With spring training starting soon, Anne Rogers gives her Opening Day roster prediction.
Outfielders (4): Isaac Collins, Kyle Isbel, Jac Caglianone, Lane Thomas
The Royals will have a ton of outfielders in camp this spring, but it’s pretty clear that Collins will play left and Isbel will play center. Thomas will be on the team, it’ll just depend on the day as to where he’s playing. Caglianone is competing for the job in right field, but likely has the leg up given that he needs to get reps at the Major League level. Other competitors include Kameron Misner, Drew Waters, Dairon Blanco and John Rave.
Now that the NFL season is done, Craig Brown is ready for baseball and talks about WBC rosters.
I had assumed that Lugo would not be on Team Puerto Rico, due to the injury that kept him sidelined for most of the second half of 2025 and the fact that several of their key players had difficulty securing insurance, but you know what they say when you assume…
Also, I did not anticipate Michael Wacha being on Team USA. The presence of 2/5ths of the Royals starting rotation out of camp doesn’t exactly excite me. The same goes to a degree for Cerantola, a reliever who is on the 40-man roster yet is ticketed to open the year returning for an encore in Omaha. Hopefully, team federations have learned from the past how to keep pitchers in this tournament on their preseason routines so those involved can do their duty for country and then get back into action with their club.
MLB writers pick one storyline for each team heading into Spring Training.
Royals: What does the lineup look like around the core?
We know Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez and Maikel Garcia will hit somewhere between 1-4 or 2-5. Where Isaac Collins hits remains to be seen. The rest of the lineup will include some combination of second baseman Jonathan India, catcher/DH Carter Jensen and outfielders Kyle Isbel, Lane Thomas and Jac Caglianone. Nick Loftin, Tyler Tolbert, John Rave, Drew Waters and more are all competing for bench spots. How the Royals maximize their roster for better offense in 2026 will be a focus all spring.
Meg Rowley and Ben Lindbergh preview the Royals on their Effectively Wild podcast with Anne Rogers.
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It would appear the Royals can’t afford hot dogs anymore.
The beloved Dollar Dog Night, where guests can enjoy $1 hot dogs at concession stands all around Kauffman Stadium, was hosted every Tuesday home game in 2025. New in 2026, the event is only available for the first Tuesday home game of each month during the regular season.
The promotion is only available for six home games this year: April 21, May 5, June 9, July 21, Aug. 4 and Sept. 1. It’s half of the Dollar Dog Nights offered in 2025, when there were two times fans could indulge on the Ball Park Brand hot dogs each month.
Caleb Moody at Kings of Kauffman talks about the decision to retain India.
The Red Sox traded for Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin.
The Rays are signing Nick Martinez to a 1/$13M deal.
The Pirates are signing Marcell Ozuna to a 1/$12M deal.
In college basketball, KU beat previously-undefeated Arizona 82-78 last night.
Team USA mixed curling, the C(K)oreys, advances to the gold medal match.
US Figure Skater Amber Glenn is in a little hot water for her music choice.
Medals at the Olympics are breaking off their ribbons.
The OKC Thunder are being investigated for sitting 10 players against the Spurs in a nationally televised game. I watched some of this game, and the Thunder’s third-stringers nearly took down Wemby and the Spurs. I’m not sure the Thunder are the problem here.
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Off Topic: The ads for the Super Bowl sucked. The AI ones especially, but all of them in general.
Your song of the day is Mammoth with The End.