We ask our writers about what they expect this off-season.
The Royals’ season is over, and once the World Series concludes, the off-season will begin. Before the wheeling and dealing begins, we assembled our writers to discuss the season that was and look forward for what could be an exciting Hot Stove season.
The 2024 season saw the Royals win 86 games and make the playoffs, but they fell short in the ALDS against the Yankees. What was your big takeaway from this season?
Matthew LaMar: I have two big takeaways. One, that the front office knows what they’re doing—it’s impossible to have a better offseason than the one they just had. And two, that the Royals still have a long way to go before they’re a perennial playoff team. They just don’t have any of the depth that the other remaining teams in the LCS do, and that was glaringly obvious in the last month and a half.
Jacob Milham: My biggest takeaway from this season is that Bobby Witt Jr.’s extension already looks like a bargain. The shortstop’s supporting cast, regarding position players, wasn’t terrible, but this team isn’t close to the playoff picture without Witt. The Texan’s price tag is immensely higher now than it was one calendar year ago. The Royals front office believed in his potential and gambled that he would realize it. Hopefully, 2024 is just the first season of this level of performance from Witt.
Greg Walker: Bobby Witt Jr. turned in an MVP-level performance, the starting pitching was excellent, and the team overall stayed remarkably healthy. These and many other things went right for the team, allowing them to blow away even the most optimistic projections, but there are still clear areas for improvement.
Hokius: My biggest takeaway is that the Royals’ scouting and coaching are as good as they’ve been since I became a fan in ‘98. They’re targeting journeyman players and getting more out of them than other teams. That’s a sign of a staff that knows what it’s doing.
Cullen Jekel: The resiliency of this team impressed me. This is a team that went through multiple long losing streaks in the final month of the season but still won enough games to win the second Wild Card and then sweep the Orioles. A lot of praise goes to Wacha and Lugo for their regular season performances but I have to think their postseason experience, along with Salvy’s, also helped get this team through those low periods.
Max Rieper: Bobby Witt Jr. is him. I admit I had some doubts about him early in his career. But he has improved his plate discipline and his tools are so loud they mask any of his deficiencies. The Royals are going to have one of the best players in the game for a long time, and that’s going to give them a shot to contend every year.
What are the top priorities for the Royals this off-season?
Jacob Milham: Outfield, outfield, outfield. Some bullpen sprinkled in there. The difference is that Kansas City has some relief options waiting in the organization, but their internal outfield options do not provide the level of help that they need immediately. J.J. Picollo specifically listed what batting roles they need to fill, both of which can be filled with outfield help.
Matthew LaMar: They’ve got to get some bats, specifically a leadoff hitter. Now, they have a lab-grown perfect leadoff hitter in Bobby Witt Jr., but they won’t use him there for some reason so they have to get somebody else to do it. Creatively adding depth is also important, but that’s a thing that J.J. Picollo and the front office are good at doing.
Hokius: It’s gotta be bats. No team ever has as much pitching as they’d like, but the Royals were one or two bags from being World Series favorites and all of their best players should be back next season.
Max Rieper: J.J. Picollo seemed to identify it in his end-of-the-year press conference – more on-base in the lineup. That’s going to be hard to find in this market so they may have to be creative or finally make one of those trades that hurt. He learned from Dayton Moore, who made an “all-in” type move before the 2013 season when he acquired James Shields, perhaps we’ll see a big move like that this off-season now that the Royals have established they can be contenders.
Cullen Jekel: There are two—shoring up the starting rotation and finally figuring out third base. With the rotation, it hinges on Wacha—will he opt out? If so, will he entertain returning? If he opts out and leaves, that creates a sizable hole the Royals will need to fill while still dedicating two rotation spots to Singer and Marsh.
I’m not sold on Maikel Garcia at third—a 72 OPS+ is, uh, not good. He’s still only 24 but his OPS has now decreased for the third consecutive season. I’d hoped he would break out this season, and while he was great on the bases, he did not secure the hot corner.
Greg Walker: The lineup needs help — they were in the top half of baseball in runs scored thanks to strong hitting with runners in scoring position, but the offense had just a 96 wRC+ overall. This team badly needs a good OBP guy to hit leadoff and some more power production would be a welcome addition, ideally at third base or in the outfield. Without knowing how much the team is willing to spend this offseason, some free agents that could fit are Anthony Santander, Tyler O’Neill, and Brandon Lowe (should Tampa Bay decline his option). There doesn’t look to be a prototypical leadoff guy available in free agency, so the Royals could look to the trade market to solve that.
What are you expecting out of ownership and management this off-season?
Cullen Jekel: I wouldn’t expect Picollo & Co. to spend as much as they did last summer but I expect them to still spend. Winning is contagious, and with the Royals going strong against the AL-Champion Yankees, there’s no argument against upgrading the current roster. I’d look for maybe two bats to be signed plus at least one starting pitcher—and maybe a surprise trade.
Greg Walker: I expect them to be aggressive in trying to patch holes in the roster. There are many reasons to think the team would take a step back next season if they tried to simply run it back, and there aren’t any game-changers likely coming from the minors any time soon, so external additions will be needed for the Royals to return to the postseason in 2025. If the front office believes the competitive window is right now, the team might be more willing to trade away talented lower-level prospects to augment the big league roster than they would have been a year ago.
Jacob Milham: The front office saw a 56-loss roster’s shortcomings, addressed them swiftly and decisively, and netted them a 30-game win improvement. We will not see that level of improvement again from 2024 to 2025, but making quick and effective decisions should be the expectation now. That sounds easy, but not every MLB front office will do that simple task this offseason. The Royals haven’t done so in recent memory. Whatever direction the team wants to go, fans will know pretty clearly before the calendar year ends.
Max Rieper: John Sherman is still pushing for a downtown stadium, although he may look to circumvent a public vote this time around. But he still needs to continue to build goodwill, and he has also said he wants a perennial contender. So I would expect more investment in player payroll, maybe not an increase, but at least as much as they spent last year. I expect Picollo to mostly tinker at the edges – add a bat or two, build some depth. But like I said, the team may be ripe for a bold move.
Hokius: Last season J.J. Picollo said they wanted two starters, some bullpen help, and a corner outfield bat. They got all of those things. This time he said they need a leadoff bat and a power bat. So I expect them to get a couple good ones. Some dead money (Hunter Dozier and Jordan Lyles) is coming off the books, and they should have made some extra from the playoffs so I expect to see at least one really big move or a couple pretty good moves.
Matthew LaMar: I expect the team as a whole to approach 2025 like they are trying to win the AL Central and at least get back to the playoffs. They started 2024 at about $122 million, and I suspect we’ll see a modest increase to $130-135 million. Michael Wacha will probably be back as part of that payroll increase.
What is one off-season move you would pursue if you ran the Royals?
Hokius: I’d go after Juan Soto. It’s not my money and he’d instantly make the Royals the class of the league batting in the top third of the lineup.
Matthew LaMar: This one’s easy: I’d trade Brady Singer for a solid position player. Singer has two years of team control left, which is a lot of times the sweet spot between what a good player is worth and what teams will part with in order to acquire said player. I know a lot of people don’t want to trade Singer because he’s valuable, but that’s the point: it takes value to get value, and some team starving for reliable starting pitching will part with hitting talent to get it.
Cullen Jekel: Let’s stick with my theme of a third-base upgrade. Across the state, the Cardinals have already indicated they’ll be taking a step back in 2025 as they redirect resources to building up the farm system. (Why they can’t compete at the MLB level and build the farm system at the same time is beyond me.) Logic, then, says they’ll look to move veterans, including approaching those with no-trade clauses to waive such clauses.
Enter Nolan Arenado, who has three years and $52 million left on his deal. He’s clearly no longer the superstar he once was but he’s still better than anything the Royals currently have. Get the Cardinals to eat some of the remaining contract, send over one or two average prospects, and suddenly the Royals have another veteran on the team, one at a position that has plagued the franchise over the years, and maybe playing for a contender again gets more out of him.
Jacob Milham: Picollo and Royals owner John Sherman will be on the same page when it comes to payroll expectations, hopefully seeing another increase in spending this coming season. If there is ample money to play with, I am pursuing a hefty contract with Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander. The Baltimore Orioles slugger had a career year in his contract year, ranking second in the AL with 44 home runs. He would provide an elite upgrade as the cleanup hitter. Santander will not be winning any Gold Gloves anytime soon, but the Royals need his bat more than his glove.
Max Rieper: I think the best on-base options would come via trade. There are some usual contenders that may be looking to downsize a bit. I’d ask the Giants about LaMonte Wade Jr., the Cardinals about Lars Noobaar, the Cubs about Mike Tauchman, and Jonathan India of the Reds. There could be some interesting bounce-back candidates – Jack Suwinski of the Pirates, Dylan Moore of the Mariners, and Will Benson of the Reds. The Royals will likely have to be creative to fill this role – everyone is looking for on-base guys.
Greg Walker: Sign Juan Soto. I don’t care how much money it takes, get it done.