My Royals Offseason Blueprint: Taylor & Grisham In The Outfield, Pivetta In The Rotation, Fix The Bullpen

Royals general manager J.J. Picollo has a difficult job this season. Even though the Royals finished with 93 losses and last place in the American League Central, reports indicate that the organization intends to compete for a playoff spot. There will need to be many changes to the roster in order for that goal to become attainable. 

Using our Offseason Blueprint tool, I've sketched out what I think would be the ideal Royals offseason. These changes will focus on areas the Royals will need to prioritize if they truly intend to compete in 2027.

Needed Upgrades In The Outfield

The positions most in need of offensive upgrades this offseason are left and center field. Isaac Collins and Kyle Isbel finished the season with wRC+ of 83 and 61, respectively. Run creation was simply not happening at the bottom of the order. I've already discussed several options available to the Royals in free agency. The two players I have chosen from that list are Tyrone Taylor and Trent Grisham.

Grisham had a down year after accepting a qualifying offer to remain with the Yankees in 2026. Even in a down year, his 98 wRC+ would offer an improvement over Collins and Isbel. With an estimated $12 million annual salary, I could see the Royals giving him a chance to recoup his value and help lead the Royals to winning baseball. Grisham is only one year removed from slashing .211/.348/.464 with a 128 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR. His defensive ability has regressed over the past couple of seasons, so a move to left field could help mitigate his decline in range.

Taylor has spent most of his career as a fourth outfielder, but he is capable of playing all three outfield positions. He is coming off a career-best season with a slash line of .279/.325/.502 with a 127 wRC+ and 1.5 fWAR. His lack of starting experience makes Taylor more affordable with a projected annual salary of $7 million, which is likely well within the Royals’ budget.

Taylor’s flexibility in the outfield could allow the Royals to get creative with lineups depending on matchups. Taylor bats right-handed, and Grisham bats left-handed, and both have experience in center field, so either could pair with switch-hitting Collins in left field if the Royals ever want to experiment with platooning. However, the ideal scenario would be to have Taylor in center and Grisham in left. To make room for both additions, the Royals would need to part ways with Isbel by trade or not tendering him a contract in his last year before being eligible for free agency.

Rotation Decisions

With only four healthy starters at the end of last season, adding at least one starter should be a priority. The starter I have chosen is Nick Pivetta. Pivetta is in the second tier of available starters behind the marquee signings that are certainly out of the Royals’ price range. He is expected to command an annual salary of around $21 million, which is very similar to what they’re paying for Lugo. 

Pivetta is coming off a season where he spent time on the injured list, but when he was available, his pitching was excellent. In 34 ⅔ innings, he posted a 2.86 ERA and 2.21 FIP with 1.3 fWAR. His TJStats Stuff+ of 105 would be the highest among the other four starters in the rotation. 

Ideally, they would look to add a second starter, but I struggled to find room in the budget for two. It will be risky relying on aging starters like Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, but the Royals should have other options available if needed. They already accepted the club option for Tony Gonsolin, and Ryan Berget is expected to return from injury in the spring. Cole Ragans could also be available in the summer (more on him later). The Royals would need to monitor the starting pitching market and potentially look to trade for another starter if relying on Gonsolin and Berget does not pan out.

Trading For A Closer

The Royals lack a player who can anchor the bullpen, so I have them trading for Trevor Megill from the Brewers. It is no secret that the Brewers make a habit of trading players before they hit free agency, and winning the World Series likely won’t change that. In the trade, the Royals would likely send away relief pitchers with multiple years of control. Pitchers like Beck Way, Mitch Spence, and James McArthur all have experience at the major-league level and are still in pre-arbitration. 

Megill would be an instant upgrade to the Royals’ bullpen. He posted a 2.63 ERA with a 1.85 FIP last season, good for a 2.5 fWAR and 30 saves. His strikeout rate was 28.5% (87th percentile), and his walk rate was 6.2% (88th percentile). For comparison, no Royals reliever earned more than 0.8 fWAR as a reliever in 2026, and the highest strikeout rate was 25.9% from Eric Cerantola but only in five innings of work.

Other Relief Additions

I also have the Royals adding JoJo Romero with a contract of $9 million per season. Romero will add another left-handed option to the bullpen that lacks left-handed experience outside of Daniel Lynch IV. Romero posted a 3.36 ERA and 3.97 FIP across 56 ⅓ innings for the Cardinals and Brewers. Most of the time, he was deployed in close games in the seventh and eighth innings, so he could also work as a setup man depending on whether Lucas Erceg can reclaim that role.

I also considered moving on from Nick Mears, but there may be some sunk cost fallacy going on where I am hesitant to move away from him a year after trading for him and not getting to see him fully healthy. I also could not find a clear upgrade that would fit within the Royals’ expected budget, though I may have overlooked another option. If there is another addition to the bullpen, Mears’s spot could definitely be in jeopardy.

I have also transitioned Ragans to the bullpen. He is likely to return to the roster in the summer, but with his extended injury history, I would not feel comfortable relying on him to start for extended stretches throughout the season. He could find a role in the bullpen as a bulk reliever for the rest of the season and re-evaluate his role on the pitching staff the following offseason, similar to how they treated Kris Bubic in 2024 after he returned from injury.

The Big Picture

There will likely be more moves than these made for the Royals this offseason, but these are the key areas of focus that will likely be the priority this offseason. Despite the underwhelming performance in 2026, all signs indicate the Royals making moves to compete for playoff contention in 2027 rather than rebuild for the future. 

Want to play the role of Royals general manager? Check out our free-to-use "You're The GM" offseason tool and build your own Royals roster!

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Want to play the role of Royals general manager? Check out our free-to-use "You're The GM" offseason tool and build your own Royals roster!