Signing?

So apparently the Royals are very close to signing Tim Melville, their fourth round pick with first round talent. Hopefully they can come to an agreement with Eric Hosmer, too. I know high school bats aren't sure things, but it would certainly send a signal that they are committed to winning. We'll know by midday tomorrow how the Hosmer negotiations went, I guess.

As far as their drafts under Moore's watch are concerned, they seem to have decided that they don't need to worry about slot and previous signability issues as much, going more for the talent than the price tag. It is certainly nice to see such a shift in philosophy (not to mention the seemingly more studious approach to the whole thing--we're not talking about Colt Griffin being drafted here). The Tigers were willing to draft players who fell as the result of signing worries and righted the ship pretty quickly. Sure, they seem to have gone overboard on the excess front pretty quickly as all reports are that they'll be slashing their exorbitant payroll, but they were able to obtain the likes of Miguel Cabrera because they took guys like Andrew Miller, who fell because of financial concerns.

Granted, if Eric Hosmer does not sign, the Royals get a compensatory pick (I seem to remember having read that it's the fifth pick overall), but I worry about the tone that sets when the Hot Stove kicks into high gear. Detroit was legitimized once they started showing no hesitancy at spending money and accordingly showing free agents that they were trying to build a winning team. The Royals can do that, too, and can learn from the extremes the Tigers went to.