Royals' Future Remains Bright Despite Crushing End to World Series Run

The wait lasted 29 seasons. 

This time the pain will be different but familiar once again.

The Kansas City Royals had the World Series-winning run at the plate, but Madison Bumgarner was on the bump. It ended with a pop-up Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium, the San Francisco Giants capturing a third World Series in five seasons, and the Royals’ championship drought continuing for at least a 30th year.

Just seven months ago, the Royals were a chic pick to make the playoffs, even win the American League Central, but even as this postseason started, virtually nobody had them pushing to a seventh game of the World Series. 

Yet they overcame some curious managerial decisions, bunted, ran, defended, homered and swept their way through the American League Wild Card, AL Division Series and Championship Series. The Royals went 8-0 en route to the Fall Classic, their first since 1985 when they won it all.

But once there, the starting pitching was far too inconsistent and short on innings. There was also Bumgarner, who allowed one run in 21 innings, threw a complete-game shutout in Game 5, five shutout innings out of the bullpen in Game 7 and, obviously, was the World Series MVP.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Despite the Game 7 loss, Kansas City’s postseason to that point was incredible, memorable and stunning right up until the final out.

With the team trailing by a run with two down in the bottom of the ninth, franchise player Alex Gordon lofted a single toward the left-center gap that was misplayed by center fielder Gregor Blanco and then left fielder Juan Perez. Gordon raced around second and visions of a game-tying inside-the-park home run illuminated Kauffman Stadium.

The Giants recovered and kept Gordon at third base, bringing up Salvador Perez, the man who walked-off the Oakland A’s from that same batter’s box a month before in the AL Wild Card Game. But this moment seemed too large for Perez, who repeatedly chased Bumgarner's offerings out of the zone and eventually popped out into foul territory to awake the city from its monthlong euphoric dream.

But that didn’t mean the celebration was going to stop. 

"

Half an hour after the game, can still hear "Let's go Royals" chant in the background. Rock on, KC fans. That's tremendous.

— Matthew Leach (@MatthewHLeach) October 30, 2014"

Now, the future begins.

The Royals have improved their record in each of the last five seasons, and drastically so in the previous two. Their wild-card berth was the culmination of years of high draft picks, good international signings and some impactful trades.

But some of those pieces will now have the opportunity to play elsewhere, or will be forced into it. Among them are free agents James Shields and Billy Butler. Shields should command big dollars from a handful of suitors, pricing him out of the Royals’ range.

Butler, on the other hand, sounds like he does not want to leave the organization that drafted him 14th overall in 2004.

“My dad’s always told me good things always come to an end,” Butler told MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez after Game 7. “And I hope this isn’t one of those times.”

It might not be up to Butler, though. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported Tuesday that the Royals are not likely to pick up Butler’s $12 million option and instead might pursue Torii Hunter for outfield and DH help. The team will also probably lose free-agent right fielder Nori Aoki.

If the Royals can’t sign a bat like Hunter, their options get thin both in the outfield and for affordable, impact starting pitchers. Shields came over in a trade for top prospect Wil Myers before the 2013 season, but without him the Royals lack a No. 1 starter.

They also won’t be able to afford a comparable arm in the open market, considering the club's payroll threshold for next season seems to be in the $100 million range thanks to this bountiful postseason run—the payroll was about $92 million this year, per Cot's Baseball Contracts.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

That doesn’t mean a top-flight starter won’t develop for them. Yordano Ventura, 23, came up big in the postseason spotlight. He threw 25.1 innings and allowed nine earned runs in three starts and five total appearances. That included seven shutout innings in Game 6 of the World Series with the Royals in a do-or-die situation.

Danny Duffy, who will be 26 at the start of next season, could be the other option to lead the rotation. In 25 starts this season he had a 2.53 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP. He was a bit better as a reliever, but he is more valuable to the budget-conscious Royals as a starter going forward.

As for the lineup, the Royals may lose Butler and whiff on a big-name bat to replace him, but that does not sink them.

The Royals won this year without the home run, and walks were rare—their offense was last in the majors in both categories—but their speed and defense won’t be going anywhere. In fact, it could get a little better if Aoki’s departure gives Jarrod Dyson more playing time. In 290 plate appearances, or a little less than half a full season, Dyson posted a fair .269/.324/.327 line. He obviously provides no power, but neither did Aoki.

One option to replace Butler could be a man they just faced with the Giants—Michael Morse. Morse could provide power and a solid DH option for the Royals, although part of the reason they may move away from Butler is because they want a more versatile option, which Morse is not.

The core of the lineup—Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Gordon and Perez—will remain intact. If it continues to develop, that area of the club is in fine shape with just some minor additions.

As for the bullpen, a major strength all year, it should also remain whole. There could be minor tweaks, but the dominant back end of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland are all likely to return for 2015, though Herrera and Holland each just finished one-year deals.

As for a repeat performance next October, well the postseason is a whole bunch of coin flips. However, getting there means you have a quality team. And if the Royals can develop some more homegrown starting pitching, they will again be a threat to win the American League Central.

Anthony Witrado covers Major League Baseball for Bleacher Report. He spent the previous three seasons as the national baseball columnist at Sporting News and four years before that as the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.