"When the Royals acquired Guthrie from the Colorado Rockies on July 20, 2012, they were pleasantly surprised as Guthrie went 5-3 with a 3.16 ERA and 1.132 WHIP in 14 starts after the trade. General manager Dayton Moore had seen enough, so he signed Guthrie to a deal during which Guthrie will pitch at ages 34 through 36. That makes it risky in itself. He does bring the strength of being able to give 200 innings pitched a year, which has value. Outside of the 14 starts he made with the Royals, however, the rest of his career doesn’t paint a pretty picture. He led the American League in losses twice with 17 in both 2009 and 2011. Before being traded to the Royals in July, he was almost given his unconditional release by the Rockies after going 3-9 with a 6.35 ERA and 1.68 WHIP. Sure, you can blame some of that on Coors Field, bad defense, run support and bullpens. But after a while, the excuses run out. The reality is Guthrie has had a total of one winning season in nine years and his numbers are well below the worth of his contract. This could end up being the worst free-agent signing for the Royals since Gil Meche in 2006. It is a deal I believe the Royals will eventually regret."