Corner Outfielders

If you look at the remaining free agent corner outfielders, you'll see the quandary that the Royals are in when it comes to finding a legitimate power-hitting corner outfielder.

Here's the list of available right fielders followed by their 2007 stats:

	AGE	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
Cliff_Floyd	34	108	282	40	80	10	1	9	45	0	.284	.373	.422
Shawn_Green	35	130	446	62	130	30	1	10	46	11	.291	.352	.430
Jose_Guillen	31	153	593	84	172	28	2	23	99	5	.290	.353	.460
Bobby_Kielty	31	33	87	10	19	3	0	1	12	0	.218	.287	.287
Trot_Nixon	33	99	307	30	77	17	0	3	31	0	.251	.342	.336
Reggie_Sanders	39	24	73	12	23	7	0	2	11	0	.315	.412	.493
Preston_Wilson	33	25	64	6	14	3	0	1	5	2	.219	.265	.313

Now check out the list of available left fielders:

	AGE	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG
Barry_Bonds	43	126	340	75	94	14	0	28	66	5	.276	.480	.565
Milton_Bradley	29	61	209	37	64	9	1	13	37	5	.306	.402	.545
Luis_Gonzalez	40	139	464	70	129	23	2	15	68	6	.278	.359	.433
Geoff_Jenkins	33	132	420	45	107	24	2	21	64	2	.255	.319	.471
Rob_Mackowiak	31	113	293	40	77	14	2	6	38	4	.263	.337	.386
Orlando_Palmeiro	38	101	103	12	24	3	0	0	6	0	.233	.342	.262
Shannon_Stewart	33	146	576	79	167	22	1	12	48	11	.290	.345	.394
Rondell_White	35	38	109	8	19	4	0	4	20	0	.174	.235	.321

Observations

The two leaders in home runs last year are Jose Guillen and Barry Bonds. Is it possible for two guys to have more baggage combined than these two? And let's not forget that little indictment thing hanging over Bonds' head that will probably eventually lead to a ban from the game.

Look at the ages of everyone. Nobody is younger than 29 and I can't imagine Moore signing the youngest of the group, Milton Bradley.

Only five of these guys played 130 games or more last season--mostly because they are beginning to break down.

Not one of them drove in 100 runs.

How many of these guys can even legitimately play the field any more?

Conclusion

Maybe Moore would be better off pulling the trigger on a trade for the power the Royals need. But of course that means the Royals need to be able to offer someone or several someones who have market value and I can't see them parting with any of the up and comers--guys like Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Brian Bannister, Joakim Soria, or even Mark Teahen.

Teams have shown an interest in David DeJesus, but Moore is recently quoted as saying, "A lot of people are interested in David, but I just don't see it. We've got to hold on to that guy." If this is true, and I suspect that it is, then he's probably a fixture in center field for the next four years while he is under contract.

What about going after center fielders such as Andruw Jones or Aaron Rowand? They could provide the pop that Moore is looking for, but then what would the Royals do with DeJesus? He doesn't seem comfortable playing left field. And we're paying him too much to play a back up role. And with Billy Butler clogging up the DH spot, there doesn't seem to be any room in the line up for Jones or Rowand.

So what will Moore do?