The Royals currently have a full 40-man roster. Here are some of the decisions they will need to make in the next few months.

Players to be activated from the 60-day Injured List

Players currently on the 60-day Injured List do not count against the 40-man roster limit. But at the conclusion of the World Series, those players must be activated and placed on the 40-man roster. For the Royals, those players are:

These players will immediately become free agents after the conclusion of the World Series. There is an exclusive five-day negotiating window that teams can use to re-sign players. The Royals used that period last year to re-sign Michael Wacha. Royals free agents include:

Randal Grichuk has a $5 million mutual option for 2026 with a $3 million buyout that the Royals are responsible for. Mutual options are rarely exercised by both parties, but the difference in amount between salary and buyout is so small that it is possible the Royals bring back Grichuk.

Michael Lorenzen has a $12 million mutual option with a $1.5 million buyout. Lorenzen will likely become a free agent that the Royals could choose to re-sign.

Salvador Perez has a $13.5 million club option that the Royals will exercise, bringing the captain back for his 15th season.

Players to be tendered or non-tendered

These players are eligible for arbitration, which can increase their salary significantly based on service time and performance. The Royals can tender them a contract and work out a deal, or head to arbitration if the two sides cannot come to an agreement. Or the Royals can non-tender them, making the player a free agent. Here are the players eligible for arbitration:

Players to be added to the 40-man roster

These are the players that would need to be added to the 40-man roster or risk being selected in the Rule 5 draft in December. Players are eligible if they are not on a 40-man roster and turned professional at age 18 or younger in 2021 or at age 19 or older in 2022.

The Royals could create more 40-man roster space by designating players for assignment, which would expose them to waivers. If they go unclaimed, the Royals could still try to keep them in the organization by signing them as a minor league free agent. These players could be on the 40-man roster bubble.