Eric Hosmer is coming home.

The Royals announced Friday that Hosmer will join the team’s broadcast crew as an analyst for Royals.TV this season, returning to Kansas City nine years after leaving in free agency. He’s the second new addition to the Royals broadcast team for 2026, along with Bridget Howard, who made history earlier this week as the first woman to appear on Royals regular broadcasts in franchise history.

New kid in the booth‼️

We’re excited to introduce the newest member of the @kcroyalstv crew, Eric Hosmer!

Read more: https://t.co/0iPk412GDa https://t.co/NdfKoXstTL pic.twitter.com/5pS3tTPhMX

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) March 6, 2026

“Hoz is a Royals legend and World Champion who connected with our fans on and off the field, and we’re honored to have him back,” Royals president of baseball operations and general manager J.J. Picollo said in a news release.

Hosmer spent seven seasons with Kansas City from 2011-17, helping lead the franchise to back-to-back American League pennants in 2014 and 2015 and the team’s second World Series championship in ’15. He departed Kansas City in 2018 after signing an eight-year, $144 million pact with the Padres, finishing his career with stints in San Diego, Boston, and Chicago.

“Our 2014 and 2015 run wasn’t just a championship, but a city finding out what it was capable of,” Hosmer said. “My teammates and I were lucky to be on that field, but the energy came from the stands with fans buying in. That bond with this city doesn’t expire.”

Hosmer will join a broadcast booth that ranked No. 21 in Awful Announcing’s local MLB announcer rankings last season. The crew remains largely unchanged from 2025. Ryan Lefebvre and Jake Eisenberg split play-by-play duties. Rex Hudler and Jeremy Guthrie — a former pitcher who spent five seasons with the Royals from 2012-16 — serve as analysts. Joel Goldberg and Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery will continue hosting pre- and postgame shows.

The addition of Hosmer and Howard comes as the Royals overhaul their local broadcast setup after joining MLB’s media arm. Kansas City was one of nine teams that terminated contracts with FanDuel Sports Network in January after a proposed sale to DAZN collapsed. Six of those teams, including the Royals, announced within days they would move under the league’s control, with MLB taking over production and distribution responsibilities for their local games.

The Royals had extended their media rights agreement with FanDuel Sports Network as recently as November 2025, but that deal became void when Main Street Sports Group — owner of the FanDuel-branded regional sports channels — faced Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Royals joined the Brewers, Marlins, Rays, Cardinals, and Reds in moving to MLB’s production system rather than exploring independent options, like the Braves, Angels, and Tigers, who launched their own networks.

Howard, who is 27 and the daughter of former Royals infielder David Howard, brings extensive experience despite her age. After graduating from Kansas State, she worked for the Mountain West Conference as a studio host, sideline reporter, and color commentator for nearly five years. She most recently worked at TNT Sports, where she served as a sideline reporter for college football and basketball games covering the Mountain West and Big 12. She’s also done sideline reporting for Unrivaled women’s basketball and play-by-play work for the National Women’s Soccer League and select NCAA conference championships.

Hosmer has been in sports media since announcing his retirement in 2024, which coincided with the debut of his podcast, Diggin’ Deep, under the banner of his MoonBall Media production company. The podcast he co-hosts alongside Mike Moustakas and Peter Moylan last aired an episode on Sept. 9, 2025. There have been no updates on the podcast’s future or whether it will return for the 2026 season.

What we do know, though, is that Hosmer is returning to Kansas City, where his baseball career began.

“I was 18 years old when this organization believed in me, and now I get to repay that belief from a different seat,” Hosmer said. “The guys on this roster are building their own story, and we all know what happens when this city believes. I want to be here when that energy comes back around.”