It’s a new year!
Jaylon Thompson writes about the moves that have shaped the offseason.
The Royals are hopeful Thomas can return to those numbers. Last season, he dealt with several injuries and underwent right foot surgery in September. He is expected to be ready for spring training as the Royals head to Surprise, Arizona.
“Lane was the right guy for us,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “We have a lot of belief in his abilities. We had a chance to see it firsthand when he was with Cleveland. Little unfortunate last year with some injuries, but we know the type of player that he is. When you think about our identity with guys that understand how to handle the bat, run the bases, play defense, he checks all those boxes for us.”
MLB.com makes one prediction for each club.
Royals: Bobby Witt Jr. will be back in the 30-30 club
Witt’s numbers in 2025 might not have been as jaw-dropping as ’24, but the Royals shortstop still had a remarkable year as MLB’s hits leader, a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award winner and a fourth-place finisher in AL MVP voting. After two consecutive seasons of hitting at least 30 homers and stealing 30 bases — making him the first shortstop to ever do that — Witt hit just 23 homers in ’25 (while hitting an MLB- and career-best 47 doubles) with 38 steals. Here’s thinking that homer number will jump back up in 2026, and that Witt will remain a threat on the bases, as the 25-year-old appears more motivated than ever to get the Royals back to the postseason.
David Lesky ranks the top 25 Royals prospects.
One thing I like to do throughout the season but before I write this is check the pulse of what others think about the Royals system. The top end talent is growing, and one person I talked to said that if they hadn’t promoted Jac Caglianone, we’d be talking about the system very differently, which I find kind of interesting. Is one player that big of a difference? Maybe, I guess. But I talked with people from three different teams. One said they have the Royals as a top-12 system. One said they’re probably around 15. And another had them at 21 in their internal rankings but said that they believed it could jump to six or seven by midseason.
Nobody will ever admit it because it’s subconscious, but I do believe that certain teams get bumps for their prospects and certain teams get pushed down. The Royals have a reputation of a bad system, so their prospects have to overcome a natural bias, in my opinion. And that’s okay. Rankings don’t matter. Production matters. But I do think that as they continue to do things the right way, we’ll see that bias shift back in their favor as it was 15 years ago.
The window for the Royals to get STAR Bonds in Kansas has expired.
The LCC could reverse its decision, but so far, nothing points to show that will happen.
Soon-to-be Chair of the LCC and Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins shared a statement on Wednesday regarding the matter.
“Time’s up- as I’ve said before, today is the deadline for STAR Bond proposals. With the 2026 Legislative Session just around the corner, our focus has to stay on the priorities that matter most-lowering the cost of living and cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in the state budget. There’s a lot of work ahead and House Republicans are ready to get to work.
The Astros sign Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai to a three-year, $63 million contract.
The Giants sign pitcher Tyler Mahle to a one-year contract.
The Angels restructure the contract of veteran Anthony Rendon.
The White Sox sign outfielder Jarred Kelenic to a minor league deal.
Trade talks between the Giants and Cardinals over Brendan Donovan have stalled.
The Diamondbacks say the window for a Ketel Marte trade is closing.
The Yankees make an offer to free agent Cody Bellinger.
Will the Braves add a starting pitcher this winter?
Japanese pitcher Kona Takahashi has been posted for MLB teams, but may return to Japan.
Why baseball’s worst teams have reason for hope in 2026.
Where do things stand with the top unsigned free agents?
What will the Rays do about second base?
The College Football Playoff semifinals are set.
Netflix and Amazon Prime Video set records for NFL viewership.
Warren Buffett steps down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Social media is wrong – MTV has not been shut down, although it may as well have been.
The Stranger Things finale is divisive among fans.
Your song of the day is The Zombies with This Will Be Our Year.
Category: General Sports
