Why the Kansas City Royals couldn’t land an impact bat this offseason (and what’s next)
It’s no secret that the Kansas City Royals wanted to infuse more offensive firepower into their starting lineup.
This offseason, the Royals scoured the free-agent and trade markets for a potential bat to join big hitters Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez. KC reportedly had interest free-agent outfield targets Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar, among others.
Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Meanwhile, Profar landed with the Atlanta Braves on a three-year deal worth $42 million.
The Royals eventually pivoted to improving their bullpen. On Friday, KC signed right-handed relief pitcher Carlos Estévez to a two-year deal with a club option for the 2027 season. Estévez joins a re-tooled relief unit that includes, among others, incumbents Lucas Erceg, John Schreiber and Hunter Harvey.
Royals owner John Sherman confirmed the club had pursued a top bat.
“We tried hard on some, I would say, marquee outfield bats and we are continuing to talk with some guys,” Sherman said during Saturday’s Royals Rally. “But I think it’s about what makes our team better. Estévez was a big add to our team. It made our team a lot better.”
Royals general manager J.J. Picollo shared more insight into the club’s offseason plans. He mentioned it was a little disappointing to not secure another impact bat.
“That’s probably the one area in the two years we haven’t been able to reach our goal of getting that (offensive bat),” Picollo said. “It’s a little disappointing, but we can’t force teams to make trades they don’t want to make. We were active in the free-agent market; we just weren’t able to land the guys.”
The Royals haven’t abandoned their search as spring training approaches — pitchers and catcher report Feb. 12 in Surprise, Arizona.
For now, however, club officials have shifted most of their focus to rolling with in-house options.
Elsewhere around the diamond, the Royals will give infielders Jonathan India, Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia defensive reps in the outfield this spring. Both India and Massey will get some time in left field while Garcia will spell Kyle Isbel in center field.
“That’s going to be our biggest challenge in spring training,” Picollo said of the infielders learning the outfield. “Jonathan (India) and Michael Massey both said they’re willing to play left field, which is great, but they are both infielders. So we need to see them out there in the outfield and see how they move around and figure out what is the best combination for us.”
Picollo also mentioned that he would’ve liked to add one more left-handed pitching option. But he believes there is balance on the roster and expects the Royals to shift players around to produce the best lineup each day.
“We want to get the main guys onto the field as much as we can,” he said. “We have more what we would call ‘everyday players’ right now, with the addition of India, than we did last year. So it’s going to take time to figure out all the positions, which is different for us because we always valued the defense.”
The Royals are optimistic that veteran outfielders Hunter Renfroe and MJ Melendez can return to form after each experienced a lackluster 2024 season.
Melendez made some changes in his swing mechanics, while Renfroe enters spring training healthy after dealing with a right hamstring strain last year.
How the Royals configure their lineup will be a key question for the 2025 season. The club is expected to lean on the versatility of its roster to support a pitching staff that thrived during a long-awaited return to the postseason.
“I think this is about sustaining what we did (last season) and building upon that,” Sherman said. “But that’s the hard work of incremental improvement. That’s kind of where we are today and I feel really good about it.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Why the Kansas City Royals couldn’t land an impact bat this offseason (and what’s next)."
