I think most Royals fans had higher expectations when the team announced they were making a "major baseball-related announcement," then followed the proclamation by introducing new starting pitcher Jason Vargas. So it goes.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore and Vargas answered reporters questions after the introduction; it featured a lot of standard press conference answers, but did reveal some interesting information:
Vargas hit all of the correct Kansas City related talking points, citing Kauffman Stadium, generally friendliness and how the city embraces everyone for reasons that he decided to sign with the Royals. He also spoke fondly of his new teammates, stating:
"What excites me about the team is how I've seen them grow and progress a lot over the past four or five years....Any pitcher is excited about a really good defense, and three gold gloves says a whole lot."
The southpaw specifically mentioned looking forward to working with Salvador Perez, but admitted that he did not "personally" know anyone on the team. Instead, he mentioned a surprising former Royal who pitched Kansas City to him:
"I've played with Mike Sweeney, who told me everything the community had to offer."
Moore also hit his usual talking points when discussing Vargas, offering the following quotes after different questions:
"We've always admired Jason. He's a tremendous competitor. He always gives you a chance to win."
"(Vargas) gives our team a chance to win. He's a competitor, he's a strike thrower."
GMDM stated that he would be comfortable keeping the current projected rotation, but indicated that the offseason is ""still very early, there are a lot of ways left to improve our baseball team."
Moore said that the "door is not closed" on Bruce Chen, but did indicate that the team would now have a difficult time signing Ervin Santana.
He also answered questions about the Royals young trio of starters: Danny Duffy, Yordano Ventura and Kyle Zimmer. Moore stated "they're going to get an opportunity to compete in spring training," and said that they could break camp in the bullpen if the rotation is full.
Vargas' contract is through the 2017 season, which will likely be the strongest source of controversy for most Royals fans. Moore didn't seem concerned about the length of the deal, stating:
"Our medical team felt very comfortable, our scouting judgment was very sound with the length of the contract."
Let's hope that we don't ironically re-visit some of these quotes the next few years.