Royals sign Gil Meche for 5/$55

[Zito75]

Here is the most ridiculous contract so far, IMO. And maybe one of the worst free agent signings of all time. $55 million? This guy just won the lottery!


LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Kansas City Royals agreed to terms with right-hander Gil Meche on a five-year deal worth about $55 million on Thursday as baseball's winter meetings neared a conclusion.

Meche has a 55-44 career record with a 4.65 earned-run average in 147 games, all of them with the Seattle Mariners.

"We were proud to be a part of the process and delighted that Gil Meche made the decision to join the Royals," general manager Dayton Moore said. "He is an impact pitching talent who fits in with our plan for long term success. At 28, he is entering the prime of his career."

Meche was 11-8 with a 4.48 ERA and career highs of 186 2/3 innings and 156 strikeouts in 32 starts for Seattle in 2006.

Meche must pass a physical for the deal to be completed.

[W_Marone]

Royals need someone...throw money thier way....why would anyone want to go to the Royals right now...maybe in a few years, but not right now...not when I could go to the Jays or even Cubs, who look like they have a shot in the next two years or so....but hey..money talks.....good luck to this dude.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Were they even active toward any other free agent pitchers? For a couple million more they could have landed someone better. Big time settling with an open checkbook.

[Zito75]

Were they even active toward any other free agent pitchers? For a couple million more they could have landed someone better. Big time settling with an open checkbook.

I agree. If Meche is worth $55, then Zito will should be able to get $90 easy. Right?

[Rapmaster]

Honestly, if you were a top of the line starter in today's free agent class, and you're gonna bank no matter where you go, would you choose the Royals?

I trust that Dayton Moore will turn this franchise around. He's gotta be seeing something in Gil Meche to want him that badly.

Kinda like how Toronto had to overpay last year to get their parts, KC is in the same boat. He probably would've made 7-8 million a year from any other team, but if you offer the same or marginally more, what's going to persuade them to move to KC?

[Captain Cold Nose]

Honestly, if you were a top of the line starter in today's free agent class, and you're gonna bank no matter where you go, would you choose the Royals?

I trust that Dayton Moore will turn this franchise around. He's gotta be seeing something in Gil Meche to want him that badly.

Kinda like how Toronto had to overpay last year to get their parts, KC is in the same boat. He probably would've made 7-8 million a year from any other team, but if you offer the same or marginally more, what's going to persuade them to move to KC?

Detroit was accused of overpaying for whom they got, and look where they are now. Risk to get rewarded when you're not one of the haves.

[ChrisLDuncan]

Well look at this from Meche's perspective:

Positives: 55 mill, place to play for five years
Negatives: That place is Kansas City

[Rapmaster]

Detroit was accused of overpaying for whom they got, and look where they are now. Risk to get rewarded when you're not one of the haves.

I think KC is a bit different from Detroit in the sense that Detroit had a better fanbase (and therefore more revenue) and had a better core of young players. I honestly thought Detroit was going to be good around '07-'08 back when I followed baseball a lot more in 2003. Their roster was underachieving (primarily due to youth) and had the potential to be great. Adding those pieces simply accelerated the process. Good example though. Although it should be noted that Kenny Rogers and Ivan Rodriguez (among many) are significantly better than Gil Meche.

KC has a good core to build on right now. Alex Gordon is looking to have the makings of a solid major leaguer alongside Mark Teahen and Zack Greinke, who should come into their prime relatively soon.

[Rapmaster]

Well look at this from Meche's perspective:

Positives: 55 mill, place to play for five years
Negatives: That place is Kansas City

Yea, but, $55 million is great consolation

[ChrisLDuncan]

Yea, but, $55 million is great consolation

Yeah it is, probably what it took to get him to KC. They need to move them and the Marlins.

[Zito75]

The thing with Meche is... He missed 2001 & 02 with a frayed rotater cuff. He had 2 surgeries- one of which was major. I don't see how that, along with a career ERA of near 5 justifies him being the highest paid Royal in franchise history. (well, or at least tied with Sweeney)

[mojorisin71]

5/55 is a curse.

The Dodgers signed both Darren Dreifort and JD Drew for that amount, and the Blue Jays signed AJ Burnett for the same price and look where they ended up.

[Captain Cold Nose]

5/55 is a curse.

The Dodgers signed both Darren Dreifort and JD Drew for that amount, and the Blue Jays signed AJ Burnett for the same price and look where they ended up.

Dreifort, that's who I was trying to think of who signed for that exact figure.

[SabuFan316]

two wrongs dont make a right

[Astro]

Meche can be a very good pitcher... but he is also very injury prone, I wouldnt want to risk that... but thats me

[DodgerBlue81]

Wow, the Royals actually spent some money?! Meche is going take up half their payroll!!!

[Naliamegod]

Kinda like how Toronto had to overpay last year to get their parts, KC is in the same boat. He probably would've made 7-8 million a year from any other team, but if you offer the same or marginally more, what's going to persuade them to move to KC?

I got a better idea: Don't go after him at all.

Meche is not a good, average, or even mediocre. He's an awful pitcher. You can get the exact same production anywhere for league minium. If your going to overpay, you overpay for someone who could help. Not Gil Meche.

[cubsfan1073]

Three things:
1. 55M? I think Lilly is a better pitcher and he 'only' got 40M, just shows how much decent starting pitchers go for
2. Why in the world go to Kansas City, I don't see any logical reason to do that. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon and are just terrible. If I was in that situation I would take half of that money to go to any team that has any chance to contend. That just blows my mind.
3. The Royals actually spent money on someone! I had forgotten they had a GM, it seems like the last time they were involved in any players leaving or coming to their team was carlos beltran. I thought the royals had given up on winning games.

[Zito75]

Three things:
1. 55M? I think Lilly is a better pitcher and he 'only' got 40M, just shows how much decent starting pitchers go for
2. Why in the world go to Kansas City, I don't see any logical reason to do that. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon and are just terrible. If I was in that situation I would take half of that money to go to any team that has any chance to contend. That just blows my mind.
3. The Royals actually spent money on someone! I had forgotten they had a GM, it seems like the last time they were involved in any players leaving or coming to their team was carlos beltran. I thought the royals had given up on winning games.

It's because Meche sucks, he knows it, and he also knows his shoulder won't hold up. I would do the same thing if I were in his shoes- collect $55M for being mediocre at best evey 5 days. That's not a bad gig.

[Rapmaster]

Three things:
1. 55M? I think Lilly is a better pitcher and he 'only' got 40M, just shows how much decent starting pitchers go for
2. Why in the world go to Kansas City, I don't see any logical reason to do that. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon and are just terrible. If I was in that situation I would take half of that money to go to any team that has any chance to contend. That just blows my mind.
3. The Royals actually spent money on someone! I had forgotten they had a GM, it seems like the last time they were involved in any players leaving or coming to their team was carlos beltran. I thought the royals had given up on winning games.

Why go to Kansas City? Precisely what you said. Now it seems easy to say "I'd take xxx amount less to play for a contender", but fill in the blanks. Let's say he gets a 5 year, $40 million dollar offer (about right considering Eaton, Wolf, Padilla, etc...). That's $15 million dollars. Think about it, $15 million. It seems small compared to what others are getting, but put it in perspective. It'll buy a lot of crunchwrap supremes over at Taco Bell.

The GMs have a new GM, Dayton Moore. I'd like to believe he knows what he is doing. The Royals actually have been kind of active, just no blockbluster deals. They've recently acquired Odalis Perez, Jason LaRue, Brian Bannister, Tony Graffanino, Brandon Duckworth, Mark Teahen, Joey Gathright, etc...

They make ripples, just not waves. Who knows though, we'll know if they knew what they were doing in a few years.

[marichal13]

maybe the KC offered the most $ but still if there is a chance to be on a better team than KC i'd take it if its not much of a difference cash wise. there were quite a few teams going after meche and he picked the Royals!? wtf!

[Rapmaster]

maybe the KC offered the most $ but still if there is a chance to be on a better team than KC i'd take it if its not much of a difference cash wise. there were quite a few teams going after meche and he picked the Royals!? wtf!

There's no way he would've gotten significantly more than the other second tier starters on the market, around $8 million a year. So the difference would've been around $15 million. That is not chump change

[Biggtone23]

While Meche may not be the best guy to do it with I think this was a statement signing. This was Dayton Moore saying we're not going to just sit back and do nothing for now on. It reminds me of the Tigers signing Troy Percival a few years ago. He wasn't the best pitcher out there and he didnt really produce much for them but it showed a commitment to at least try to win. Which is a lot more than they've had in KC in a long time. Next off-season they can sign another mid level pitcher, trade Mark Teahen for another good pitcher and a prospect (assuming Gordon's ready) and with the development of Hochevar and they could be contending for the wild card.

You cant win without trying and now at least they are trying.

[Rapmaster]

While Meche may not be the best guy to do it with I think this was a statement signing. This was Dayton Moore saying we're not going to just sit back and do nothing for now on. It reminds me of the Tigers signing Troy Percival a few years ago. He wasn't the best pitcher out there and he didnt really produce much for them but it showed a commitment to at least try to win. Which is a lot more than they've had in KC in a long time. Next off-season they can sign another mid level pitcher, trade Mark Teahen for another good pitcher and a prospect (assuming Gordon's ready) and with the development of Hochevar and they could be contending for the wild card.

You cant win without trying and now at least they are trying.

Better yet, sign Teahen to a healthy extension. I heard somewhere that they're gonna play Gordon at first. Sweeney has another year as the DH.

Hochevar and Greinke should be ready in a couple years. A Hochevar, Greinke, Meche anchored rotation doesn't sound bad at all, being optimistic about the two rookies. Throw in a bullpen with Dotel and Ken Ray and you have yourself a halfway decent team.

[Naliamegod]

While Meche may not be the best guy to do it with I think this was a statement signing. This was Dayton Moore saying we're not going to just sit back and do nothing for now on. It reminds me of the Tigers signing Troy Percival a few years ago. He wasn't the best pitcher out there and he didnt really produce much for them but it showed a commitment to at least try to win. Which is a lot more than they've had in KC in a long time. Next off-season they can sign another mid level pitcher, trade Mark Teahen for another good pitcher and a prospect (assuming Gordon's ready) and with the development of Hochevar and they could be contending for the wild card.

You cant win without trying and now at least they are trying.

Throwing a ton of money and years at a terrible pitcher is not trying to win. Its both lousy and lazy managing. Getting a pitcher that can produce at Meche's level for cheap is easy, giving him 5/55 is justifiable reason to fire a GM on the spot.