Know your enemy: The Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians are the franchise the Royals would seemingly like to emulate, competing year in and year out despite not splurging much in player payroll. The organization has become a machine, churning out young pitching and not being afraid to trade big stars at their peak to restock the farm system.

The Guardians surprised everyone and won the division last year with their proven recipe of young talent. They beat the Rays in the Wild Card round, and took a 2-1 series lead on the Yankees in the American League Divisional Series, but dropped the final two games. To get over the hump, they did actually dip into free agency, signing slugger Josh Bell to a two-year, $33 million deal. But most of…