How Royals' magical 2014 offseason led to title

KANSAS CITY -- On a sun-splashed late October morning in 2014, Royals general manager Dayton Moore paced on one end of the Royals' dugout at Kauffman Stadium.

Less than 24 hours earlier, the Royals’ magical season had ended in a crushing 3-2, Game 7 loss to the Giants in the World Series.

Moore shook his head in disappointment at the scene in front of him: Players, coaches and broadcasters were milling around on the field, ready to take part in a celebration of the season in front of thousands of fans.

“What are we celebrating?” Moore asked, turning to a reporter. “We didn’t win anything.”

As Moore looks back on that day now, though, he concedes the celebration was in order.

“I understand better now,” he said. “That team played its tail off. They were American League champions. The fans appreciated them and the season.”

Still, the moment the celebration was over, an admittedly frustrated Moore and his staff immediately made a beeline back to the sixth floor at Kauffman Stadium.

“We had a staff meeting right after it ended,” Moore said. “We knew we had work to do, improvements to make.”

And what transpired over the next several months of that offseason paved the way for the Royals’ World Series championship in 2015, their first in 30 years. Indeed, it may have been the greatest, most productive offseason in franchise history.

“Most teams, especially small-market teams, hope to hit on two, maybe three free agents during an offseason,” one rival scout said recently. “Kansas City hit on almost three times that many in that offseason. Never seen anything like it.”

Consider the Royals’ acquisitions between the 2014 World Series ending and '15 Opening Day, a list that included: right-hander Luke Hochevar, designated hitter Kendrys Morales, outfielder Alex Rios, right-handers Edinson Volquez, Ryan Madson, Kris Medlen and Joe Blanton, left-hander Franklin Morales and swingman Chris Young.

All those players contributed to the 2015 success; most did so significantly.

That offseason didn’t get off to a flying start. Kansas City’s immediate goals were to re-sign pending free agents Billy Butler and Nori Aoki.

“We knew in terms of our position players,” Moore said, “that we had a solid nucleus with Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon, Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain and Salvy [Perez]. But we needed a right-handed bat in Billy. We wanted him back.”

The Royals’ offer to Butler maxed out at three years and $24 million. The A’s trumped that with three years and $30 million. Moore advised Butler, in an almost father-to-son manner, to take the A’s deal for the benefit of Butler’s family.

“I’ve never forgotten that,” Butler said a few weeks after taking the A’s deal. “But that’s the type of person Dayton is. He cares about you as a person first and foremost.”

Aoki was hoping for multiyear deal, and the Royals were uncomfortable going beyond two years. Negotiations stalled and the Royals moved on, pursuing other options. Aoki eventually signed a one-year deal with the Giants that January.

Moore and his staff began laying groundwork for replacements at the Winter Meetings. They were targeting Morales as a possible designated hitter to replace Butler, and Rios as the right fielder to replace Aoki.

There was much internal debate about Kendrys Morales. The Royals’ analytical department was skeptical about his high ground-ball rate, a concern Moore conceded was warranted. But Moore believed Kendrys Morales’ makeup “was off the charts.”

“Just a winner,” Moore said. “And the same with Alex Rios. I loved Kendrys Morales from the time he defected from Cuba. Both of those guys, I knew, would be great fits in our clubhouse.

“And their agent, Scott Boras, thought both would be great fits for us, too. And contrary to what people might think about Scott, he looks at both sides in a deal. He looks for strong fits.”

Boras believed it would benefit both sides if Kendrys Morales got a two-year deal, especially after Morales' disjointed 2014 season was hurt by a lengthy holdout. A two-year deal, Boras suggested, would take pressure off.

Moore agreed to the terms and Kendrys Morales was officially signed Dec. 16, 2014. Three days later, Kansas City signed Rios to a one-year deal.

“I had talked to [Rangers general manager] Jon Daniels about Alex Rios,” Moore said. “And JD had nothing but glowing things to say about Alex, and I respect JD’s opinion greatly. He also said Alex would do anything to win, which was important to us because we knew we’d probably have a defensive replacement for him late in games.”

The Royals also had to replace starter James Shields, who was a free agent and who eventually landed a lucrative deal with the Padres. One possible Royals target was Volquez, who was coming off a solid year with Pittsburgh (3.04 ERA in 31 starts).

Moore and Royals vice president of international operations Rene Francisco had a chance meeting with Volquez in December in the Dominican Republic outside of San Pedro de Macoris.

“We were at a charity event,” Moore said, “and Eddie was there, and we just started talking and got to know each other. I liked his smile. I liked his attitude. Again, he seemed like a winner, and a good fit for us. Things with Eddie moved pretty fast after that chance meeting.”

The Royals’ staff, especially its analytics department, was all-in on Volquez. A two-year deal came about quickly, just before New Year’s Eve.

“Power pitchers,” Moore said, “win in the playoffs.”

After that signing, Moore recalled that there was a sense the Royals didn’t have to do much more -- they were already at their budget threshold for 2015 anyway.

“We didn’t think we needed a lot of bullpen help,” he said. “We had Danny Duffy coming back healthy. You know, he pitched down the stretch in ’14 with a hairline fracture in his rib. If he had been healthy, we might have won it in 2014.”

The Royals, however, were still on the lookout for reclamation projects such as Blanton and Madson. It just so happened that Royals special assistant to the general manager, Jim Fregosi Jr., was a big fan of Madson. Fregosi, then with the Phillies, had signed Madson in 1998.

Madson hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2011 because of elbow issues and was basically retired. But he began throwing again in '14 while tutoring a high school pitcher, and his stuff and elbow felt right. He pondered a comeback, spurred on by Fregosi.

“Jim had a relationship with Ryan Madson,” Moore said, “and he was pushing Madson that whole offseason.”

The last piece to the puzzle was the signing of Young, which didn’t come until early March 2015, less than a month before Opening Day. Assistant general manager Scott Sharp was the catalyst on that signing. It was another fingers-crossed resurrection -- Young had missed all of '13 recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, then posted a 3.65 ERA for the Mariners in ’14 in 29 starts, but no Major League offers came that offseason.

The Royals gave Young a one-year, big league deal.

“I think Scott was pushing that one every single day,” Moore said. “That was just another one that turned out to be huge for us. We told Chris he would make the team, but that he had to earn a role. But as I’ve said many times, Chris, to me, was the MVP of that staff.

“Signing Chris, and signing all those players that offseason, were key to us winning a championship. And yet, if we don’t get Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist [at the Trade Deadline], maybe we still don’t win it. It tells you how hard it is to win a championship, and it also reaffirmed how important it is to listen to everyone in your organization. Everyone’s opinion matters.”

What those free agents did:

• Volquez: Went 13-9 with a 3.55 ERA during the regular season while mentoring Yordano Ventura, who lockered next to him. Was also hugely instrumental in the Royals acquiring Cueto at the Trade Deadline. “We may not have gone so hard after Cueto without Eddie insisting on him,” Moore said. “Eddie just kept saying, ‘You got to get him.’” Volquez also came up huge in the World Series, tossing quality starts in Game 1 and Game 5 -- he learned of his father’s death after Game 1.

• Kendrys Morales: Hit 41 doubles and 22 homers and collected 106 RBIs with an .847 OPS. His three-run homer sealed the clinching Game 5 win over Houston in the AL Division Series.

• Young: Went 11-6 with a 3.06 ERA in 34 games (18 starts). Also lost his father in late September. Came up huge in the postseason with three clutch scoreless frames in extra innings in Game 1 of the World Series.

• Rios: Posted a .907 OPS in Spring Training and got off to a hot start, hitting .321 in April before being hit by a pitch that fractured his left hand, forcing him to miss almost two months. Had two doubles, a homer and six RBIs in the postseason.

“I saw what a calming effect guys like Raul Ibanez and Josh Willingham had on our team the year before,” Moore said, “and Alex provided that veteran leadership in ’15.”

• Madson: Had a 2.13 ERA in 68 relief appearances in the regular season. Added three scoreless outings in the World Series.

• Hochevar: Was re-signed in the fall of 2014 after missing that season because of Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Had a 3.73 ERA in 49 relief outings. Was stellar in the postseason, going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in nine outings.

• Medlen: Went 6-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 15 games (eight starts). Threw five innings of relief in the AL Championship Series, allowing two runs and fanning six. Had a scoreless outing in the World Series.

• Franklin Morales: The lefty reliever struggled down the stretch, but still had a 2.05 ERA in 59 relief outings through Sept. 9.

• Blanton: Went 2-2 with a 3.89 ERA in 15 appearances (four starts) in the regular season.