When Gil Meche retired from baseball earlier this week at the ripe age of 32, it may have been a blessing in disguise for the Royals. Due to shoulder issues, Meche wouldn’t likely have pitched much or well unless he underwent surgery, meaning his 2011 was a goner anyway. Instead, the Royals have an unexpected cash infusion of $12 million. It’s not a lot of money by baseball standards, but for a team that’s not projected to spend more than $60 million in 2011, $12 million is quite a bit.

With the possibility of a second wild card team coming to MLB in the near future, everybody right now seems either to be shooting for short term success or ready to sit back and let the kids play. With what the Royals have already lost this offseason (losing Zack Greinke is enough to make them worse, regardless of what they add), they may be content going the latter route and seeing what they have for 2012 and beyond.

You have to respect Meche’s decision to call it quits early rather than collect a paycheck while sitting on the disabled list. However, you also have to wonder if there’s more to the decision than honor. Maybe Meche just feels like he’s mentally done with baseball. If so, best of luck to him in the future. If not, he might have a few emotionally testing years in front of him. He’s talented enough to come back, but would he want to?

Meche has been an average starting pitcher at best. However, his last two seasons have been forgettable at best. With his $12 million salary for 2011 off the books, the Royals were able to avoid going to arbitration with Billy Butler over a measly $0.9 million disagreement and instead offered him a four-year, $30 million deal. With that, they’ll keep Butler in the fold as they begin anew the frustratingly difficult rebuilding process. 2011 will not be Kansas City’s year, but it may be a year to remember.