Royals owner stresses commitment to starting pitching in 2012 MLB offseason

Kansas City Royals owner David Glass invested heavily into scouting and development, and the Royals have a budding nucleus of talented position players. They have a strong bullpen, too. Going into Tuesday's game at the Detroit Tigers, however, the Royals sit 13 games below .500, already having clinched their ninth consecutive losing season.

A big part of the reason for that has been a shaky starting pitching staff. That's something Glass says he intends to change.

In an interview with the Kansas City Star on Sept. 24, Glass committed to improving a staff that has given up a combined .268 batting average - 13 points higher than the league average.

"What I've always said is when we get to the point where we're competitive," Glass said. "We'll do what we have to do to improve our position. Yes, we'll do what we need to do. We are committed to improving our starting pitching."

With a youth movement in place, a quality starting pitcher or two could help the Royals leap into contention in the AL Central.