It's been a long time since Kansas City has been to the playoffs. It is looking like this year might end that drought. They aren't currently in first place in their division or have a Wild Card spot, but they are only a few players away from doing so. Think about this. They took 3 out of 4 from Detroit only a couple weeks ago. If they get another streak going, they can overtake Detroit again (They are only 4.5 GB at the time of this writing). As we all know this is an extremely streaky team. They either play extremely well or horrid. That series in Detroit proved this is a team with some fight. They have some holes. I would say obviously the biggest is 3B and RF, with a bit of help needed in the rotation. Ventura will not last the whole season and October if they make it that far. He has great stuff, but he doesn't have the control yet t make it past 6 innings a lot. Moustakas is just about to be labeled a bust in KC. And RF is not a stable position either. Like I said they only need to add a few players. I would say go out and get a starting pitcher. Not an ace, but maybe a back-end starter. Someone like Jake Peavy or Felix Doubront from the Red Sox. Both could use a change of scenery. And Peavy might be a little better pitching for a contender. They should also add another bat. Someone like Alex Rios. Raul Ibanez isn't the answer. He is a nice complimentary piece, but Rios would give them a great starting RF. It would also give them stability in RF and allow them to platoon Cain and Dyson in CF if they want. When Aoki comes back they could move Rios or Aoki to DH, Butler to 1B, send Hosmer down to Triple A so he can figure out what isn't working without costing the team some games, and they would have a much improved lineup. Or if KC wants to go big try to trade for Samardzija. It would give them an ace, and allow them to take either Bruce Chen or Danny Duffy out of the rotation. I am not exactly sure what they want to do with Duffy, but I would give him the rotation spot over Chen. Maybe they also try to get another bat. I would go for 3B and maybe try to snag Adrian Beltre in the same deal that they could get Rios. It would take a lot, but it would give this team the extra boost needed to overtake and stay above Detroit. If KC makes some big moves at the deadline they can win their division and potentially go far in October. This is a good team right now, and they are only a few moves away from being a great team.
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