Then, there’s the fact that after he was demoted to Triple-A back in early in June, Kansas City didn’t feel the need to bring him back, even as a speed threat. It didn’t help the fact that he only managed a 94 wRC+ in Omaha this season.
With Tyler Tolbert providing that speed threat off the bench this season while being more positionally versatile than Blanco, the bench seems to be evolving beyond the aging 32-year-old.
Whether he spends the year in the minors again, is traded or non-tendered now that he’s in his arbitration years, it seems less likely that Blanco will don Royal blue in 2026.