Dayton Moore once famously said that pitching is the currency of baseball, and brother, the Royals were digging in their cushions for loose change by the end of the 2017 season. Last year, Royals starting pitchers were third-worst in the American League in ERA, throwing the second-fewest innings. The lack of depth was exposed, with perhaps the clearest indication being in September when Onelki Garcia was called up to make a start, giving up four runs while recording just one out in a 17-0 drubbing to the Twins.
The Royals had to build up their starting pitching depth, but with the challenge of doing so with (a) pretty much no more financial resources; and (b) few tradeable assets, unless they are willing to go big on their rebuild by trading Danny Duffy or Whit Merrifield.