While reading some posts and comments about possible trades the Royals could make, I started pondering what the real holes are on this team which need to be filled (yes, I know that's what she said).  Before I get into this, I want to make it clear that I'm not talking about holes that should necessarily filled during the 2008 season and especially not for a mythical playoff push.  These are holes on the 2009 team (and perhaps beyond) which need to be filled for the team to either get into contention or at least closer to it.

First, I'll start with the parts of the team which are NOT HOLES:

Starting Pitching - The Royals have a good top four in Greinke, Meche, Bannister and Hochevar.  There is also quality depth for the near future in Davies, Rosa, Cortes and Pimentel.  While I wouldn't expect any of that latter group to dominate in 2009, I'm confident that at least one of those pitchers would make a more than competent fifth starter.  And then there's the possibility of Soria becoming a starter which could turn the rotation from good into great.

Relief Pitching - As with the starting pitching, the Royals relief corps has four very good pitchers in Soria, Ramirez, Nunez and Mahay.  Any bullpen which goes four deep with good pitchers is a pretty damned good bullpen.  And, despite the fact that some have struggled this year, there are some other decent pieces for the front end of the bullpen in Gobble, Yabuta and Peralta.  The minors provides additional MLB-ready depth for 2009 in Neal Musser and Ryan Braun.  Also, Tejeda and Bale could possibly contribute next year.  And, if some of the top pitching prospects aren't ready to start in the majors, they could contribute out of the bullpen.

Long story short, the Royals pitching staff is stocked for the foreseeable future.  Pitching is the area of depth from which the Royals could trade, not an area they need to trade for.

Catcher - John Buck has settled in as a league average catcher.  While I'd love for the Royals to have an above average catcher (and to be above average at every position), this can't be considered a hole on this team.  When there are other positions which are below average, upgrading a position where you have an average player can't be a high priority.

Second Base - Mark Grudzielanek has manned this position more than ably for the past three years.  He has consistently provided the Royals above average hitting for the position as well as good defense.  But his time with the Royals should be over either by the trade deadline or the end of the season.  The Royals now have two potential second basemen of the future in Alberto Callaspo and Mike Aviles.  Both project to fairly well for middle IFers with more than sufficient defense.

Third Base - Without getting into a long and potentially acrimonious discussion of the future of Alex Gordon, let's just say that he is and will be at least a league average 3B.  No hole here.

Centerfield - This year, David DeJesus has done one of two things:  either 1) shown that 2007 was a flukey down year and returned to a plateau of 2005-06, or 2) shown that 2007 was a flukey down year and had a breakout, taking his game to a higher level.  In either case, he's an above average CFer both offensively and defensively.

Left Field - In the offseason, Dayton Moore wanted some corner OF power and signed Jose Guillen.  Guillen has provided that and will be a fixture in the middle of the lineup at least through 2009.

And now to the HOLES:

First base/Designated Hitter - The Royals have a good, young, cheap 1B/DH in Billy Butler.  He needs a partner who can provide at least league average production for those positions.  Ross Gload isn't it.  Even if his first three months of 2008 are just a slump, he's a below average catcher.  With his poor 2008 season so far, we have to face the very real possibility that what we're seeing is a precipitous decline in his skills and, therefore, performance.  He's a slap hitter and good defender.  That might be enough for a middle IFer.  That is woefully insufficient for a 1B/DH.

Shortstop - All acrimony and emotion aside, Tony Pena Jr. has shown that he is not a a major league baseball player.  Mike Aviles is a below average defensive SS, but if he can be counted on to have an OPS roughly in the high .700's, that would be fine for the position.  But I don't think we can count on that.  I'm not counting him out at this point, but the track record for SS's following Aviles's carer path is very poor.  What would be ideal is for the Royals to acquire a legitimate shortstop and then let Aviles and Callaspo compete for or share the second base position.  Or, some combination of those three players could rotate through shortstop and second base.  While it wouldn't be the end of the world, I'm not comfortable with standing pat with Aviles and Callaspo as the only options for SS and 2B.

Right Field - I had high hopes for Mark Teahen.  But the power just hasn't come back.  I still think he can and will be a .285/.360/.425 player for several years, but a .785 OPS for a corner OFer isn't enough.  He might be able to handle CF, where those numbers would be acceptable, but I don't think Moore and Hillman would allow that to happen.  What needs to happen is for the Royals to acquire a legitimate corner OFer and make Teahen a 4th OFer/supersub who can play LF, RF, 1B, 3B, pinch hit and pinch run.  He would be the kind of player who gets quite a few starts when players get a day off or go on the DL and many AB's over the course of a season.  That would be the proper level of exposure and best use of a guy like Teahen.

I would prioritize these holes/needs as follows:

1. First base/Designated Hitter - get the biggest bat you can find and, as much as possible, disregard defense

2. Right Field - get a big bat, defense should be a secondary concern

3. Shortstop - a plus defender would be nice, but he has to be able to hit some - an average shortstop bat would be fine

These holes could be filled by trade or free agency.  In general, I would be opposed to making a trade which creates as big of a hole as it fills.  For instance, while I have long argued for trading DeJesus, I think I've decided it would be a bad idea.  Teahen hasn't improved enough defensively, so I think the Royals would not move him to CF if DeJesus were traded.  Unfortunately, the starting CFer would become Slappy Joe Buntright (aka, Joey Gathright).  And, unfortunately, he's proven himself as a way, way below average hitting CFer.  Joey is no better than a 5th OFer who can pinch run and come in as a defensive replacement.  Unless a DeJesus trade brings back a package which included a major league ready CFer, the Royals can't afford to trade him.

I also don't know that all three of these holes have to be filled in order for the Royals to contend, but two of them almost certainly would have to be filled with at least league average players for their respective positions.

While the Royals have a few players who are legitimate deadline trade possibilities (like Grudz and Olivo), none of them would be enough to land someone who could be expected to sufficiently fill any of the above holes.  I think the Royals main trading chips which could be used to acquire someone to fill some/any/all of those holes are (in no particular order):

Mark Teahen

Of course, in order to get a legitimately good young player or MLB-ready prospect, the Royals would have to put together a package of some of the above players.  As you can see, this list is not full of stars.  So trades alone aren't going to fill the Royals holes.  In fact, I'd be surprised if more than one of these holes could be satisfactorily filled by trade.  So a free agent or two will have to be signed to fill the other holes.  But the Royals do have an abundance of good pitching prospects.  Dayton Moore is correct in saying that pitching is the currency of baseball.  Sometime between now and opening day 2009, it's going to be time to spend that currency.