Giants vs. Royals: What's Next for Both Teams Following Epic 2014 World Series

The San Francisco Giants just finished the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 of one of the most memorable World Series in recent memory, but it's never too early to glance ahead at what both clubs have in front of them entering 2015.

Both the Giants and Royals entered the Fall Classic with a ridiculous amount of momentum, and they seemed doomed for a seven-game series. The American League's All-Star Game victory meant Kansas City got the chance to play Game 7 in Kauffman Stadium, but its hopes of ending a 29-year drought faded when Madison Bumgarner emerged from the bullpen.

He pitched a masterful five innings to close out the game, allowing just two hits and giving the Giants their eighth title to move them into a tie for fourth all-time with Boston, per MLB:

Bumgarner deservedly took home the MVP honors in the Giants' third world championship in the last five years, and San Francisco is flying high once again. But huge questions loom for the organization as to how it builds the blueprint to repeat in 2015—and the same exact thing can be said of the Royals.

It might take a little while for these clubs to recharge the batteries before looking forward to next season, so let's do it for them.

Kansas City Royals

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

The Kansas City Royals had to wait 29 years to return to the biggest stage in baseball, but it will take far less than 29 to get back. These Royals are gritty, young, execute their unconventional system perfectly and are here to stay.

Ned Yost has been criticized soundly for a variety of different reasons, but he answered his critics by leading Kansas City to the brink of a championship when nothing other than a sub-.500 season was expected. 

That doesn't mean that big questions don't loom for the upcoming offseason, however.

Among the biggest of them is the future of James Shields, the Royals ace whose big-money contract was brought over from Tampa Bay before the 2013 season. He's set to hit unrestricted free agency, and outbidding the MLB's deepest pockets won't be easy.

Kansas City Star's Sam McDowell shed light on Shields' situation:

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Shields is set to become a free agent this winter, and prevailing thought is he will command a sizable — and lengthy — contract. That’s not a typical agreement for the Royals, who have never committed more than the $55 million to a pitcher. They gave Gil Meche that amount over five years before the 2007 season.

It will require deeper digging into the pockets to retain Shields, who was 27-17 the past two seasons with a 3.18 ERA.

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The Royals already faced long-shot odds to keep Shields off the open market this coming offseason, but a pair of losses in the World Series might help some Kansas City fans to embrace his exit. It could also give Yordano Ventura a chance to become the main man in the rotation.

Shields isn't the only big name who could depart in the offseason. Billy Butler is coming off a poor season in which he went .271—the worst batting average of his career. He's on for $12.5 million in 2015, but the Royals have a buyout clause.

Butler accepted that his exit may be coming, per McDowell:

The Royals have a bright future regardless of Butler and Shields' futures with the club, but it wouldn't hurt to keep Butler—who proved his worth in the postseason despite a shaky 2014—around. 

San Francisco Giants

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

The champagne is flowing for everyone in the Giants organization, and it may be days—alright, weeks—before the celebrations die down. 

But while a simple look ahead to the offseason isn't quite frightening, it's obvious that the Giants have plenty on their plate to keep a World Series contender on the field for 2015.

Buster Posey is locked down until 2023, according to Spotrac.com, Madison Bumgarner until 2020 and Hunter Pence until 2019. Other than that, it could prove to be an uphill battle to keep the nucleus intact from this championship team.

Will Candlestick noted the turnover we might see from San Francisco in 2015:

It's likely that San Francisco has been preparing itself for life without starting pitchers Jake Peavy and Ryan Vogelsong, but losing Pablo Sandoval could prove to be a crushing blow for this team's chances of competing in 2015 and beyond.

The Giants third baseman posted a historic hitting performance in the World Series, as ESPN Stats and Info demonstrated:

San Francisco is jubilant over Sandoval's performance in this year's Fall Classic, and rightfully so. Without it, it's unlikely that the Giants are in this position in the first place.

But Sandoval upped his value substantially in the process, and that's only going to make it tougher for the Giants—who already have their fair share of star players on long-term, big-money deals—to keep him around.

The Giants will bask in their glory for long enough after winning their third championship in five years, and you can count on them to continue vying for titles in the future. But if it's keeping this year's team around for another go that they aspire to do, it's not going to be easy.