Kansas City Royals believe they’ve raised their floor. Here’s what that means
Kansas City Royals general manager J.J. Picollo referred to the holiday season — which encompasses the short stint of Christmas to New Year’s Day — as a quiet time within MLB circles.
There isn’t significant news most years. Many teams use the period to further evaluate rosters as the calendar flips to January.
The same can be said for this offseason. Top free agents Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Cody Bellinger and Bo Bichette are still available. Teams are still interested in prime trade targets such as Jarren Duran and Brendan Donovan.
It’s a calm period for the Royals. Picollo did his work early by acquiring Isaac Collins, Lane Thomas, Nick Mears and Matt Strahm this offseason. The Royals also signed Salvador Perez and Maikel Garcia to contract extensions.
That said ... it doesn’t mean the Royals are done. They are content with their roster — which has a raised floor — but are still open to making a last-minute move.
In layman’s terms: The Royals are window shopping.
“There’s still been ongoing conversations about acquisitions of players,” Picollo told reporters via Zoom on Monday. “But as we said, I think after our last trade, you know, we are in a position where we will continue to make our team better. I don’t know what shape or size or form that will come in or what position that’ll be. But you know, there’s going to be activity through the months of January and February. So we are just going to stay on top of it.”
The Royals can afford to take a wait-and-see approach late in the offseason. The club already addressed its outfield needs and added veteran depth in the bullpen. The Royals, notably, didn’t trade from their surplus of starting pitching.
It’s likely the top free agents will sign in the upcoming weeks. However, the Royals could be interested in adding a veteran utility player at the right price.
On the trade front, the Royals are linked to both Duran and Donovan. Both have a high asking price, which could make a deal unlikely.
Still, Picollo remains content with the current roster.
“We are in a better spot than when we ended the season,” Picollo said. “We managed to keep all of our pitching so far. That’s a great thing, as always, you want pitching. We will see what January and February brings. A long time until opening day. We’ve got three full months until opening day, so we will see what can happen. But I can tell you that we will continue to look to make the team better.”
If the Royals don’t make another move, they will enter spring training with a deeper roster overall. There was a concerted effort to acquire offensive firepower in the outfield and the club believes both Collins and Thomas fit the bill.
Collins is an on-base maestro and finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2025. He posted a .368 on-base percentage while producing 98 hits and 57 walks in 372 plate appearances.
Expect Collins to be the full-time left fielder in 2026. As for Thomas, he can be considered a prime rebound candidate. He dealt with injuries last season but is a power and speed threat when healthy.
In 2023, Thomas posted a 20-20 season with the Washington Nationals. He has hit 15 or more homers in three of his last four seasons.
Both additions lengthen the Royals lineup. They also raised the offensive floor and could mitigate prolonged stretches of inefficient production.
“We do like the moves that we made thus far,” Picollo said. “We think we raised the floor of our team and we think we’re going to mature as a team. And you know, we got a couple young bats that we are counting on as well that could really impact how this season goes.”
The Royals will count on young standouts Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone to take a significant step forward. They are expected to provide support for the nucleus of Perez, Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino and Bobby Witt Jr.
In the bullpen, the Royals added Strahm and Alex Lange as key veterans. They will work alongside Carlos Estévez, Lucas Erceg and others.
The Royals look to contend in the American League Central. They fell just short last season but hope to win the division in 2026. The new additions give the Royals a revamped roster and better outlook heading into spring training.
“It’s definitely an exciting time,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said after agreeing to a new three-year contract extension. “I think we’ve done some fun things this offseason to put ourselves in a really good position to be a really good team.”
