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The Royals have signed GM Dayton Moore to a two-year extension through 2016, Bob Dutton reports.
Longtime readers know I like checking in on the Royals every so often, because, like the Pirates, they're routinely near the bottom of the team payroll rankings, they've had lengthy streaks of losing seasons, and they have a long history in their current city. They're also a fun team to watch because Dayton Moore is one of the few GMs left whose decisions routinely make no sense. (I'd put Ruben Amaro, Ned Colletti, and perhaps Jack Zduriencik in that category as well.) The big feather in Moore's cap so far in his seven-plus years on the job is trading 2013's eventual Rookie of the Year for a good veteran starting pitcher and finishing third as a result.
Moore isn't Dave Littlefield, and the Royals are in reasonable shape going forward -- even the worst GMs today run circles around the bad ones of a decade ago. Moore has made a number of smart moves, including his forward-looking contract for Salvador Perez and his trade for Ervin Santana. But this is still the guy who took three years to figure out Jeff Francoeur shouldn't start in the outfield. I've been a Neal Huntington skeptic at times in the past couple years, but I'm grateful to have someone like Huntington in charge of the Pirates rather than someone like Moore.
