One man gang

Royals' struggles put Beltran on trading block sooner rather than later

Carlos Beltran is in the top 10 in the AL in runs scored, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. David Bergman/SI Measure of Success All-time leaders, Stolen-Base percentage (min. 120 att.) Rk. Player Years SB-CS Pct. 1 Carlos Beltran* 1998- 157-20 88.7 2 Pokey Reese* 1997- 141-24 85.5 3 Tim Raines 1979-02 808-146 84.7 4 Eric Davis 1984-01 349-66 84.1 5 Tony Womack* 1993- 318-63 83.4 6 Henry Cotto 1984-93 130-26 83.3 7 Willie Wilson 1976-94 668-134 83.3 8 Barry Larkin* 1986- 378-77 83.1 9 Davey Lopes 1972-87 557-114 83.0 10 Stan Javier 1984-01 246-51 82.8 * active player Source: Kansas City Royals

April was not kind to the Royals. April, in fact, knocked the Royals face down into a mud puddle and stepped on their sodden unis on its way over to May.

If it weren't for sensational young center fielder Carlos Beltran, April might have done the Royals in even worse. If Beltran hadn't been on the job, last year's American League Central darlings may have been pushed under for good.

Really, where in the world would the Royals be without Beltran?

Well, if they have another month like April, we'll find out.

The Royals were the trendy choice to win the AL Central this year for several reasons: their surprising run last season, when they finished above .500 for the first time since 1993; their offseason acquisitions of slugger Juan Gonzalez and veteran catcher Benito Santiago;the weak division, which is, let's face it, not exactly the AL East. Or West. Or National League East, Central or West, for that matter. The AL Central is barely the AL at all. It is eminently winnable by any team that can scrape together a winning season.

Then, of course, there's Beltran, the multi-tooled wonder of a player. He just turned 27, and he's never been better. An infamously slow starter, Beltran is practically a one-man team right now. He has a combined slugging and on-base percentage (OPS) of 1.093, second in the AL to New York catcher Jorge Posada. He has 16 extra-base hits, two behind the major league leaders and the most among switch-hitters, Posada included. Beltran set a mark last year for most extra-base hits by a switch-hitter (80). Broke a record held by a guy named Mickey Mantle.

If Beltran could pitch -- and you get the distinct impression that he could do anything he wants with a baseball -- the Royals would be in a much better place right now.

"I think, this year, his concentration skills have gone to another level. He's taking strikes. There are very few people who can take strikes and wait for the strike they really want. Carlos can. That's a tribute to his work ethic and natural ability," Royals' general manager Allard Baird said.

"Very few times do you see a player who you can say he can be as good as he wants to be. Literally. I saw Alex Rodriguez in high school, and you could say it about him. That's what I think about Carlos."

The problem is, as good as Beltran has been, as good as he can be, the Royals have been just as bad. They're playing tight right now. They're playing -- at least it looks like this -- scared. All the things they did well last year, the little things, they're doing badly this year.

They stumbled through April 7-14, lost their first two games in May and very nearly blew a third on Monday night in Toronto. They lost to the Blue Jays again Tuesday night. They're 2-11 on the road. They're in last place in the Central. Only the orphaned Montreal Expos have a worse record.

Pitching is the main culprit. Kansas City has a team ERA of 5.34. The starters have a 6.03 ERA. But it's those little things, too. The Royals are hitting .189 with runners on third, worse than division foes Minnesota (.330), Chicago (.268), Cleveland (.290) and Detroit (.368). They are 2-6 in one-run games.

"We're not winning ballgames. There's no sidestepping it," Baird says. "Last year's ballclub had less talent. But we did the little things. We executed with runners on third and less than two outs. We're pressing a lot early on, trying to do too much."

Salary Drive Five sluggers having huge contract years Carlos Beltran, CF, Royals   Avg. OBP Slg. OPS 2004 .309 .422 .670 1.093 Career .288 .350 .478 .829 2004 salary: $9 million Adrian Beltre, 3B, Dodgers   Avg. OBP Slg. OPS 2004 .370 .381 .680 1.061 Career .262 .320 .428 .748 2004 salary: $5 million Troy Glaus, 3B, Angels   Avg. OBP Slg. OPS 2004 .271 .347 .671 1.018 Career .253 .357 .491 .849 2004 salary: $10.45 million Richard Hidalgo, RF, Astros   Avg. OBP Slg. OPS 2004 .347 .362 .612 .974 Career .280 .359 .508 .867 2004 salary: $4.59 million (club option for 2005) Jason Varitek, C, Red Sox   Avg. OBP Slg. OPS 2004 .316 .426 .544 .970 Career .265 .338 .444 .783 2004 salary: $6.9 million

Because Beltran is so good and the Royals are so bad, there's only one way this thing can go. If the Royals aren't going to compete the rest of the season, they'll put the 18-year-old kid they selected in the second round of the 1995 draft and groomed into arguably the best all-around player in the game on the trading block. It's as simple as that.

Beltran is in the last year of his contract, and there's no way that the Royals can afford to keep him next season. With Scott Boras calling the shots, Beltran will be in for a huge payday. A Vladimir Guerrero-type payday ($70 million over five years). Probably better, given that Beltran is a switch-hitter, he's younger and he's healthier.

So, come July's trading deadline, if the Royals are out of it, someone will get Beltran. Maybe the Yankees. Possibly the Mets. L.A. could be a good fit. He'll be the biggest free-agent-to-be on the market. Bigger than Toronto's Carlos Delgado.

Give Baird 30 days. He'll probably know by then what'll be happening in July.

"I believe April is about reasons. May is about results," he says. "May is a very important month."

It's too bad that one of the best young players in the big leagues -- and there are those who say he can be the best, soon -- hasn't been enough to turn around the flailing Royals so far. It'll be even worse if the small-town Royals have to ship him off to New York or someplace midseason.

The worst part of it all? If that happens, the Royals will have no one to blame but themselves.

John Donovan is a senior writer for SI.com.