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Stop freaking out that the Royals have "no chance" to re-sign Gordon

Read between the lines.

By Max Rieper
H. Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports

The Royals and Alex Gordon are at least talking now, even if Dayton Moore won't comment. The latest report from Jon Heyman suggests the two sides are negotiating, but remain very far apart.

The Royals have been told by Alex Gordon's camp that, as things currently stand, they have "no chance" to retain star left fielder Alex Gordon, sources said. Things obviously can change in free agency, but it's clear at this point that there's at least a wide gap in talks regarding the longtime Royals outfielder.

Unfortunately, too many people stopped reading after "no chance."

The important caveat is "as things currently stand."  Of course there is "no chance" as things currently stand. If there were a chance for Gordon to sign as things currently stand, he probably would have signed by now. What the Gordon camp is saying (and it is pretty obvious this came from the Gordon camp), is that the current offer on the table from the Royals, believed to be four years, and around $12-13 million per year, according to reports, is unacceptable. The market value for Gordon is likely to be considerably higher, so it is understandable his camp would have that stance.

There appears to continue to be a gulf in negotiations between the two sides, and with the Cardinals, Giants, and Angels all dropping interest, the Royals must be more confident they can get Gordon cheaply if the market drops out. However, it only takes one team to drive the price up, like the Chicago White Sox. With the Royals looking at fallback options like Denard Span, Gerardo Parra, and Austin Jackson Royals fans are not brimming with confidence.

Sam Mellinger writes today that signing a player like Alex Gordon is testing Dayton Moore's inner-conflict, writing:

But signing Gordon would require something the Royals have sworn off — a long-term, big-money contract to an aging player, the kind of deal that almost never ends well for the team.

Yet, Jon Heyman reports that Wei Yin Chen continues to "top the list" of Royals pitching targets. Chen would likely cost about as much as Alex Gordon, if not more and is all of 18 months younger than Alex Gordon. If the Royals are swearing off long-term, big money deals, if they truly seek financial flexibility past 2017, then how can they possibly have interest in Wei Yin Chen?

So much of what is being leaked and reported about these negotiations is posturing by both sides trying to get the best deal they can. If you want any news out of this, its that the two sides are at least talking, and its clear that by trying to get the Royals to up their offer, there is at least some desire by Alex Gordon to stay in Kansas City. Whether or not that happen remains to be seen. But the Royals have a chance to sign Alex Gordon until he signs with another team. Period.

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