By CHUCK SAMPLES
ISL Correspondent

Royals pitcher Jonathan Sanchez was designated for assignment Wednesday.

He deserved it. Sanchez was 1-6 with a 7.76 ERA and 44 walks — all in 53 1/3 innings covering 12 starts. The pitcher who also has a no-hitter to his credit was routinely lit up by media folks in the Kansas City area who felt Sanchez didn’t want to pitch for the Royals.

Sanchez was the Royals’ highlight trade acquisition just this past winter. Kansas City General Manager Dayton Moore traded Melky Cabrera for Sanchez. You know Cabrera…the guy who was the 2012 All-Star Game MVP. In Kansas City.

By setting the stage for Sanchez’s outright release, Moore acknowledged the immediate failing (what some here are calling the worst trade in franchise history). But he also pulled the cover squarely off the general manager hot seat for 2013 and plunked his butt on top. In fact, it stands to reason Moore already has one of the hottest seats for next year — at least for somebody that doesn’t work for the Yankees or Peter Angelos.

Moore’s credentials:

Big-league talent. I’m not talking prospects (more on that in a minute). I’m talking Moore’s judgment when it comes to established major league players. Cabrera was an outstanding pickup, one questioned at the time because of his previously untapped talent, but other picks have not fared well at all. Sanchez. Jose Guillen. Yuniesky Betancourt. Yuniesky Betancourt.

Big-league and minor-league talent. The Royals have scads of talent at the minor leagues, but in several cases it has been blocked by major leaguers who would otherwise be vulnerable to replacement. Jeff Francoeur, who I love because of his hustle in the field, has lost his batting eye and his RBI touch (less than 30 RBIs despite playing almost all season at right field). Outfielder Wil Myers is tenderizing the minors with 24 HRs already. but with 2012 becoming more of a lost season with each game and thus a prime opportunity to get some major league experience, Myers…stays in Omaha. And Francouer keeps getting himself into 0-2 counts with each at-bat.

Another example? Betancourt may be a better hitter than Johnny Giavotella, but there is no way Betancourt is a better fielder. Guess who is playing in Kansas City.

In Moore’s defense, this approach goes back to the Mike Kingery days of the early 1980s. So it’s become standard operating procedure.

Minor-league talent. Formally known as “The Process,” this reflects Moore’s legitimate approach of building up a woebegone team from the inside out. To a large degree, it’s working. Eric Hosmer has taken a huge step back, but Mike Moustakas has stepped up and Salvador Perez has already drawn comparisons to Johnny Bench. The problem isn’t so much with the position players as it is with pitchers — and this is what figures to bite Moore deeply if things don’t change. Only one of Moore’s prized youngsters, Danny Duffy, has so far made the majors with any significant positive impact…and he’s out for the year with Tommy John surgery. Same goes for prospect John Lamb, free-agent surprise Felipe Paulino and stopper Joakim Soria. Another top prospect, Mike Montgomery, may never get past AAA and looks like his career is sliding downhill in reverse.

The record. Into his seventh season. Nothing close to a winning season.

Moore was brought in to revive a moribund franchise, and he has done that — in part. Unfortunately, he has done a far better job of selling the future to hungry Royals fans while the present…well, leaves a lot of space on the plate. If Kansas City isn’t contending for a playoff spot by the All-Star Game next year, Moore may have to hand The Process to somebody else. Maybe he should.

2013 stove temperature: Medium

Other candidates:

Dan O’Dowd, Rockies (if he survives this season). O’Dowd has been general manager the past 12 years and has four winning records to his benefit. Four. That includes the high-water mark at 92-70 and a playoff berth in 2009 — and two 67-95 seasons, including the franchise debut year of 1993. The pitching staff, never a strength, has imploded in the thin air and is on pace to set a team record with 565 walks. O’Dowd is now having Manager Jim Tracy use the old-school four-man rotation, but his problem lies deeper than that: he still doesn’t have a solid rotation developed despite drafting almost 340 pitchers. On top of that, big names like Jason Giambi, Ramon Hernandez, Marco Scutaro and Michael Cuddyer (OK, the last two stretch the term a bit) have been, um, unproductive. Fans are hot and the owners have already given him a vote of confidence back in May.

2013 stove temperature: Boiling

Jack Zduriencik, Mariners. In much the same way as Moore, Zduriencik has developed a solid minor league roster while having a spotty batting average on major league talent (think about adding Milton Bradley to your squad). Nobody expected the Mariners to come close to a playoff spot this year, but the expectations are starting to simmer for the prospects to have a major impact. Besides being in Seattle, not the largest market in the MLB, Zduriencik also benefits from being unvarnished with fans about the team’s progress and stressing accountability from the players. He’s praching patience, but even the patient can only wait so long.

2013 stove temperature: Low