With spring training around the corner, let’s check some vibes, both good and bad.
They’re running it back.
That’s my biggest takeaway from the Royals offseason. Moves were made, including trading a former first-round draft pick for a former Rookie-of-the-Year and adding another late-inning reliever, but nothing overly dramatic. No big shakeup. Nothing as monumental as last offseason.
And that’s fine. Not every offseason needs to include locking in a superstar or dipping into free agency to acquire a large chunk of your starting rotation. Sometimes, like last year, that happens. Sometimes, like this year, it doesn’t.
It helps that last season’s team not only reached the playoffs but also won a round. Better yet, they challenged the Yankees in a series that felt much closer than 3-1.
Still, holes remain. I’m fine giving this team, and the man running it, J.J. Picollo, more time to fix those issues. He definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt after building a playoff contender last year.
And it’s with Picollo that I begin these Kansas City Royals offseason rankings.
Top Five
No. 5: J.J. Picollo
The Royals man-in-charge started the offseason by keeping Michael Wacha in town, which then in turn enabled him to swing a trade with the Reds by sending starting pitcher Brady Singer to Cincinnati for second baseman Jonathan India. Later, he signed a top reliever to a pretty reasonable deal, landing Carlos Estevez. Overall, Picollo once again improved the ballclub.
No. 4: State of the American League Central
Not every AL Central can claim they improved, especially the Cleveland Guardians, who abhor spending money so much they dealt one of their key players, Andres Gimenez, north of the border instead of keeping him around on his recently signed extension. The White Sox did little, and so did the Twins. The Tigers made some moves, and remain in the Alex Bregman sweepstakes, but right now, it’s looking good for the Royals compared to the rest of the Central.
David Dermer-Imagn Images
No. 3: Starting Rotation
Wacha stuck around, and then Michael Lorenzen decided to do the same. Maybe Lorenzen will be a regular in the rotation, maybe he won’t. Still nice to have him around for some spot duty. Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans return for another year after both finished top four in last season’s Cy Young voting. And Kyle Wright, who went 21-7 with the Braves in 2022, returns after missing most of the last seasons. The rotation looks to be a strength once again.
No. 2: Bullpen
The bullpen may be even better than the starting rotation, what with the addition of Estevez. I’ve never been too keen on closers, but it’s incredibly helpful to have so many weapons for late-inning situations, and man, Picollo is giving manager Matt Quatraro exactly that: Kris Bubic, Lucas Erceg, Estevez, Hunter Harvey.
No. 1: Bobby Witt Jr.
It’s Bobby’s world and we’re just living in it.
Not Ranked: Farm System
Recently, Max put together a great breakdown of the Royals farm system in the eyes of ESPN, Baseball America, and The Athletic. Make sure to check that out in its entirety. And while all of those publications rank the Royals on the lower end of things, I’m encouraged to see them rising in the rankings.
I’m a subscriber to The Athletic and I read Keith Law’s breakdown of the Royals’ top 20 prospects a day or so before Max posted his article. And Law’s article gave me some hope for the future. Jac Caaglianone could be the masher this franchise has never truly had. There’s catching depth led by Blake Mitchell, but don’t sleep on Carter Jensen or Ramon Ramirez.
While Law doesn’t have any Royals pitchers in his Top 100 prospects, his write-ups on guys like Steven Zobac, Noah Cameron, and, especially, David Shields, pumped me up.
The farm system still has a way to go, but it’s getting there.
Bottom Five
No. 5: GMDM for Guv
No. 4: The New Blue Jays
Here’s the salty take on Picollo’s offseason: he came close to signing some outside players, but, aside from Estevez, couldn’t close the deals. After Anthony Santander inked with Toronto, reports came out that the Royals were in on him, but ultimately lost out. Same with Jurickson Profar, who ultimately landed in Atlanta. In recent years, it was a joke about the Blue Jays that they came close to signing a player, but always finished second. Is that now the Royals?
No. 3: The Hot Corner
Somehow, third base remains a black hole for the Royals. This has been going on since Moose left the second time. Looks like it’s back to Maikel Garcia, but after his little production in almost 600 at-bats in 2024, I’m ready for someone new. There just don’t appear to be any candidates.
No. 2: Stadium Issue
I love Kauffman Stadium, but I realize the Royals don’t. The team is going to move. That’s not the question anymore. The question is where, and it’s already taken too damn long to answer that. This needs to be figured out, and soon.
No. 1: Corner Outfield Spots
Of all the things to go unfixed this offseason, this is the most glaring. Sure, India and Michael Massey have said things about preparing to play in left, but as it stands right now, the Royals will be trotting back out there M.J. Melendez (left) and Hunter Renfroe (right). Unless those guys improve (and let’s just say I’m skeptical), that won’t cut it.
Not Ranked: Potential Salary Cap
Max and Jeremy Greco each wrote about the possibility of a salary cap coming to Major League Baseball with each taking different sides. I agree more with Max because I think that the only way for small-market teams to consistently compete—not just make the playoffs, but to make noise in the playoffs—is for there to exist a salary floor and salary cap.
The Athletic reported on February 5 that MLB owners were to discuss this week pushing for a cap in the next CBA. Whether the owners get on the same page or not is one thing to consider.
Another thing to consider is the inevitable fight with the players’ association.
From multiple accounts, I’ve read that if the league (read: owners) truly fight for a salary cap, then, almost certainly, the 2027 season will not be played.
Is a salary cap worth that?
From a Kansas City Royals fan perspective, is it worth obtaining a theoretically new economic system that could help the team compete more often at the expense of losing a year of Bobby Witt Jr.’s prime?
Hell, that could end Salvy’s playing career.
We’ll see where it goes. For the time being, here’s my advice: enjoy the next two seasons as much as you can.