Yesterday, Royals GM Allard Baird traded grab-bag reliever Jason Grimsley to the Orioles for Denny Bautista, a very solid righty pitching prospect. This looks like a steal for the Royals. I think Rany Jazayerli sums it up best over at Rob and Rany:
"What Allard has done here is exactly what Dave Littlefield didn't - sign veterans for cheap, then flip them for prospects once it became clear his team was out of the race. The way this season has gone, Allard won't get the credit he deserves for turning one of his lemons into a pretty sweet lemonade."
The Royals aren't my favorite team (they rank #3 behind L.A. and Boston), but it's very cool to see such obvious intelligence running the show. It's been said all over the place already, but it's like they got a smart new GM over the '02-'03 offseason... except it's the same guy, Allard Baird. The fact that he's a legitimately great guy is just icing on the cake.
Matthew Namee cofounded The Hardball Times in 2004, when he was working as the assistant to baseball author and Red Sox executive Bill James. Matthew still lives in Kansas, where he is currently pursuing a law degree. He can be reached at mfnamee [at] gmail [dot] com.
