Dayton Moore's Latest Comments on UDFA Prove Why the Royals Are a Model Franchise

While MLB may be suddenly approaching its restart, the same is not true for many minor leaguers, even more so for those prospects who surprisingly went undrafted. As a casualty of the ongoing hiatus, this year's MLB Draft was chopped down to just five rounds. With those changes, many prospects saw their professional dreams cut short due to an uncontrollable situation.

The Kansas City Royals are one team looking to make at least some players' dreams come true, however, and have put a model in place that the rest of the league's teams should follow.

The Royals lead the league in the number of signed undrafted free agents on Baseball America's Top 500, adding five top talents. How were they able to do that despite the ongoing money dispute? By simply being a considerate franchise.

General manager Dayton Moore explains it as such, "If you accept the responsibility of a leadership position, it begins with putting others first, and if you can't do that, you don't deserve the privilege to lead."

This is not just a compassionate move from the GM, however, but a savvy baseball move, too. With such a constricted draft this year, there is a massive amount of talent out in the open, and all that talent costs is a mere $20,000 maximum deal. Teams would be smart to jump on the options, just as Moore has.

In a time of tremendous difficulty for baseball, it is heartening to see one team take the first step in beginning to look out for players, especially young ones looking to make their way into the majors. Now, let's hope that the rest of the league follows suit.