percent of their games. Anything near .500 would, frankly, come as a shock.

But the good news is you won’t be watching a collection of one-year trade chips this year. The players taking the field for Kansas City this summer may well be around for years to come. If the Royals are to be good in 2021 and beyond, it will be with Mondesi, Keller, and some of the others likely playing a large role.

Things change fast. Only a few members of the beloved 2015 squad will be around. Alex Gordon will almost certainly play his last season as a Royal. Fans need to enjoy it while it lasts. Danny Duffy will likely be around for the foreseeable future, and hopefully he can approximate the role of an experienced “ace.”

Sadly, the most popular player left from the championship season will not be in uniform in 2019. Salvador Perez will be repairing an injured arm. Rest assured, whatever time he spends in Kansas City will not go unnoticed. He’ll surely be bounding around the dugout, leading the cheers and the Gatorade splashes. But his bat, his defense, and particularly his on-field leadership, will be sorely missed.

Ultimately, the win-loss record of the 2019 Royals is not important. This team will be about development. But the product on the field will be infinitely more entertaining than last year. And the future will be taking shape before our eyes. That should wash away the awful taste of the 2018 disaster.

Opening day can’t get her quickly enough.

How are those players doing today, and how does the Royals’ replacement plan look? This week, I’m taking a look at each of the five players celebrated on the last day of 2017 and what the Royals are doing at their respective positions:

Read Monday’s look at Eric Hosmer and the Royals’ plan to replace him.

Read Tuesday’s look at Alcides Escobar and the Royals’ plan to replace him.

Read Wednesday’s look at Mike Moustakas and the Royals’ plan to replace him.

Thursday – Jason Vargas, P: Remember him?

Unlike the others celebrated at the close of 2017, Vargas felt the least “ours.” He had pitched for eight seasons in other cities before joining the Royals. He was an integral part of the run to the World Series in 2014, but then was injured for most of 2015 and 2016. He as not active for the 2015 playoffs and therefore played no part in winning the championship.

But Vargas did lead the American League in wins in 2017, earning a spot in the All Star Game. He led the Royals’ pitching staff in WAR with 3.9.

But like Hosmer and Cain, Vargas was deemed too expensive to retain, and thus KC bid him farewell.

While one can still debate whether signing the others to long term deals would have made sense for the Royals, there was no such consideration in Vargas’ case. His 2017 appeared to be built on sand. The Royals were pretty certain the then-34-year-old would not be a valuable pitcher for the long haul.

For some reason, the New York Mets believed otherwise. They gave him $6 million for 2018, $8 million for 2019, and will pay him $2 million more when they most certainly cut him loose after that.

So, what are they getting from that investment? Vargas went 7-9 with a 5.77 ERA on a team that quickly turned into a disaster. He was only good for 92 innings, and in those he merited a -0.3 WAR. That means that in the little that he did pitch, the Mets would have been better off with some minor leaguer taking his place.

So the Royals wisely dodged this bullet. But what did they do in 2018 in his place? The story only gets better. When the Royals scrambled to find a fifth starter early in the year, they turned to an unlikely candidate in Brad Keller. Keller was plucked from the Rule 5 Draft just a few weeks before, meaning his previous team didn’t think he was worth protecting.

All Keller did with the opportunity was post the highest WAR of any rookie pitcher in 2018. He went 9-6 for a dreadful team, and his 3.08 ERA was second best amongst rookies who threw more than 120 innings.

Keller will be a building block for Kansas City. He is costing the Royals pennies, meaning most of the money saved from not signing Vargas can be reinvested in the team rebuild.

With Vargas out of the way, and as other veteran starters fell by the wayside in 2018, the Royals were able to audition a host of youngsters, including Heath Fillmyer, Eric Skoglund, Burch Smith, Glenn Sparkman and Jorge Lopez. Instead of trotting a flagging veteran to the mound, the Royals did extensive evaluation on what they have moving forward. While they didn’t win a lot of games, the trials will prove extremely beneficial.

Saying goodbye to Cain, Hosmer and Moustakas was painful. Losing Vargas hurt far less. And now, one year later, the Royals are smelling like roses for their handling of his replacement.

How are those players doing today, and how does the Royals’ replacement plan look? This week, I’m taking a look at each of the five players celebrated on the last day of 2017 and what the Royals are doing at their respective positions:

Read Monday’s look at Eric Hosmer and the Royals’ plan to replace him.

Read Tuesday’s look at Alcides Escobar and the Royals’ plan to replace him.

Wednesday – Mike Moustakas, 3B: Unlike Hosmer, the Royals had no intention of resigning Moustakas after the 2017 season. But in a strange twist of fate, there was so little interest in the free agent third baseman, Moustakas was left dangling until spring training.

One thing seems to be true about Royals General Manager Dayton Moore: he seems to be able capitalize on undervalued assets. While he had Cheslor Cuthbert ready to step into the third base role full time, Moore recognized the potential for a sign and trade with Moustakas. He brought Moose back on what everyone knew was a very temporary basis.

So Moustakas gave the Royals more or less two-thirds of a season. With 20 home runs he further cemented his place in Royals history – he now stands in ninth place in homers with 139. He produced 2.1 WAR in 98 games, heading for one of the best seasons of his career.

But on July 27 he was traded. And that’s where this story begins.

Hunter Dozier had been with the Royals most of the season, and wasn’t producing much at first base. But when Moustakas was dealt, it opened the door for Dozier to play semi-regularly at third for the last two months of the season. He took some positive steps, hitting .254 with 6 homers and 20 RBI the final two months. During that same period, Moose hit .256 with 8 homers and 33 RBI for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Dozier hasn’t figured out how to get on base as regularly as Moose. He probably doesn’t field at third base as well as Moose. But he runs well and is more athletic. There is potential there.

The wild card moving forward in the long-term replacement of Moustakas will be Cuthbert. In 2016, his one opportunity to play every day at third base, Cuthbert hit a respectable .274 with 12 homers as a 23-year-old. He looked like he might be the heir apparent to Moose.

But in the rare periods that he hasn’t been injured since 2016, Cuthbert has been ineffective. The Royals are loath to part with a player of his youth and potential, but roster dynamics have his future in jeopardy.

But the real story here isn’t just how Dozier or Cuthbert serve in Moustakas’ absence. The real story is what KC will get out of outfielder Brett Phillips and pitcher Jorge Lopez, the two players they received from the Brewers in return for Moustakas.

Phillips struggled mightily in his two-month audition. The poor guy just can’t keep from striking out. Phillips went down hacking 50 times in just 112 at bats for Kansas City. His inability to get on base neutralized his speed on the basepaths.

Still, the Royals love his tools, particularly his arm and ability to cover ground in centerfield. For that reason, they will be very patient with him.

They can afford to be patient with Lopez, too. The 25-year-old will get every opportunity to hold a spot in the pitching rotation. In seven starts with KC, Lopez was hot and cold, but showed enough potential for the Royals to give him ample opportunities.

So the Royals got to enjoy four additional months of one of their most popular figures in Moustakas, giving fans something to relish during the bleakest of seasons. And they received two prospects for him at the deadline.

It’s bittersweet to watch Moustakas in the playoffs with Milwaukee. But the Royals will probably be wise to move on from Moustakas from a long-term perspective. He’s 30 years old, and has a body that doesn’t look to age well. Even if he is available at a low price this offseason, the Royals would be better served to invest financially in other places.

But to come out on top in the replacement of Moose, the Royals need for some combination of Dozier, Cuthbert, Phillips and Lopez to be part of the future.

The 2018 Kansas City Royals were a disaster. But you wouldn’t know it by talking to the guys taking the field the past two months.

That’s because a large number of the guys in the clubhouse now weren’t there when the Royals bumbled to a 27-68 record at the All-Star break. Since then, Ryan O’Hearn and Adalberto Mondesi have brought superstar production to Kansas City. Brett Phillips, Rosell Herrera and Brian Goodwin have brought speed and athleticism (and the swagger that comes with it). And Brad Keller, Heath Fillmyer and Jorge Lopez have infused the starting rotation with youth and potential.

Talk to any of the youngsters, and they see this season as an opportunity.

“The new guys, the young guys, have to prove that we belong here, and demonstrate what we can do for the team moving forward,” said Phillips, who, along with Lopez, was acquired in late July in a trade for Mike Moustakas. “So we have a lot of motivation, a lot of energy, to go out there each day regardless of how many games the team has won or lost.”

Pitcher Ian Kennedy said that while the first half of the season was disappointing to the veterans assembled to start the year, the transformation of the roster points to brighter days ahead. After struggling mightily at the start of the season, Kennedy sat out much of the year with injuries. He observed the change from the dugout.

“The group we started with just struggled all around. We couldn’t click,” Kennedy said. “Now as the team starts to transform, the young guys are all hungry because they want a spot next year. They want to prove that they can do something up here. I’m really excited for our future. I watched the transition while I was on the disabled list, and it’s been fun to see.”

Keller, who has been a leader of the youth movement, said that winning at a respectable clip this fall is going to catapult the team into greater success moving forward.

“The vibe around here these days is just awesome,” said the 23-year-old. “How we’re conducting business from then to now is a night and day difference. You can see it on the field, how much fun we’re having. It’s going to give us confidence moving forward. We feel like, give us a full year together and see what can happen.”

As Keller and company wrap up the Royals’ 50^th season, a healthy dose of perspective is in order. While the overall record won’t be much to celebrate, there is a silver lining to the dark cloud of 2018.

The Class of ‘69

There have certainly been some bleak periods for the expansion team awarded to Kansas City at major league baseball’s 1967 winter meetings. But of the four teams created at that meeting – the San Diego Padres, Seattle Pilots and Montreal Expos being the other three – the Royals are unquestionably at the head of the class.

First of all, two of the clubs bolted their original homes for greener pastures. The Pilots barely paused long enough to unpack their bags in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers in 1970. The Expos were competitive for a time, but couldn’t win over their Canadian hosts and morphed into the Washington Nationals in 2005.

The Royals have played in four World Series, winning two. Of the other three 1969 expansion clubs, the Padres lost in the 1984 and 1998 series, and the Brewers lost in the 1982 series. So the Royals have played in more World Series than the other three combined, and been the only one to win even one championship.

Of the 30 teams in major league baseball, 12 have reached fewer World Series than the Royals, some of which have been around for much longer.

We’ve been here before and felt far worse

The Royals have lost 100 or more games four times previously. With two games left, this Royals team will escape the embarrassment of being worst in team history. They lost 106 in 2005.

It hurt when, after failing to capitalize on building blocks like Mike Sweeney, Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye, the 2002 Royals dropped 100 for the first time in team history.

2004 was dreadful because, after the fool’s gold of 2003 led fans to believe the team was actually competitive, the 104 losses exposed that a quick rebuild was not possible.

Things couldn’t have looked more bleak than they did in 2005, when they lost 106 games and hardly had anyone of real major league caliber. 2006 was only slightly better, when the Royals again lost an even 100.

So with a bunch of young studs playing, and winning, in the second half, 2018 doesn’t seem that bad. With Keller, Mondesi and friends emerging as building blocks, there is hope for next year.

As is often said, a losing season doesn’t have to be a lost season. It doesn’t feel like a lost season in the clubhouse these days.