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Progress report: Kansas City Royals

Royals first baseman Lucas Duda fields the ball during a drill before a spring training baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, in Surprise, Ariz.
Royals first baseman Lucas Duda fields the ball during a drill before a spring training baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, in Surprise, Ariz.
(Charlie Neibergall / AP)
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KANSAS CITY ROYALS

  • 2017 finish: 80-82 (3rd in AL Central)
  • Manager: Ned Yost (629-632, 9th season)
  • Top baseball ops executive: Dayton Moore, senior vice president of baseball operations/general manager (13th season)

DOLLARS AND SENSE

  • Highest-paid player: OF Alex Gordon ($20 million in 2018)
  • Top returning position player: 2B Whit Merrifield (3.9 WAR in 2017, baseball-reference.com)
  • Top returning pitcher: LHP Danny Duffy (3.2 WAR in 2017)

THE MOVES

  • Key addition(s): 1B Lucas Duda (free agent), RHP Wily Peralta (free agent), OF Jon Jay (free agent), RHP Jesse Hahn (trade), RHP Burch Smith (trade), RHP Blaine Boyer (minor league free agent), RHP Seth Maness (minor league free agent).
  • Key subtraction(s): 1B Eric Hosmer (free agent), OF Lorenzo Cain (free agent), LHP Jason Vargas (free agent), RHP Trevor Cahill (free agent), RHP Peter Moylan (free agent), RF Melky Cabrera (free agent), LHP Mike Minor (free agent), RHP Joakim Soria (trade), DH Brandon Moss (trade), LHP Ryan Buchter (trade).
  • Baseball America top-100 prospect(s): None.

STORYLINES TO WATCH

  • The homegrown Royals advanced to their first World Series in 29 years in 2014, won it all in 2015 and played .500 ball or better in four straight years before finishing two games under in 2017. The door officially closed on that era when 1B Eric Hosmer, OF Lorenzo Cain, 3B Mike Moustakas and SS Alcides Escobar filed for free agent after the season. Escobar returned on a one-year, $2.5 million deal and Moustakas agreed to an awkward reunion when he accepted a $6.5 million base salary for 2018. The roster, however, remains a shell of itself as the Royals enter another rebuild.
  • To replace Hosmer, the Royals in February signed 32-year-old Lucas Duda to a one-year, $3.5 million deal – a fraction of the $144 million pact that Hosmer received from San Diego. Duda tied a career-high with 30 homers in 2017, but hit a career-low .217.
  • LHP Danny Duffy, at times, flashes front-of-a-rotation stuff, but has topped 150 innings in a season only once. In 2017, the 29-year-old missed time because of an oblique strain and a pronator strain and in October Duffy underwent surgery to remove loose bodies in his left elbow.

PECOTA PROJECTION

  • 65 wins
Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy, left, talks with catcher Meibrys Viloria during a baseball spring training workout, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018, in Surprise, Ariz.
(Charlie Neibergall / AP )

AROUND THE LEAGUE

NL West

NL Central

  • Chicago Cubs
  • Cincinnati Reds
  • Milwaukee Brewers (Coming March 13)
  • Pittsburgh Pirates (Coming March 19)
  • St. Louis Cardinals (Coming March 23)

NL East

  • Atlanta Braves
  • Miami Marlins (Coming March 12)
  • New York Mets (Coming March 15)
  • Philadelphia Phillies (Coming March 18)
  • Washington Nationals (Coming March 27)

AL West

  • Houston Astros
  • Los Angeles Angels (Coming March 10)
  • Oakland Athletics (Coming March 17)
  • Seattle Mariners (Coming March 22)
  • Texas Rangers (Coming March 25)

AL Central

AL East

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jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutSanders

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