Royals get Soler, reduce payroll at Winter Meetings

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Royals’ front office staff made its way out of the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center on Thursday morning having accomplished part of its mission to trim payroll while staying in contention for a championship run in 2017.

Multiple teams put in offers for closer Wade Davis, and on Wednesday afternoon, Royals general manager Dayton Moore made the deal he felt strongest about — a one-for-one swap with the Cubs for promising outfielder Jorge Soler, who is signed through 2020.

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“It was pretty clear that Wade Davis was going to be the player most attractive to other teams at this particular stage of the market,” Moore said. “… But we like that we have some control with Soler over the next four years. Right field has several players that are perhaps hitting free agency after the 2017 season, so this was an important deal for us.

“It was a tough deal to trade an All-Star closer in Wade Davis, someone who has been so instrumental to our success. We certainly wouldn’t have been able to win a World Series without Wade.”

But Moore had to …

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