The Kansas City Royals are the 2015 World Series champions! The Royals defeated the New York Mets in five games to become the new champs of baseball. With that said, both teams obviosuly had highly successful seasons. It was not too long ago these two teams were the farthest things from winners.

It was only three seasons ago, back in 2012, that both the Mets and Royals were both at least 14 games under .500. Fast forward to present day and those very teams are representing their respective leagues in the World Series. So the question is, how did they turn things around so fast? If you take a close look at each teams’ roster, you will find something eerily similar.

That similarity comes in the form of how each of these current teams were built. Mets’ General Manager, Sandy Alderson was hired in 2010 while Royals’ GM Dayton Moore has been with the club since 2006. So what has each of these two men done to transform their respective rosters into World Series caliber clubs? The answer: they followed a very similar formula, and a formula that often gets overlooked in today’s game, that sees monster contracts awarded to big name free agents.

The formula is rather simple actually. It starts by drafting and signing international players to develop in your own minor league system. Then during your down years, trade away your big name players, more specifically, a former Cy Young winner, to bring in even more prospects into that system. After a few years, these prospects will turn into major league ready talent. With a plethora of young talent across the diamond, the results should start to improve. Now add in a few veteran free agent additions to add some leadership and experience to the team. Now these free agent additions should not be the ones that break the bank, and should not be any more than four years, and preferably under 20 million a season. This will allow for flexibility down the road financially and you can lock up your better young players before they get super expensive. Now that you are virtually on the door of being a true contender, you need one more thing. That final piece comes in the form of a big name rental player you go out and get around the trade deadline. There you have it: you have successfully built a championship caliber team. Let us take a look at our examples, the Mets and Royals, now shall we.

New York Mets

Let us go around the diamond and see how the current Mets roster has come to be. We start at catcher, where Travis D’Arnaud has the position locked down for years to come. D’Arnaud was a very key piece that came to New York when the Mets shipped Cy Young winner RA Dickey up north. He was viewed as the best catching prospect at the time, and the Mets got what they were looking for by trading away their former ace. The Mets also have a homegrown prospect with the potential to become a decent player in Kevin Plawecki, who saw some time in the majors this season.

At first base, the Mets have Lucas Duda, a homegrown product. The rest of the starting infield, Daniel Murphy, Wilmer Flores, and David Wright are all homegrown talents. Even Ruben Tejada, who was the starting shortstop before suffering a season ending injury in the Mets’ playoff series against the Dodgers, comes from the Mets’ farm system.

In the outfield, Michael Conforto is another player the Mets drafted. Then there is Curtis Granderson, a veteran who was added a few seasons ago as a free agent. This past offseason the Mets also signed Michael Cuddyer via free agency. Both of these guys fit the formula because they were not given monster contracts. Finally, the Mets made their big splash midway through this season. They acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers, using some of their prospects they have built up in the minors.

A mid-season trade for a rental player like Cespedes works very well in this formula for a few reasons. It puts a guy who is about to enter free agency into a playoff race. That gives the player ample motivation to pursue a World Series title while also striving for a new contract. Since their team acquiring such a player will only be there for half a season, if he does not resign, the cost of prospects is going to be a bit less than if they acquired the player in the offseason. Finally, the financial obligation for the team is limited. All of these factors are what make this rental trade an effective move for teams following this formula.

The Mets rotation is anchored by two homegrown talents in Matt Harvey and Jacob DeGrom. Noah Syndergaard was the second key prospect that came to New York in the blockbuster deal that sent RA Dickey to Toronto and brought D’Arnaud to New York. Steven Matz and Jon Niese are another pair of arms that come from the Mets own system. Finally, Mets closer Jeurys Familia fits the same bill.

So it is clear the Mets got here from building their farm system. They made one major off-season trade while they were underachieving that turned their former ace into two integral pieces. They added a few veteran free agents to decent contracts to add some leadership. And finally, they made the big mid-season deal to bring in a big rental bat.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals were built in such a similar way, it is almost scary, but that is what proves this formula works. It starts behind the plate, where Sal Perez has been one of the most consistent catchers in baseball, and he plays virtually every game. He came from the Royals farm system.

On the infield, the corners are covered by former top prospects that the Royals drafted themselves. Eric Hosmer at first base and Mike Moustakas at third base came up with the Royals as talented young players and they have produced well in Kansas City. At second base, the Royals acquired Ben Zobrist from the Oakland A’s, as a midseason rental. Zobrist is a versatile veteran who is set to hit the free agent market after the World Series concludes. Over at shortstop there is Alcides Escobar, a former top prospect for the Milwaukee Brewers. Escobar was acquired by the Royals in a deal that sent their own former Cy Young winning ace to the Brewers. That ace was Zack Greinke, and he was the only bright spot for the Royals for many of their down years.

In the outfield, Alex Gordon has been a staple for many years. He is a former second overall pick by none other than the Kansas City Royals. Center field is patrolled by the second key prospect acquired in the Greinke trade all those years ago, Lorenzo Cain. In right field, the Royals added veteran Alex Rios this offseason on a one year deal. Their main reserve outfielder Jarrod Dyson comes from the Royals farm system. At DH, the Royals signed another veteran on a small contract in Kendrys Morales.

In the rotation, Edison Volquez and Chris Young provide more veteran presence that were signed to very team friendly contracts. Yordano Ventura provides an electric young arm who was drafted by Kansas City. The Royals major mid-season trade acquisition came in the form of a deal with the Cincinnati Reds. This deal saw Johnny Cueto come to Kansas City in the final year of his contract.

Finally, Royals closer Wade Davis. He is a former top prospect of the Kansas City Rays who came to the Royals in a mega deal that sent James Shields to the Royals, and top prospect Wil Myers to Tampa Bay. Also in the deal, pitcher Jake Odorizzi, a former prospect acquired by Kansas City in the Greinke deal with the Brewers, was traded to Tampa Bay. So in a sense, Wade Davis was traded for Odorizzi, which means he was essentially acquired in the Greinke deal. So while the Royals main reason for the Shields deal at the time was to acquire an ace by using a top prospect, it was the acquisition of Davis that is paying dividends right now.

So there you have it, building a contender 101. If you build up your farm system first, you are off to the right start. Then trade away your ace pitcher for prospects, with two that need to pan out in the long run. Sign a few veterans to team friendly contracts and make a mid-season trade or two for a key rental player. If you can do all of that, you will find yourself in the World Series. So if any teams are hiring for a front office position. I’d be more than happy to offer my assistance in building your club into a World Series contender.