Three More Questions The Royals Can Answer Down The Stretch

The Kansas City Royals are stuck in the muck of a season lost. Monday’s 6-5 loss to the Dodgers marked their 71st loss of a campaign that began with realistic playoff hopes five months ago. But bad play hit this club even before a striking series of key injuries decimated its once-promising roster — the Royals were last above .500 on April 1, haven’t finished a single month with a winning record, and have occupied last place in the American League Central since June 21. Losing 100 games may seem unlikely, but doing so is far from impossible.

So, what’s left to look forward to as this season winds down? Is there anything left to interest Royals fans?

Yes. Here are three things to watch down the stretch.

Will Salvador Perez Prove He Has Enough Left For One More Royals Season?

Perez will conclude the first year of the two-season contract extension he signed last November when KC winds up its disappointing season against Cleveland Sept. 27. Expect him back for his 16th major league season next year.

Probably, that is.

Perez, the best catcher the Royals have ever had and one of the best the game has ever seen, shows signs of slowing down. Decline can come fast and hit hard; retirement can end careers before contracts do.

And some can’t be blamed for suspecting that Perez, a nine-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glover, and five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, might be at retirement’s doorstep. Only for the first two days of this season has his average been at least .250; he’s hit no higher than .216 since. With 49 RBI through Monday, he won’t drive in at least 100 runs for the first time since 2023. His 16 home runs put him in danger of posting his lowest full-season homer total since 2013. He went into the All-Star Break with a .593 OPS and a .209/.249/.343 line.  

Numbers, in other words, concerning enough to trigger talk of serious decline and even the end of the line.

But things change … and so has Perez’s performance at the plate. Since the break, he’s improving nicely. Through Sunday (21 games), he was slashing a much better .247/.322/.507, his five homers and 12 RBI compare favorably with the 11 and 37 he managed in 89 first-half appearances, and his 123 wRC+ was strikingly better than the 59 he’d posted before the Break.

Fortunately, he’s in the midst of demonstrating he has another decent year left.    

Can Daniel Lynch IV Secure A Spot In The Royals’ Rotation?

This question wasn’t on many radar screens when the season began — Kansas City’s rotation seemed set and strong with Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Kris Bubic, and Noah Cameron.

Then came the injuries. An elbow issue forced Ragans to the Injured List May 8, where Bubic joined him 10 days later with an elbow problem of his own; neither has thrown a major league pitch since. Now, Ragans is out for the season after undergoing surgery in June, and the Royals shipped Bubic to the Dodgers, where he remains on the IL, at the trade deadline. And while Cameron has been excellent lately, Tommy John surgery ended increasingly promising seasons for rotation substitutes Stephen Kolek and Luinder Avila earlier this month.

Enter Lynch, a starter the club began transitioning to relief work in 2024 and whose solid performance this season had moved him to the front of the bullpen class until the Royals decided to move him to the rotation last week. At the time, Lynch was 4-2 with an eye-catching 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 46 games and 46 innings out of the pen. 

How he fared in his first start wasn’t remarkable. Working against the Cubs at Kauffman Stadium Friday night, he gave up four runs (three earned), walked two, and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings. All his trouble came in the second as KC lost 6-4.

One start won’t determine Lynch’s fate as a starter. He’ll get several more if the Royals stick to their new plan, so he’ll have opportunities to stretch out and prove the club is making the right call.

But history may be against him. Lynch is an unimpressive 11-24 with a 5.26 ERA in 57 career starts (he lost 13 times in 2022, albeit for a bad Kansas City team); as a reliever, though, he’s 12-4 with a 2.47 ERA in 114 appearances.

Only time will tell if this experiment works. If it does, look for the Royals to pencil Lynch into the 2027 rotation; if it doesn’t, look for him in the bullpen instead.

Will A Closer Emerge From The Royals’ Bullpen?

Unlikely. In fact, the prospects of finding a diamond in the rough that is Kansas City’s 2027 relief corps are probably worse than those for the club to escape the AL Central dungeon — through Monday, the Royals' 5.37 bullpen was the second-worst in the majors, their critical ninth-inning ERA, a horrendous 6.96, was the worst, and their 29 blown saves tied them with the A’s for the big leagues’ most.

Put bluntly, KC’s current closer candidates are suspect or unproven.

Despite sparkling down the 2024 stretch with 11 saves and a 2.88 ERA after KC grabbed him at the trade deadline, Erceg found himself displaced by newcomer Carlos Estévez when last season began and hasn’t regained his form. Yes, he leads the Royals in saves with 12, but he’s blown six save opportunities, his 6.07 ERA is bad, and he appears to have exhausted the club’s patience in save and other high-leverage situations.

Estévez’s only 2026 appearance came on Opening Day. He’s been on the IL since April 1, and it’s conceivable he won’t pitch again this year. He’ll be a free agent after the season if the team doesn’t exercise the club option it holds on him for 2027.

John Schreiber’s been serviceable and might be worth a try, but because he’s eligible for free agency after the World Series and may not be in KC’s plans, the Royals should take a long look at someone else.

Alex Lange has 10 saves but is 1-7 with a 6.17 ERA.

Some have called for Lynch to close, but trying him in the rotation removes that option.

What about recent acquisition Craig Kimbrel, the once-stellar closer whose 440 career saves rank fifth all-time? No. He’s 38 and turns 39 next May, hasn’t saved a game and has had only one save opportunity since 2024, and across stints with the Mets and Rays this season allowed five of seven inherited runners to score. KC should use him as something other than a closer.

The best of the present bunch may be Steven Cruz, who’s posted his first three big league saves, two holds, and a 3.00 ERA in his last nine appearances. But a two-month tryout may not be enough to convince the Royals he’s their closer for 2027.     

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