Royals Review Roundtable: The end

The Royals ended their 2025 season with mixed results. They finished with back-to-back winning seasons for the only time in the last 30 years other than the 2013-15 seasons. They played meaningful baseball into September, and still had a chance to make a run with two weeks to go. On the other hand they fell well short, ending five games back of a playoff spot and six games out of first.

We gathered our writers at the conclusion of the season for an autopsy of the season.

What is the single biggest reason why the Royals failed to make the post-season?

Matthew LaMar: The quick answer is that the Royals didn’t do enough to acquire a bat. The longer and more thorny answer is that the Royals are in this position because they basically bombed four consecutive drafts from 2020 through 2023. Kansas City had the fourth, seventh, ninth, and eighth overall picks in those drafts and those draftees tanked so hard they lost a huge portion of their predraft value within a year, let alone work their way to the big leagues. That’s why they needed a bat in the first place and why they didn’t have the prospect inventory to go get one. Carter Jensen could be that guy, but it’s too late for this season. 

Jeremy Greco: Lack of offense, specifically outfield offense. It was the Royals’ biggest problem heading into last offseason, and they failed to address it. They can’t make that mistake again.  

Cullen Jekel: It’s a broad reason, but it’s the offense. The offense stunk–bottom five in runs scored and home runs, while bottom ten in on-base percentage and wRC+. Jonathan India failed to set the table and the outfield at the plate no matter who was out there in this revolving door. Getting shut out five times by the score of 1-0 and 2-0 is embarrassing. A more consistent offense, and we’re having a completely different conversation.

Greg Walker: There just wasn’t enough offense as the team finished 26^th in baseball in runs scored and produced a 93 wRC+. The outfield was a particular weakness, ranking last in MLB in wRC+ (73) and fWAR (-1.1). The Royals gave 1789 plate appearances to hitters that were below replacement level — playoff teams don’t tend to give that much playing time to bad players.

Max Rieper: Offense, particularly outfield offense, no doubt. You saw how easy it was to upgrade it midseason when they picked up Adam Frazier and Mike Yastrzemski, making it more baffling that they didn’t do some small moves like that before the season to hedge their bets against MJ Melendez continuing to swing the bat poorly and Hunter Renfroe being completely washed.

What should be the highest priority this off-season, and how should the Royals address it?

Cullen Jekel: Adding another bat. I’d prefer a third baseman, but the Royals will probably continue with Maikel Garcia there, which is fine. Then I’d turn my attention to the outfield. Kyle Isbel is great in the field but continues to perform far below league-average at the plate. Landing a center fielder who can hit would certainly change the dynamic of this offense. But really, just give me a consistent bat to put anywhere in the outfield and I’d feel a lot better about the lineup.

Jeremy Greco: Yep, you guessed it. They need a true power bat in left field. Not a bargain bat, not a bounce-back bat, a real live bat that they can feel comfortable slotting in fourth or fifth in the order based on who he has been, not who he might become. Probably right-handed. The emergence of Maikel Garcia and Carter Jensen plus the promise of Cags would seem to make it so they only need the one, but they need that one BADLY. 

Alternatively, they could try adding a second baseman if they find one they like better. I’m not sure Jonathan India needs to be back, and Michael Massey seems comfortable in left as well as at second. 

Matthew LaMar: Kansas City needs to go out and spend a lot of money on a bat with some upside. It doesn’t have to be an outfielder because they need someone at second base. Bo Bichette or Cody Bellinger will be expensive, but it takes money to build a contender. It’s time. 

Max Rieper: A real solution in left field. A lineup with Bobby, Maikel, Vinnie, Salvy, with some production from Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone, plus a good left fielder could be sneaky good. But I don’t know what the move is – this year’s outfield free agent class isn’t great.

Greg Walker: The highest priority this offseason is the same as it should have been last offseason: augment the lineup, ideally with an outfielder or two. The Royals entered 2025 with Plan A being MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe in the outfield corners. This went predictably poorly. There aren’t any impact outfield prospects in the system that are likely to help the team in 2026, so they will need to be active this offseason to bring more thump to the lineup.

What do you make of Jac Caglianone’s first season?

Max Rieper: I’m not panicking, but he did just have one of the worst debut seasons by a first-year outfielder since World War II. What is confounding is that his strikeout rate is actually pretty good, he’s just hitting too many ground balls. I think he’ll see more of those ground balls get through next year, but he could perhaps benefit from some refinement to his batting stance.

Matthew LaMar: I was initially not worried about Jac, but since coming back from his oblique injury and looking just about as bad as he did before, I am officially worried. Not so much about Jac, but about the Royals’ ability to work out his issues. It’s hard to think that someone like him would be struggling like this with another organization with a better track record of hitting development.

Jeremy Greco: The talent is clearly there, but he appears to lack the ability to stick to his guns when he does everything right and it doesn’t work. I have complete faith that he will be able to figure it out, but the current hitting coaching staff seems unable to get through to him. Whether it’s new Royals coaches or working with an outside coach during the offseason, he needs a new voice in his ear. 

Cullen Jekel: Unfortunate. He clearly couldn’t handle the pressure of the Majors into which he was unfairly thrust because (a) the Royals front office failed to address the outfield last offseason, and (b) Cags tore up the minors. He should’ve been kept in the minors. I’m worried about his confidence as his body language is so poor. After he returned from the IL late in the season, he seemed to have better at-bats, working the counts better and drawing some walks. Hopefully, the underlying numbers aren’t lying and the power pops in 2026.

Greg Walker: He was one of the worst players in baseball, struggling offensively to a 46 wRC+ while looking like a first baseman attempting to learn the outfield in right. I thought his hyper-aggressive approach could give him problems against big league pitching and that turned out to be true as Caglianone frequently got himself out by swinging at pitches he would have been better off spitting on. At the same time, he was weirdly passive against pitches in the zone. It is distressing that he played as poorly as he did this season, but I think some tweaks to his approach can get him back on track. Long story short, I’m not overly concerned about Caglianone and still believe he can be an excellent big league hitter for the Royals.

Predict one off-season move for the Royals this off-season.

Matthew LaMar:  The Royals will retain the services of Adam Frazier or Mike Yastrzemski. Maybe both. Now, I’m not sure how much I like retaining the services of one or two outfielders who are at minimum in their age-34 season, but that seems pretty likely.

Jeremy Greco: I’ll give you two. Adam Frazier comes back on a one-year deal. Kyle Isbel gets traded as part of the package to get that power bat. 

Cullen Jekel: We’re finally going to get that Vinnie Pasquantino extension.

Greg Walker: They will try something similar to last winter’s Brady Singer-Jonathan India swap, trading one of Kris Bubic or Cole Ragans to bring in another bat.

Max Rieper: I think they’ll largely run it back, bringing back Yaz to play left and platooning him with someone like free agent Rob Refsnyder. I’d also expect a contract extension, probably for Maikel Garcia.

Who are you rooting for in the post-season? Who do you predict wins it all?

Greg Walker: San Diego, but they are cursed and good things don’t happen in the world, so the Dodgers will win another title.

Matthew LaMar:  I am rooting for the Seattle Mariners. Predicting who will win it all in the World Series is a fool’s errand, but this certainly feels like the kind of year where the Yankees ruin a few teams en route to another championship. Aaron Judge can’t slumber in the playoffs forever–right?

Jeremy Greco: It’s gotta be the Mariners. They’ve never even made it to the World Series, much less won it. Cal Raleigh is such a fun guy to root for, too. I’m hoping they beat the Padres to bring home their first championship. 

Cullen Jekel: I’ll be rooting for the Brewers. I like a lot of their players, including their young center fielder Jackson Chourio, who’s just an exciting player to watch. Christian Yelich looks like he’s finally fully bounced back after years of injuries. I’ve been a fan of their manager, Pat Murphy, since he coached in college. A neat story to watch him jump to the pros and succeed as he has. Plus, it would be nearly perfect if they won in honor of Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker, who passed away in January. As far as my prediction, though, before the season started, I tabbed the Red Sox to win it all. No point in changing that now.

Max Rieper: The Brewers and Mariners seem to have some “team of destiny” mojo going for them, and I’d love to see them make runs. I think the title is up for grabs more than it has been in years – no Astros, and the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers are all pretty flawed. Should be a fun post-season!