In the days after the regular season, Royals general manager Dayton Moore sunk into a chair on the bottom level of Kauffman Stadium and delivered a sober analysis of the offseason to come.
The Royals would not have the financial wherewithal to increase payroll, he said. They would not be active on the free-agent market. If the club sought to find upgrades and additions, they would likely have to find those through trades.
In that moment, of course, it was easy to wonder if the message was simply posturing. In the end, maybe ownership would green slight a significant signing.