The Main Breakdowns The Royals’ Offense Failed To Fix

[Yirsandy Rodríguez]

Image courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals’ offense, even with what they have, could have been better. It is clear that they need their main players to be healthy and to add power to the lineup. However, I have felt throughout the year that the Royals have been close to changing many games, but they have not been able to achieve enough consistency in key moments.

So there are many things to discuss about the team’s main offensive breakdowns, but before that, I want to bring you this challenge. Below, I selected a Royals team from one of the last 15 seasons and compiled some interesting combined records for its players, such as the number of hitters with 15 or more home runs, 100 or more strikeouts, and 15 or more stolen bases. I will be comparing them with this 2026 team, so you will have to guess which team option A and B are.

Year	Lg	W	L	Finish	R/G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Rank
2026	AL Central	68	90	5	10	10	5	1	8	11	4	8	10	13	4	7	9	9	7.8
2015	AL Central	95	67	1	6	6	2	3	4	14	2	8	15	15	2	7	8	7	7.1

As you can see, Team A has a better average in these rankings that I chose, and if you still have doubts, yes, it is this year’s team. Now, what will probably surprise you is that Team B is the 2015 team that finished by winning the division and then the World Series against the New York Mets. Of course, these are only some combined offensive numbers, but they have not been that far apart in the impact both had within the league in their respective years.

TEAM	1.0+ bWAR	15+ HR	20 HR+	15+ SB	100+ H	50+ R	100+ K	10+ GDP	Rank
A	9	5	2	2	6	4	5	3	27
B	9	5	3	3	6	6	2	7	32

If there is one thing both teams have stood out in, it is their ability to make contact. The 2015 Royals were the second team in Contact% in 2015, and this year’s team appears in second place, behind the Tampa Bay Rays. So this 2026 version is not as far off as perhaps one might think and, as the rankings in each statistic show, the biggest difference has been in the ability to score runs. The 2015 team was sixth, and that small difference between 4.47 and 4.25 runs scored per game was enough to get better results with the complement of pitching and defense.

That is why I still believe that, in a certain way, the Royals can be much better with what they have if they can focus better on run production and, above all, get their main hitters to lead the team in the situations that define games.

Here is an important part of the assignments that remained unfinished for the Royals’ offense and became the biggest breakdowns throughout the season.

Late & Close and Tie Game

Player	sOPS+	PA	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip
Nick Loftin	158	74	3	12	10	10	.270	.370	.540	.910	.280
Michael Massey	157	68	3	10	2	11	.354	.368	.538	.906	.385
Bobby Witt Jr.	142	97	3	14	16	20	.291	.412	.430	.843	.351
Salvador Perez	116	90	4	16	6	16	.253	.303	.458	.761	.270
Jac Caglianone	103	75	2	10	6	24	.261	.320	.391	.711	.372
John Rave	98	27	1	5	2	8	.240	.296	.400	.696	.313
Vinnie Pasquantino	97	73	3	13	3	17	.242	.260	.439	.700	.260
Lane Thomas	86	58	1	8	9	15	.213	.345	.298	.643	.281
Carter Jensen	84	91	4	13	11	32	.179	.286	.359	.645	.233
Kyle Isbel	51	61	1	5	0	20	.214	.228	.304	.532	.314
Isaac Collins	40	99	2	6	12	28	.136	.260	.222	.483	.173
Maikel Garcia	29	55	0	6	6	11	.167	.255	.188	.442	.211
Josh Rojas	23	15	0	3	0	4	.214	.214	.214	.429	.300
Starling Marte	-23	31	0	0	2	6	.103	.161	.103	.265	.130
Tyler Tolbert	-23	17	0	0	2	6	.071	.188	.071	.259	.125

These were two of the situations in which Kansas City let the most opportunities to change the story of games slip away. In Late & Close situations, the Royals have recorded the second-worst OBP in all of the Majors at .299, and the fourth-lowest OPS+ in the American League. In those situations at the end of games, on-base percentage is just as important as hitting a key hit, since it allows the team to keep pressuring the opponent and gets closer to the possibility of putting together a rally. The Royals did not accomplish it throughout the year, despite hitters who are somewhat undervalued, such as Nick Loftin and Michael Massey, leading the lineup with the highest adjusted OPS figures. Instead, key hitters such as Vinnie Pasquantino and Carter Jensen fell below expectations.

If you look further down the table, Kyle Isbel and Isaac Collins appear with a combined OPS of 45. They were usually at the bottom of the lineup more regularly than other hitters, and they have been some of the easiest outs in the entire league in that situation. The low production in Late & Close also combines with the second-lowest on-base percentage in the Majors when the game is tied.

Player	sOPS+	BAbip	PA	HR	RBI%
Lane Thomas	162	.380	86	5	19.8%
John Rave	103	.300	34	1	14.7%
Salvador Perez	95	.288	165	5	14.5%
Josh Rojas	93	.364	26	0	11.5%
Michael Massey	85	.300	97	3	10.3%
Bobby Witt Jr.	111	.298	199	7	10.1%
Carter Jensen	82	.236	173	8	9.2%
Vinnie Pasquantino	105	.287	136	3	8.8%
Isaac Collins	94	.297	104	1	8.7%
Nick Loftin	85	.243	104	2	8.7%
Jac Caglianone	75	.267	135	4	7.4%
Starling Marte	30	.286	32	0	6.3%
Maikel Garcia	102	.305	107	2	4.7%
Tyler Tolbert	153	.333	23	1	4.3%
Kyle Isbel	40	.256	64	1	3.1%
Matthew Lugo	14	.200	8	0	0.0%
Jonathan India	-5	.125	13	0	0.0%
Andrew Velazquez	-6	.200	6	0	0.0%
Elias Díaz	-100	.000	4	0	0.0%
Luke Maile	-100	.000	4	0	0.0%
Kameron Misner	-100	.000	4	0	0.0%

In this situation, Lane Thomas was the most productive hitter before being traded at the trade deadline to the Atlanta Braves. Pasquantino’s drop in RBI% also stands out, as do Jensen and Jac Caglianone in OPS+, who are part of the power core Kansas City needs in decisive moments. Once again, Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. remain steady, Massey is close to average in OPS and has one of the best RBI%, while John Rave’s timely hitting is also surprising.

The Lost Value of Taking an Extra Base

If we had to evaluate the Royals’ baserunning by their +5 Baserunning Runs, with +1 through extra bases taken and +4 through stolen bases, then we would come to the conclusion that they have been able to take advantage often in baserunning after a defensive lapse. However, the story here goes beyond that and reflects two different points: Kansas City has had success stealing bases, but not trying to take extra bases when the ball is put in play, which are two very different situations.

In that regard, the Royals have let many opportunities to score runs slip away this year, despite accumulating 634 total advancement attempts, the highest figure in MLB. They have not been able to take advantage of those big opportunities with inefficient decisions. The team has recorded -15 runs from runners being thrown out while trying to advance and another -15 from opportunities in which they did not advance when they could have, two of the most negative figures in the Major Leagues in those categories.

By not being able to take extra bases, a large number of opportunities to produce runs are lost throughout games, even with the possibility of taking advantage of outs that could have been productive.

Each of these points was especially key in the 47 losses the Royals have suffered this year by two or fewer runs, including the three shutouts they have suffered. There have been an incredible number of games that slipped away at the end, with the 10 walk-off losses standing out so far, seven of them in the first half of the season, and the same number in the ninth inning.

Kansas City has averaged 4.25 runs per game, but the slim gap between 4.25 and 5.00 has made a notable difference in their results, as the team has a 45-18 record when they score at least five runs. Heading into 2027, it is clear that the Royals need to rethink many aspects, but one of the most important will be working to get more quality at-bats when every situation that can change the game arises.

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