SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Royals general manager Dayton Moore said even with the money saved from Eric Hosmer agreeing to a deal with the Padres, the club is unlikely to pursue other costly free agents, and that includes Mike Moustakas.
"I've been very clear we have two objectives this offseason," Moore said at an impromptu news conference on Sunday afternoon. "We have to build our farm system back to what it was in 2010-2011, and we have to get payroll at a level to get us more flexible for the future.
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"That period of time [of high payrolls], that phase of who we are, is over. We need to move on."
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Moore spoke of giving Cheslor Cuthbert an opportunity at third base.
"We like [Cuthbert] a great deal," Moore said. "We feel it's his time to become a consistently producing player. We also have Hunter Dozier, who can play third and corner outfield, and first base -- he has some versatility."
Some other highlights from Moore's news conference:
On replacing Hosmer:
"There are players available [through trade or free agency] who will we look at depending on acquisition cost. But the economics are very important to us. Truthfully, if we were having a press conference right now to announce the signing of Eric Hosmer, which we had hoped to do, the next thing we were going to have to focus on was adjusting the payroll [to make room for Hosmer]."
On if he sensed Hosmer was leaning toward the Padres:
"I had a pretty good sense about it four days ago, that it wasn't going to work here. You always hold out hope. But you begin to change your mindset."

On if he thought the Royals' offer (believed to be considerably less than the reported figures of seven years, $140 million) was comparable to the Padres' offer of eight years, $144 million:
"You always focus on what you can offer, not what other organizations can offer. I'm not going to talk about the terms. I will say it was the biggest contract offered in our history. We felt good about our offer. The deal that he decided to take with San Diego was better. That's obvious."
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On if he had personal conversations with Hosmer this offseason:
"We talked about life. We talked about his family ... more so that than the economics of baseball."
On watching a home-grown player such as Hosmer leave:
"It's part of the process. Free-agency is part of the game. ...
"We're proud of that era, to win a World [Series] championship as a small market. We're very proud of Eric Hosmer and what he meant to this organization. We'll do nothing but wish Eric and his family well. The Padres are getting a tremendous player.
"There are no ill feelings. You move on."