Life at the bottom/top of the money heap

It would appear that the Royals are interested in any free agent outfielder not named Guerrero or Sheffield.

Updated: November 25, 2003, 10:49 AM ET

By Jim Baker | MLB Insider

After losing Raul Ibanez to the Mariners and not being especially keen on keeping Michael Tucker around, K.C. is looking to fill its outfield gap via the free agent route. It would appear that the Royals are interested in any free agent outfielder not named Guerrero or Sheffield. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star throws out a bunch of names that rumor has the Royals either contacting or interested in contacting. They include: Reggie Sanders, Juan Gonzalez, Matt Stairs, Robert Fick, Raul Mondesi, Rondell White and Brian Jordan.

These are all second-line numbers who carry with them significant risk owing to a variety of factors including:

Age (all but Fick have turned 30 and he will do so in March)

Injuries (Jordan and Gonzalez were especially prone last year)

Inconsistency (Sanders is famously up and down, Mondesi is always a wildcard, White can be competent or not so)

Inflated self-worth (it's probably dawning on Gonzalez that the eight-figure days are behind him, Jordan's contract was never in line with his production and he will need to adjust his thinking far downward from its 2003 perch of $9.6 million)

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