Did the Royals Demote Gordon to Delay His Free Agency?

On Tuesday the Kansas City Royals demoted third baseman Alex Gordon to Triple-A Omaha in hopes that he can get his swing worked out and start hitting like the player they thought would be a cornerstone of their franchise. After missing the first three months of the season due to surgery to repair torn cartilage in his hip, Gordon has struggled.

Of course, there are some people who think this demotion has more to do with saving money than it does Gordon's healing. There's a theory out there that the Royals can delay his free agency another season by demoting him now, which is a theory general manager Dayton Moore denies.

"We're trying to win games at the major-league level," he said, "and we're trying to make sure we put our young players in a position to be successful long term. This (move) in our opinion, in our baseball judgment, puts Alex Gordon in the best position to be successful.

"Long term, it's the right thing to do. It's the right thing to do for Alex, and it's the right thing to do for our baseball team."

The thought is that if Gordon isn't on the Royals major league roster for 172 of 183 possible days, he won't be credited with a full year of service, which players need six of to qualify for free agency. Now if Gordon were to spend less than 20 days in Omaha, he would get to that this season, and ironically the Omaha Royals have 21 days left in their season.

Which is what's causing some folks to wonder.

I understand the thought because it's not as if the Royals are competing for a playoff spot right now. If they were, I'd understand sending Gordon down until he was truly ready, but since the Royals are out of it, why not just let him work things out in Kansas City?