Hello, Baseball
4 looming questions the Royals face as Spring Training begins
How is it possible that pitchers and catchers report next week? This offseason mostly felt like a drag, which is kind of becoming the norm. And yet, despite the start-and-stop nature of MLB’s winter calendar, baseball is within reach.
The Royals made a handful of critical moves, crossing off most of the items on their to-do list with one major item remaining — which we’ll get to.
(Side note, I love how transparent JJ Picollo has been the last two offseasons regarding the Royals needs and wants then follows through on those items. Diehards know what their teams need to accomplish over the winter months, sure, but he’s made it easier for casual fans to follow along. In a sport that’s made crucial mistakes in reaching a general audience, it’s refreshing … but I digress.)
Before I dive into the meat of today’s newsletter, I need to admit it’s a bit of a stolen idea. Hat tip to Alex Duvall, a must follow on X for Royals fans.
We’ve already touched on MJ Melendez in this space, and in an effort to avoid simply repeating Alex’s list, here are a few other major questions the Royals face for 2025 heading into Spring Training:
Can the Royals Add an Impact Bat?
The question everyone is asking. In the last few days alone, two outfielders the Royals were said to be “in” on — Anthony Santander and Randal Grichuk — signed with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks, respectively. Ken Rosenthal reported KC was aggressive in its pursuit of Santander while Anne Rogers shared on X that they “tried to get” Grichuk.
While those two represent opposite ends of the spectrum — one a surefire middle-of-the-order slugger, the other a super platoon bat who could’ve shored up the team’s struggles against southpaws — either would’ve added to a lineup that certainly feels like it’s one piece short.
Options similar to Grichuk remain available in free agency, though the choices are slimming quickly. If Picollo wants to provide Matt Quatraro a player he can pencil into the fifth or sixth spot in the order most days, a trade is becoming increasingly likely. Can he hammer out an agreement for Taylor Ward or Adolis Garcia?
Which Roster Spots are Up for Grabs?
This is partially dependent on whether the Royals can sign or trade for an outfielder, so I’ll try not to rehash that here. As the roster currently stands, I’m counting 21 players as stone-cold locks for Opening Day, leaving three bench spots and two bullpen roles available.
These discussions are worthy of their own newsletters, but I’ll be brief here as there’s plenty of time to hash out Kansas City’s best options.
Position players (three openings): Nick Loftin, Cavan Biggio, Nick Pratto, Javier Vaz and Cam Devanney represent the challengers for infield/utility roles. Dairon Blanco, Nelson Velazquez, Tyler Gentry, Drew Waters, Joey Wiemer and Gavin Cross will battle for fourth outfielder/bench bat duty.
Among this group, Velazquez and Pratto have zero options remaining, meaning they’ll need to make the roster or clear waivers.
Pitchers (two bullpen openings): Chris Stratton, Sam Long, Kyle Wright (unlikely to be ready for Opening Day), Carlos Hernandez, Daniel Lynch, Luinder Avila, Jonathan Bowlan, James McArthur, Steven Cruz, Evan Sisk and Eric Cerantola are all on the 40-man roster. Stratton, Long and Hernandez would need to make the roster or be outrighted/passed through waivers.
Noah Cameron and Chandler Champlain might factor into the bullpen conversation down the road, but I’d imagine KC wants to keep them stretched out in Triple-A. Taylor Clarke, Austin Cox, Junior Fernandez and Beck Way comprise the non-40-man options who’d need to make a ton of noise in spring.
How Will the Infield Logjam Shake Out?
The most important task heading into the offseason was finding a way to get runners on in front of Bobby Witt Jr., who stepped to the dish with one out and the bases empty far too often in 2024. Picollo checked that box in a major way, trading rotation stalwart Brady Singer for on-base machine Jonathan India.
It shored up a major hole at the top of the lineup, but leaves the Royals in a bit of a bind on days Salvador Perez or Vinnie Pasquantino fill the DH spot. One of India, Maikel Garcia or Michael Massey will need to play out of their natural positions or otherwise find themselves out of the starting lineup.
All three will reportedly take reps in left field this spring to try and alleviate the issue, but there’s no guarantee one will take to the responsibility of roaming Kauffman Stadium’s spacious grass. My early lean would be Massey or India, neither of whom have shown the arm strength to adequately fill Garcia’s shoes at the hot corner.
How Will Salvador Perez Fare in His Age-35(!) Season?
Look, it’s never fun to imagine your franchise icon fading. And coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his career with a 115 wRC+, I’m sure this will come across as overly pessimistic.
But as Perez enters what’s surely the twilight of his storied career, it’s a question that must be asked: How big of a role can he handle and can he sustain last season’s success?
Only 20 times in Major League history has a player caught at least 81 games at age 35 or older and finished with an adjusted OPS+ of 100 or better, per Stathead. As KC’s cleanup anchor behind Witt and Pasquantino, the Royals will need at least that level of production to keep the offense humming, particularly if they’re unable to acquire another impact hitter.
The Royals made a wise decision in 2023 and 2024, allowing Perez to catch only 91 games in each of those seasons, including a career-high 49 appearances at first base last year. Perhaps continuing to reduce his workload behind the plate can help him further elongate his career and keep pace with last season’s production.
We’ll have about seven weeks to dig into these items in detail, but as Spring Training gets rolling, these are the big questions on my mind.
Welcome back, baseball.