Five Cheap Free Agent Targets for the Royals

Even though Spring Training is still far away, there is a different vibe with the offseason when January comes. The beginning of the baseball season feels closer, as Jayson Stark remarked on Bluesky today.

Even though seven weeks is a long time, the "hot stove" seems to change a bit after January 1st. Players holding out for bigger deals are more willing to settle for more modest deals, including Minor League ones with invites to Spring Training. In January and early February, it is common to see more of those Minor League deals, especially for players who were on Major League contracts a season ago.

The Royals have addressed many needs this offseason: they acquired Alex Lange, Nick Mears, and Matt Strahm to boost the bullpen and Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas to improve the outfield. They also seem to be in the hunt for a bigger move, having been tied to rumors involving Boston's Jarren Duran and St. Louis' Brendan Donovan. That said, even if they aren't able to get those bigger targets via a trade, I do think the Royals will solidify their Spring Training roster a bit with some Minor League deals of players with some big-name appeal, as is the case with every team every spring.

In this post, I will highlight five targets who could come to Kansas City on Minor League deals and be candidates to make the Opening Day roster with a solid Spring Training (or provide depth in Omaha if they do not, as Harold Castro did a season ago). 

Dylan Carlson, OF

A former top prospect in the Cardinals system, Carlson has been rumored to be a Royals trade or free agent target in previous seasons. However, nothing ever came to fruition, as he played for the Rays and Orioles since leaving St. Louis.

It hasn't been a stellar career for Carlson, who has a career fWAR of 2.8 in 567 games. He earned 2.4 fWAR in 2021 with the Cardinals, his first full year at the Major League level. That season, he hit 18 home runs and posted a 111 wRC+. Unfortunately, due to injury and inconsistency, he's failed to replicate that campaign, whether in St. Louis or elsewhere. 

Carlson has his flaws: his Max EV ranked in the seventh percentile, and his hard-hit rate ranked in the 13th percentile. Thus, he doesn't have the immense "power" that scouts raved about when he was a prospect. However, he's extremely patient at the plate and even in a subpar season with the Orioles last year (74 wRC+; -0.4 fWAR in 241 plate appearances), his O-Swing% ranked in the 95th percentile at 19.2%. 

Thomas and Collins sport a similar O-Swing% profile, and it seems like the new hitting coaching team under Alec Zumwalt is prioritizing hitters who do not chase. Carlson also pulls the ball decently with a 60th percentile Pull%. Hence, one has to wonder if being back in Missouri and with lower expectations could help Carlson tap into his other categories and get back to where he was before he left the Cardinals. If healthy and re-focused, he could be a fourth outfielder who could play all three positions at the Major League level. 

Jose Leclerc, RP

Leclerc was a key reliever of the Rangers' 2023 World Series team (2.68 ERA in 57 appearances that season), but his career has been on the downswing since then.

In 2024, his final season with the Rangers, he posted a 4.32 ERA in 64 appearances. He became a free agent after 2024 and signed with the Athletics for 2025. Unfortunately, injuries limited him to 9 appearances and 10 innings pitched. In that sample, he struggled, posting a 6.00 ERA, 7.36 FIP, and 6.5% K-BB%. For context, his K-BB% was 19.8% in 2024 and 16.7% in 2023, so that decline was surprising. 

Even though the sample wasn't great, Leclerc still generated a decent chase at 29% and a strong whiff rate at 30.9%. His four-seamer and cutter also graded well last year with 105 TJ Stuff+ marks. Even his overall TJ Stuff+ of 100 wasn't bad, and his stuff could play even better with some pitch modification or repertoire consolidation (he may need to eliminate the sinker, at the very least).

New Royals assistant pitching coach Mike McFerran was in the Athletics organization last year, so he should have some familiarity with Leclerc and could help him tap into his pre-2025 skills. 

Austin Slater, OF

Slater is an interesting target as he was decent with the White Sox, despite dealing with a meniscus injury early in the season last year. In 135 plate appearances with the South Siders, he posted a 100 wRC+, five home runs, and a 0.3 fWAR. The White Sox traded him to the Yankees, and he didn't do much with the Bronx Bombers, posting a -41 wRC+ in 25 plate appearances.

The intriguing aspect of Slater's profile is that he sports good pop and batted-ball ability. His average EV ranked in the 82nd percentile, his barrel rate ranked in the 91st percentile, his hard-hit rate ranked in the 79th percentile, and his LA Sweet-Spot% ranked in the 96th percentile. He also pulled the ball well at 41.8%, which ranked in the 72nd percentile (though his Pull Air% left a bit to be desired at 11.2%). 

The primary issue with Slater is that he's a bit of a free swinger. His whiff rate ranked in the 31st percentile, and his O-Swing% ranked in the 46th percentile. That said, an aggressive approach isn't necessarily a bad thing for a fourth outfielder who can get hot for small periods of time. Slater can also play multiple positions in the outfield and is a switch-hitter, thus giving him added versatility off the bench in pinch-hit situations. He's the perfect 26th-man type that could replace a player like Nick Loftin or Tyler Tolbert, who both still have Minor League options.

Jose Urquidy, SP/RP

Urquidy shouldn't even be on this list, as the Arizona Diamondbacks initially had a deal in place with the Mexican right-hander back in mid-December. However, it seems the deal fell through right after Christmas, with no explanation for why things changed.

There are likely concerns about Urquidy's health and durability. Since 2023, he has only pitched 65.1 innings at the Major League level, and he missed all of 2024 due to recovery from Tommy John surgery. After bringing back Merrill Kelly and signing Michael Soroka, the Diamondbacks probably didn't feel like the risk with Urquidy was worth it.

In terms of a Major League deal, the Royals should avoid Urquidy. However, for a Minor League one, he becomes more intriguing. Even in his small two-inning sample last year, the stuff looked great: three pitches with grades over 50, a 102 overall TJ Stuff+, a 51.8% zone rate, a 29.6% chase rate, and 41.7% whiff rate. If he can transition that to a larger sample, Urquidy could contend for Comeback Player of the Year honors. 

Acquiring Urquidy could give the Royals some flexibility to trade away one of their current pitching assets, like Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron, Ryan Bergert, and Stephen Kolek. Even if Urquidy moves to the bullpen, he could be a nice trade candidate at the Deadline who could help them net some reinforcements, whether on the pitching, hitting, or prospect ends. 

The 30-year-old still has some upside remaining, even if the health history isn't great. Thus, he could be a nice project for Brian Sweeney and McFerran for 2026, if they can acquire him this offseason on a Minor League deal. 

Garrett Hampson, UTL

I figured a deal for Adam Frazier would've been done by now, especially since he rejuvenated the squad in the second half after coming over in a trade with Pittsburgh. Frazier is definitely a "vibes" guy who has had a positive impact on the Royals clubhouse in his 1.5 years in Kansas City. That said, no deal has been announced, which suggests Frazier is exploring options with other clubs and seeking a bigger deal. Anything beyond a one-year, $1.5 million deal feels like too much for the 34-year-old utility player.

If the Royals can't get Frazier, they could bring back another old friend: Hampson, who played for the Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and Reds last year. Now, Hampson was flat-out bad last year. With those three teams, he posted a 26 wRC+ and -0.2 fWAR in 62 games. However, he was serviceable as a utility guy off the bench with the Royals in 2024. In 113 games with Kansas City, he posted a 60 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR.

What Hampson does well is that he doesn't chase at the plate, and he is solid defensively. Last year, he still ranked in the 81st percentile in O-Swing%, 66th percentile in Whiff%, and 90th percentile in BB%. He also posted a +3 OAA last year and sported a +8 OAA with the Royals in 2024. The latter ranked in the 93rd percentile, according to Savant.

What makes Hampson so strong defensively is that he is not just adept at making outs, but he can also play multiple positions. With the Royals, he played every position but catcher (he even pitched for an inning in a blowout). There's no reason to think that he couldn't do that again with the Royals in 2026, which would give manager Matt Quatraro a valuable late-inning defensive substitution off the bench. 

It wouldn't be a popular pick, as Hampson had his share of detractors among Royals fans due to his propensity to make awful-looking errors or baserunning blunders (though he stole seven bases with the Royals and posted a +1 baserunning run mark, according to Savant). That said, for a Minor League deal, it could benefit the Royals to kick the tires on Hampson in Spring Training to see if he can channel his 2024 self once again.