Kansas City Royals 2026 Position Analysis: First Base

As baseball settled in for the winter following the 2021 season, the Kansas City Royals appeared close to a long-term solution to the first base uncertainty created by Eric Hosmer’s departure to San Diego after the 2017 campaign. Nick Pratto, swooped up by the Royals with their first pick of the ’17 draft, had just stunned everyone with a sizzling 36-homer, 98-RBI, 153 wRC+, .268/.385/.602 minor league performance, and Carlos Santana, preparing to play out his short-term contract, was a sure bet to be dealt no later than the 2022 trade deadline.

It seemed Pratto was KC’s first baseman of the future, and 2022 would be the year the Royals could finally rest easier at first base.

The former notion disproved itself; the latter turned out to be true. Pratto began the 2022 campaign at Triple-A Omaha, immediately fell into an ugly slump, and his Storm Chasers teammate Vinnie Pasquantino jumped onto Kansas City’s roster ahead of him when the club traded Santana to Seattle in June.

And Pasquantino hasn’t taken a single step back. His hold on first base is so strong that the Royals recently rewarded him with a new two-year contract that will pay him at least $11 million. And on the strength of the 70 homers he’s hit, the 262 runs he’s driven in, and the serviceable (but not spectacular) defense he’s displayed since KC entrusted him with the first base bag, the position is his for the 2026 season… and probably well beyond that.

Royals Catchers At A Glance

Starter: Vinnie Pasquantino
Backup: Salvador Perez
Depth: Nick Loftin, Jac Caglianone
Prospects: Brett Squires

The Good

The Royals are loaded at first. Pasquantino’s bat is big and getting bigger — despite missing the last month of the 2024 regular season with a fractured thumb, he finished with 19 homers and 97 RBI, then hammered 32 homers and drove in 113 runs last season. And the thought of him playing all 162 of his club’s games this year isn’t far-fetched. After injuries so disrupted each of his first three big league seasons, he appeared in all but two games last year and avoided the Injured List altogether.

More likely, however, is that manager Matt Quatraro will afford his star first baseman some rest in the form of a handful of days off supplemented by a healthy dose of turns at designated hitter (he DH’d 34 times in 2025).

Who, though, plays first when his skipper gives Pasquantino time off? Expect Perez, coming off a productive season of his own (30 homers, 100 RBI), to be Quatraro’s prime choice and spend even more time at first than he did in 2025, when he appeared there 30 times. That will also give Perez valuable respite from the demanding rigors of catching.

Nick Loftin, who may or may not make the club’s Opening Day roster, also has major and minor-league experience at first, and Jac Caglianone played 10 games there last season and has a dozen Cactus League games at first this spring.

A first base prospect to keep an eye on is Brett Squires, who, through Tuesday’s Cactus League action, was hitting .267 with an .800 SLG, 1.094 OPS, and two homers, two doubles, and seven RBI in 12 games. He’s moved up a level in each of his first three seasons in the minors and should begin this year at Triple-A Omaha.

The Bad

All things considered, not much about their first base situation should give the Royals pause. Only if Pasquantino and Perez suffer major injuries at the same time will the club be in any trouble at first … and if in such a disastrous situation Loftin and Caglianone aren’t hitting, KC might have to make a trade they'd prefer not to make.

The Bottom Line

After trying and failing to replace Hosmer with such candidates as Lucas Duda (twice), Ryan O'Hearn (before he flourished after leaving Kansas City), Hunter Dozier, and Santana, who was a temporary fix only, the Royals have found their solution in Vinnie Pasquantino.

First base is his, and that’s a good thing.

Previous Installments:

• Second Base Position Analysis
• Catcher Position Analysis

Which team do you dislike the most in the AL Central?

Which team do you dislike the most in the AL Central?

• Which team do you dislike the most in the AL Central? Required
  • Guardians
  • Tigers
  • Twins
  • White Sox
• Save

See All Royals Polls >