{"id":508500,"date":"2026-01-06T21:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T21:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/508500\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T21:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T21:04:18","slug":"how-the-royals-offseason-grades-out-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/508500\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Royals&#8217; Offseason Grades Out So Far"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/roundtable.io\/sports\/mlb\/royals\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kansas City Royals<\/a> entered the MLB offseason determined<br \/>\nto raise the floor of their roster, particularly in the outfield and bullpen.<br \/>\nGeneral manager J.J. Picollo began making moves that generated headlines after<br \/>\nthe winter meetings, though the impact remains more incremental than<br \/>\ntransformative.<\/p>\n<p>The Royals\u2019 biggest additions came in the outfield,<br \/>\nacquiring Isaac Collins from the Milwaukee Brewers and signing Lane Thomas in<br \/>\nfree agency. Collins, a switch hitter with strong on-base skills, brings<br \/>\nversatility and could slot near the top of the lineup. <\/p>\n<p>Thomas arrives as a<br \/>\nbounce-back candidate after injuries limited his consistency, and he is looking<br \/>\nto prove his worth as an offensive contributor following a .160 batting average<br \/>\nlast season. These moves improve depth and production, but neither player represents<br \/>\nthe kind of bat who can truly protect superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.<\/p>\n<p>Kansas City also acted quickly to bolster relief depth,<br \/>\nadding Alex Lange, Nick Mears and the notable addition of Matt Strahm. Strahm<br \/>\nreunites with the Royals after posting a 2.74 ERA in 66 games for the<br \/>\nPhiladelphia Phillies last year. Together, they strengthen an already accomplished<br \/>\nbullpen, fulfilling Picollo\u2019s goal of addressing its depth.<\/p>\n<p>The Royals have not subtracted from their starting pitching<br \/>\ngroup, keeping Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron despite trade rumors.<br \/>\nHowever, they have yet to add a frontline starter, leaving the rotation reliant<br \/>\non internal growth. Mason Black, acquired from the San Francisco Giants, offers<br \/>\ndepth but not immediate impact. Without a proven ace, the staff remains a<br \/>\nquestion mark, especially if Ragans endures another injury-riddled season.<\/p>\n<p>The highlight of the offseason was signing third baseman<br \/>\nMaikel Garcia to a five-year, $57.5 million extension. Garcia hit .286 with 16<br \/>\nhome runs and earned Gold Glove honors in 2025, solidifying himself as a<br \/>\ncornerstone alongside Witt. Locking him in long-term ensures stability on the<br \/>\nleft side of the infield and gives the Royals a homegrown tandem to build<br \/>\naround. The deal is also cost-effective given Garcia\u2019s production both<br \/>\ndefensively and at the plate.<\/p>\n<p>Picollo\u2019s approach has been strategic, improving in the<br \/>\nmargins without sacrificing pitching depth. The Royals addressed their outfield<br \/>\nand bullpen, but the lack of a major offensive addition leaves Witt without the<br \/>\nsupport he needs. Kansas City could make more moves ahead of spring training,<br \/>\nbut for now, the offseason feels modest. Extending Garcia was a smart,<br \/>\nstabilizing move, yet the rest of the offseason leaves the Royals short of the<br \/>\nimpact talent required to return to the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>Final Grade: C<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kansas City Royals entered the MLB offseason determined to raise the floor of their roster, particularly in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508501,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2387],"tags":[5,936,2123,55,2596,2595,4,252],"class_list":{"0":"post-508500","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kansas-city-royals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-kansas","10":"tag-kansas-city","11":"tag-kansas-city-royals","12":"tag-kansascity","13":"tag-kansascityroyals","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-royals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115850187042163056","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}