Kansas City Royals news: Honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic mentions the Royals in his latest report. [$]

The Kansas City Royals are increasingly unlikely to land either of the two hitters they pursued in trades: the St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Duran.

Barring further moves, the Royals expect to rely heavily on offseason acquisitions Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas in their outfield, as well as rookie Jac Caglianone and holdover Kyle Isbel.

Though the Royals’ outfield production might remain below average, their infield of Vinnie Pasquantino, Jonathan India, Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia should again be one of the most productive in baseball, particularly if India bounces back.

Craig Brown reacts to that report.

While the work General Manager JJ Picollo has done to upgrade his outfield has been more inspiring this offseason than last, it still feels as if the additions are falling a bit short of expectations, especially on a team with a better than average starting rotation and one of the elite superstars in the game on the roster in Bobby Witt Jr. People may not like to talk about windows of competitiveness, but when Witt is anchoring your ballclub and you’ve assembled a quality pitching staff on the back of fantastic coaching, that window is open and needs to be taken advantage of.

Last year, I gave Picollo the benefit of the doubt when given the explanation as to why the Royals weren’t able to find suitable outfield upgrades. The free agent class wasn’t the greatest and if there aren’t willing trade partners, then there’s not much he can do.

But to strike out two years in a row, if that is indeed what happens, isn’t a good look.

Preston Farr writes about how it all goes right for the Royals in 2026.

In May 2025, India was spiked on his knee by Willson Contreras. A month later, he suffered a shoulder injury making a diving play. Finally, in September, India landed on the injured list with a wrist injury. That shoulder injury is where we should focus the most, as it seemed to have a clear impact the remainder of India’s season. Take the below splits into account:

3/27/2025-6/12/2025: .252/.336/.340, 88.9 EV, 83.7% Contact%, 41.4% Swing%, 19.8% LD%

6/14/2025-9/30/2025: .219/.315/.355, 86.9 EV, 81.2% Contact%, 38.9% Swing%, 13.9% LD%

India was a completely different hitter after the shoulder injury. He didn’t miss any real time or land on the injured list, but it begs the question: was India hampered by the shoulder injury for much of 2025? The Royals are banking on a bounceback from India in 2026 and they’ll need it to find any value at second base. Perhaps playing fewer positions and getting back to the basics will help.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep looks at whether Michael Massey can improve in 2026.

Former Royals pitcher Jakob Junis signs with the Rangers on a one-year, $4 million deal.

Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim is out 5-6 months with a finger injury.

Who are the best fits for Framber Valdez?

The Red Sox are looking to upgrade their catching situation.

Justin Verlander is drawing interest from multiple clubs.

Elly de la Cruz turned down the largest contract in Reds history.

What’s next for the Blue Jays after missing out on Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette?

The Reds are getting calls about their starting pitchers.

Michael Lorenzen is ready to be a problem solver at Coors Field.

The Cardinals say they have room to add a right-handed-hitting outfielder,

Former All-Star reliever Ryan Pressly retires.