I’m of two minds about the Royals as spring training begins. On one hand, they look like a clear playoff contender. I love the run prevention across the board, though the depth behind the pitchers likely to be on the Opening Day roster means some health luck will be needed. The other mind is that I’m just not sold on the idea that Kansas City’s offseason moves made it any better.
I liked the additions of Matt Strahm and Alex Lange to what looks like a fully stocked bullpen. But I’m not sold on the offense being markedly different with Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas on board and Jonathan India coming back.
This puts a lot of pressure on Jac Caglianone to make significant improvement, which he is certainly capable of doing. Having Carter Jensen around for a full season will also help. Neither of those situations is related to offseason transactions. Ultimately, I fear that too much has been pinned on the effects of moving in the fences at the K. It will help hitters and hurt pitchers — that’s just physics. But the key is whether those effects shake out in the Royals’ favor. Of that, I will believe it when I see it, so Royals fans have to hope that the math behind this bold decision proves to be spot-on.