Three Non-Roster Invitee Hitters Making Their Case in Royals Camp

The Royals are 3-4 right now after roughly one week of Cactus League play. They earned their third win of the year in a wild one on Friday afternoon against the Sacramento Athletics, winning 7-6 after trailing in the seventh inning. 

The Royals have seen some familiar hitters get off to strong starts in Spring Training. Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals in hits with six and hit his first home run of the spring today against the Athletics, a three-run blast. 

Jac Caglianone is also off to a strong start this spring after a rough rookie campaign. He's hitting .417 with a 1.212 OPS and has launched some tanks in Arizona. That included a double on Thursday against the Diamondbacks that had an exit velocity of 120.2 MPH.

Lastly, Maikel Garcia and Michael Massey have gotten off to strong starts with five hits apiece. Garcia has an .814 OPS, and Massey has a 1.445 OPS. Garcia is trying to prove that his breakout in 2025 wasn't a fluke, while Massey is looking to show Royals fans that he can be a long-term solution in Kansas City as a utility player who can rotate between second base and left field. 

While the familiar position players are off to strong starts, there are some unfamiliar ones, specifically non-roster invitees, who are also doing well at the plate in Cactus League play. Thus, let's take a look at three NRI Royals hitters who are not just putting up strong performances but are also making their case for roster spots on Opening Day (which is one month away). 

Josh Rojas, 2B/3B

Rojas played for the White Sox last year and had a brutal season, which explains why he was not given a Major League deal this offseason, even though he has a career 5.5 fWAR in 639 career Major League games. In 211 plate appearances with the White Sox, Rojas hit .180 with a .232 wOBA, a 44 wRC+, and -1.3 fWAR, according to Fangraphs. His fWAR was the worst mark of his career and his worst mark since 2020 with the Diamondbacks, when he posted a -0.3 fWAR in 17 games. 

His chances of making the roster initially seemed long, especially with utility bench options such as Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert also competing for roster spots this spring. However, Rojas has gotten off to a hot start at the plate, showing he may deserve a shot on the Opening Day roster. 

In 10 at-bats, the 31-year-old utility infielder has four hits, two home runs, and six RBI. His latest home run came on February 24th against the Cincinnati Reds. 

The former 26th-round draft pick has long been known for his glove over his bat. His defense at second has traditionally been better than his defense at third. He has a +10 career OAA at the keystone, but a -8 career OAA at the hot corner. That said, the Royals seem set at third base with Garcia. They are less solidified with Massey and Jonathan India, who both struggled in 2025.

Furthermore, given Massey's injury history, Rojas could be a player who seamlessly fills in for him, though he doesn't exactly have Massey's defensive versatility. The University of Hawaii product has only 729 innings in the outfield. On a positive note, he has a +1 OAA there, so if the bat continues, the Royals may be prompted to give Rojas more time in the outfield to give him more versatility off the bench. 

Kevin Newman, 2B/SS

The Royals acquired Newman early in the offseason, and he seemed like an intriguing pickup who could give Kansas City not only positional flexibility but a veteran presence. In fact, his acquisition could be a reason why the Royals opted not to bring back Adam Frazier for the 2026 season. 

In 10 at-bats this spring, the 32-year-old infielder has three hits and is hitting .300 with an .864 OPS. He has one walk and two strikeouts, and he has hit two doubles, showing that he has the batted-ball profile to take advantage of Kauffman Stadium's spacious grounds. Against Arizona pitcher Kade Strowd, Newman laced a double down the line and showed excellent speed to get to second base standing up.

Newman had an underwhelming 2025 season with the Angels, posting a .202 average, 27 wRC+, and -0.7 fWAR in 116 plate appearances. However, he played with the Diamondbacks in 2024 and fared much better over a larger sample. In 111 games and 311 plate appearances that season, he hit .278 with an 89 wRC+ and 1.4 fWAR. He also hit three home runs, scored 41 runs, stole eight bases, and provided solid defense, as evidenced by his +7 OAA at shortstop and second base combined. 

Loftin has gotten off to a slow start this spring. He is currently hitting .167 with a .481 OPS in 12 at-bats. While he did have a two-run double today, if the former Baylor product continues to perform poorly at the plate, the Royals may opt for Newman over Loftin for the right-handed utility role off the bench to start the 2026 season.

Connor Kaiser, 2B

When the Royals signed him to a Minor League deal, Kaiser struck me as more of an everyday player for the Omaha Storm Chasers than a serious candidate to make the Major League Opening Day roster. That said, the former Blue Valley West High School product is showing that he may be a call-up at some point in 2026, even if he begins the year in Omaha.

In eight at-bats, the 29-year-old second baseman has three hits, including two doubles. He is hitting .375 with a 1.000 OPS, and he has one RBI to boot. It's a small sample, and Kaiser has mostly done this while coming off the bench (meaning he isn't facing top-flight pitching). Nonetheless, he's producing in the limited at-bats that he's getting. Kaiser will likely receive a lot more soon when Witt and Garcia leave camp to report for the World Baseball Classic.

The Vanderbility product doesn't have an extensive track record in Major League.  He has 23 career MLB plate appearances and has a career .091 average, -29 wrC+, and -0.2 fWAR. He also strikes out a bit too much, as he has a 30.4% career K rate in the Majors and had a 27.5% K rate with Reno, Arizona's Triple-A club, last season.

Still, when he gets a hold of the ball, Kaiser can find the gaps, much like Newman, as illustrated in this hit below with the Diamondbacks last season (his first career MLB hit).

With some modifications from the Royals' hitting development team, it's possible that Kaiser could morph into a Cam Devanney of sorts, who broke out last season in Triple-A Omaha. While Devanney didn't contribute at all to the Major League roster, he was utilized as capital in a trade to Pittsburgh for Frazier at the All-Star Break.

Maybe Frazier can be acquired again by the Royals midseason, with Kaiser as the trade asset this time around.