The Royals Offseason Guidebook

Opening Day is 1 week away! Here's everything you need to know (and might've missed) before Kansas City's season opener

Mar 20, 2025

Jac Caglianone and JJ Picollo — Photo courtesy of AP

Maybe you were laser focused on the Chiefs or college basketball. Perhaps you escape Kansas City to fly somewhere south for the winter and leave all things Midwest behind. There’s a chance you simply don’t enjoy the baseball offseason, which is more a steady drip and less an open spigot of action.

All are justifiable reasons to not know who Jonathan India is or how Kansas City’s bullpen is shaping up or how to pronounce Caglianone. (You’ll learn, and soon. “Cags” is fine for now.)

Whatever the case, if you’ve tuned out the Royals since last season ended at the hands of the Yankees, you’ve missed quite a bit. These tidbits are in no hard-and-fast order but mostly listed by importance to the team’s future success or just outright intrigue.

If I missed anything you found important this offseason or during Spring Training, drop it in the comments and consider sharing this handy guide (if I may say so myself) with anyone who blocked out baseball news the last five months.

A New Leadoff Hitter

Yes, the Royals re-signed some key names and upgraded the bullpen, but one of their first transactions of the offseason was their most important for 2025.

On Nov. 22, just three weeks after the World Series concluded, JJ Picollo and company dealt homegrown rotation stalwart Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds for his former Florida teammate Jonathan India, a bona fide leadoff man with a career on-base percentage of .352. He’ll shore up the biggest hole from the 2024 team, where Kansas City finished dead last in MLB with a 66 wRC+ and .270 OBP from the leadoff spot.

Jonathan India’s 2024 Baseball Savant Card

A Red-Hot Prospect

Jac Caglianone. If you’ve started your Royals offseason catchup in recent days, this is the name you’ve seen over and over and over again. KC’s first-round selection from last year’s MLB Draft crushed his first Spring Training about as hard as he walloped the below Aaron Civale cutter with a .529/.636/1.235 slash line — yes, slugging percentage that looks like a Barry Bonds OPS.

He’s 22 years old. He was recently reassigned to minor league camp so he can begin the season at Double-A, build some confidence and potentially learn to play right field for a cleaner, quicker path to the Big Leagues later this summer. Is a superb spring performance the most important thing that happened for the Royals this offseason? No. But he hits mammoth taters and mammoth taters are exciting.

A Failed Pursuit

Barring Caglianone continuing to mash, quickly learning right field and forcing an earlier-than-expected promotion, the Royals did fail in one of their offseason pursuits — an outfield slugger. They reportedly offered Anthony Santander a 3-year deal before he signed with Toronto. They were in on Jurickson Profar and Randal Grichuk, too.

In the end, Kansas City held firm on what it was willing to pay each player, respectively, whether you agree with that approach or not. I’m defensive of the front office in balancing the needs for now and the future rather than going all-in on 2025 with a contract that may not age well, particularly in Santander’s case. But if both MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe struggle in April, a large contingent of fans will grow impatient in a hurry.

A Few Re-signings and ‘Extensions’

The Royals returned a handful of key members from the 2024 team… and one from the glory days of the 2010s.

Michael Wacha signed a 3-year, $51 million deal that includes a 2028 club option.
Michael Lorenzen inked a 1-year, $7 million contract that carries a $12 million mutual option for 2026.
Ace of the staff Cole Ragans agreed to a 3-year, $13.25 million “extension.” There’s important context to keep in mind, hence “extension” in quotes. Ragans is under team control for four more seasons, so the contract wasn’t necessary to keep him in KC, but it makes sense for both sides — the Royals get some cost certainty on their best pitcher rather than tussling through arbitration in 2026 and 2027 while Ragans receives deserved peace of mind. It’s the type of team-friendly deal that sets up for a reworked true extension after this season or next should he stay healthy.
Owner John Sherman didn’t just greenlight player expenses. Picollo received an extension through 2030 with a club option for 2031. Manager Matt Quatraro’s 2026 team option was exercised, too.
Ned is back! The winningest manager in Royals history and 2015 world champion Ned Yost rejoined the organization as a senior advisor.

A Bolstered Bullpen

While the starting rotation is mostly running it back with last year’s core, Kansas City signed veteran closer Carlos Estevez to a 2-year deal with $22 million guaranteed and a club option for 2027. He enjoyed the most productive season of his career in 2024, accruing 1.2 fWAR in time with the Angels and Phillies. Estevez is expected to serve as the primary closer, freeing up Lucas Erceg to pitch in the highest-leverage situations on any given night.

Estevez is a high-octane right-hander armed with a 97 MPH four-seam fastball and tight 89 MPH slider.

It’s worth mentioning that while Hunter Harvey isn’t a new Royal, he feels like one — after the team acquired him from Washington last summer, he appeared in only six games (5.2 innings) for Kansas City before being shut down with a back injury. He’s healthy this spring, already surpassing last season’s totals with six Spring Training innings and a 1.50 ERA.

A Pair of Injury Scares

Aside from a few battles for bullpen and bench spots, the Royals mostly know what they have in a veteran-laden team. When that’s the case, goal No. 1 during Spring Training is simply to stay healthy.

They have, mostly, but not without a pair of scares. Salvador Perez caught a backswing to the mask in early March against the Mariners, causing a laceration under his eye. It healed up quickly (the guy is Superman) and he was back in the lineup a couple days later.

The biggest fright came when Bobby Witt Jr. was plugged in the left forearm by a 96 MPH Andres Munoz sinker a week later. (What’s your problem, Seattle?) He left the game immediately and, despite the alarm bells ringing on Royals Twitter, was cleared and back in action within a few days.

A Few Actual Injuries

Things aren’t perfect on the injury front, however.

Alec Marsh entered camp with shoulder soreness, putting him well behind the rest of the staff. He’s throwing again but will almost certainly start the season in Triple-A or remain in extended Spring Training.
James McArthur underwent offseason surgery to repair a fracture in his pitching elbow. His timeline is murky but the right-hander, who at one point looked like a closer-of-the-future candidate, is expected to return in the first half of the season.
Speaking of murky timelines, Kyle Wright continues rehabbing his right shoulder and, while ramping up this spring, suffered a hamstring strain that set him back another week or so.
Carlos Estevez, the new closer in town, overcame back tightness earlier in camp to appear in his first couple Spring Training games recently. He should be good to go for Opening Day.
Dairon Blanco strained his Achilles early in spring. He too returned to action and is fighting for one of the final roster spots.

A Repeat Opening Day Starter

It was never truly in doubt in my mind, but Quatraro did name Ragans the Opening Day starter. He’ll face the Guardians on March 27 at Kauffman Stadium, his second year in a row to toe the rubber as the Royals lead man.

While the surface results have been underwhelming this spring, Ragans’ stuff and velocity are as elite as ever. He hit 99.9 MPH with his four-seam fastball on March 11, which would’ve been his second-best velocity with the pitch in 2024.

A Slew of Impressive Spring Performances

Jac Caglianone is far from the only Royal putting his best foot forward in camp. A few other standouts (through Wednesday, March 19):

India immediately showed what he can provide at the top of the lineup, posting a .371/.477/.629 slash, including six walks and only three strikeouts.
However, it’s the Royals incumbent second baseman leading the team in spring hits with 14: Michael Massey. He’s slashing .389/.477/.556 with five walks and five extra-base hits.
Nick Loftin and Cavan Biggio are jockeying for position on the Royals Opening Day bench, though in my latest roster projection, I do expect both to make the team. Loftin is carrying a 1.163 OPS but, more importantly, flaunting improved batted-ball data with a 90.5 MPH average exit velocity and 47.4% hard-hit rate. Biggio isn’t hitting the ball nearly as hard, but his patient approach has led to a .444 on-base percentage thanks to eight walks.
Ho hum, Bobby Witt Jr. has 12 hits, seven for extra bases, and a 1.094 OPS.
Maikel Garcia’s surface stats won’t blow anyone away as just one of his 10 hits has gone for extra bases, but he’s smashing the baseball with a smoldering 95.8 MPH EV and 60% hard-hit rate.
Daniel Lynch is making a compelling case for the fifth starter job. While I believe Kris Bubic is line to win the role, Lynch has been one of the best pitchers in camp with 14 innings of 3.21 ERA ball, including an 11:0 K/BB ratio despite middling stuff grades.
Like a left-handed assassin, there’s nothing flashy about Angel Zerpa — he simply generates groundball outs at an elite clip, leading to seven spring innings with no runs allowed, six strikeouts and no walks.

Minor leaguers and prospects of note:

Tyler Tolbert may be buried a bit in the middle infield depth chart, but he’s making plenty of noise. After hitting just four homers across two levels last season, he’s got two this spring with a .548 slug and an eye-catching 93.1 MPH EV. Plus, he’s doing what he does best — five stolen bases.
While Caglianone steals the limelight, Gavin Cross quietly enjoyed a nice spring with a .375/.500/.625 slash and four walks in 20 plate appearances.
Noah Cameron is a polished, control-first southpaw who’s ready for his debut once his name is called. With just one walk in 10 innings this spring, the command was on full display, leading to a 3.60 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.
Like Cameron, Luinder Avila flashed his brilliance in camp but may be a bit further away — at least as a starter. His upper-90s four-seamer and sinker may pay dividends in 2025 in a relief role, evidenced by seven punchouts in six innings of spring work.
Was Frank Mozzicato in Big League camp? No. Did he find a way to attract attention anyway? Yes, and in just two innings of work in Kansas City’s prospect showcase against the Diamondbacks. The young lefty’s fastball was a lame duck in 2024, reportedly sitting in the high 80s. After averaging 92 MPH with an elite 20 inches of induced vertical break in his Spring Breakout showing, including touching 94 MPH on multiple occasions, he’s back on prospect radars for 2025.