Mike Gillespie

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Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images The Kansas City Royals, whose terrible start to the season triggered early declarations of postseason hopes already dashed, drew within a half-game of the American League Central Division lead by beating front-running Cleveland on Monday and Tuesday. Playing decisive roles were both sides of the resurgent club’s emerging second base platoon — Nick Loftin’s fourth-inning two-run single broke a 2-2 tie and proved the difference in Monday evening’s 6-2 win, and Michael Massey’s two-run homer in the fourth Tuesday night gave KC the lead it never surrendered en route to a 5-3 win. Those were big moments in big games, but did little, if anything, to clarify the long-muddled picture that is second base in Kansas City. Things that were uncertain enough when the season started became even more so when labral surgery ended Jonathan India’s season last month; the question now is whether the job should belong to Massey or Loftin, or whether the platoon manager Matt Quatraro seems to be leaning toward should continue. There may be no easy answer. Should Michael Massey Be the Royals’ Second Baseman? Massey’s major league keystone experience dwarfs Loftin’s. Tuesday's start at second gave Massey 328 appearances at the position, a whopping 270 more than Loftin. But that edge in experience, while important, won’t cinch the job. Massey’s health is, unfortunately, a factor. An assortment of injuries cut deeply into his 2024 and 2025 seasons, sidelined him for much of this year’s Cactus League schedule, and forced him onto the injured list for the first week of the current campaign. The Royals must watch him closely and guard against further long absences. How much time off he’ll require as the season progresses remains to be seen. Massey’s glove leaves little to be desired, but he’s inconsistent at the plate. He hit an okay .259 and posted a 104 wRC+ in 2024, and went on a hot streak of .375/.412/.482 rampage after returning from the IL late last August. But that .259 represents the only time he’s exceeded .244 since debuting with the Royals in 2022, his career OBP through Tuesday was only .281, and he was slashing an ugly .215/.243/.385 in 24 games. He has more power than Loftin, who’s homered only five times in 155 big league games — Massey averaged 14.5 homers in 2023 and 2024, the only two seasons he’s played at least 100 games. Should Nick Loftin Be the Royals’ Second Baseman? Kansas City is a team that needs as much offense as it can get. Proving he can hit major league pitching consistently well is, however, something Loftin hasn’t done — in 1,358 plate appearances covering parts of five seasons, he’s slashing .223/.300/.324 with a subpar .624 OPS and 74 wRC+. Encouraging, though, is the .366 OBP he’s posted and nine runs he’s driven in across 12 games this season. And, he’s walking more (14.6 BB%) and striking out less (7.3 K%). Loftin won’t win any defensive awards at second base, but his career +1 OAA and +2 DRS there suggest he can hold his own without doing damage to the KC cause. Loftin’s real value to the Royals is his versatility — he can serviceably play first, second, and third bases, and during his career has appeared 43 times in left field. Hitting better than Massey, though, could force Quatraro’s hand when it comes to choosing an everyday second-sacker. If that is, Quatraro decides against a platoon… Should Michael Massey and Nick Loftin Share Second Base? That may be the best-case scenario, which appears to be Quatraro’s plan since India’s season ended. And the splits support such an approach. The left-handed hitting Massey, for example, entered Tuesday’s contest batting .154 against lefties and .204 against righties; for his career, he was slashing .242/.283/.389 against right-handers and .234/.270/.345 against left-handers. And remarkably, he's hit only three of his 37 career homers off southpaws. Loftin, a right-handed batter, is hitting .300 against left-handers but 60 points lower against righties this season; for his career, he’s slashing .244/.333/.356 against the former and .212/.284/.309 against the latter. So, for a manager as plugged into splits and handedness as Quatraro, the number of his present second basemen suggests he’ll platoon them. At least, that is, until a better alternative comes along. View full article

Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-Imagn Images Nicky Lopez, the former Kansas City Royals utility infielder whose surprisingly excellent 2021 season made franchise history before he became a journeyman player two years later, and ex-Kansas City catcher-turned-outfielder MJ Melendez, who never reached the heights his 41-homer 2021 minor league season suggested he would, found themselves unemployed after the 2025 campaign ended. Lopez left the Cubs, his fifth organization since the Royals successfully shopped him at the 2023 trade deadline, for free agency in November, and the Royals made Melendez a free agent when they non-tendered him later that month. Today, though, both familiar former Royals are back in the big leagues, Lopez with the Cubs and Melendez with the Mets. What the future holds for either of them is, however, uncertain. New York is Former Royals Outfielder MJ Melendez’s New Home The Mets became Melendez’s second baseball home when they signed him just as spring training began. He seemed to be vindicating the club’s faith in him by going 4-for-11 with a pair of homers and five RBI in Grapefruit League play, but started the season in Triple-A, where he’d slumped to .216/.286/.431 when the Mets called him up April 15 to replace injured Jared Young. (To his credit, four of Melendez’s 11 Triple-A hits were for extra bases, including two homers). What Melendez brings to the Mets’ table is power potential. Those 41 homers he clubbed in 2021 led the minor leagues, and that he hit 18 as a Royals rookie the following season, then 16 in 2023 and 17 in 2024, proves he can swing a big bat. But it takes more than potential to stay in the majors, and Melendez didn’t deliver it — he hit only .221 and, despite making some stellar defensive plays, posted unflattering marks in the outfield (-17 OAA and -25 DRS) across the same period. He managed 20 Triple-A homers last season, but the .083/.154/.167 line he posted in 23 games with the Royals seemed to seal his fate with the franchise. He’ll have to hit much better to stick with the Mets. He struck out to end his new club’s 3-1 loss to Colorado Sunday, but is a respectable 6-for-22 (.273) with three doubles, a homer, and two RBI in 24 plate appearances since being called up. The Cubs Keep Coming Back to Former Royals Infielder Nicky Lopez The Cubs seem to find Lopez easy to let go but harder to resist — reportedly prized by skipper Craig Counsell, they’ve acquired him four times in a little more than a year, with his last stint with the organization beginning last Thursday when they picked him up from Colorado in a cash-for-player deal. Chicago brought him up the next day. Lopez startled baseball in 2021 when Adalberto Mondesi’s injuries forced him into the everyday lineup —he became the first shortstop in club history to hit .300, and finished the campaign with a career-best .300/.365/.378 line. Since then, Lopez hasn’t hit better than the .241 he posted with the White Sox in 2024; he’s hitless in two at-bats so far this year. But the Cubs don’t need him to wield a .300 bat — what he really brings to Wrigley Field is a good glove and the ability to play shortstop, second, third, and even first base if he has to. He’s also dabbled a bit in left field. How long Lopez and Melendez stay in the majors is anyone’s guess. Either could be back in the minors by the time fans read this. What’s clear, though, is their new teams value them enough to give them new big league chances. View full article

Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images The injury bug has bitten Kansas City Royals second baseman (and sometimes left fielder) Michael Massey for too much of his short major league career. The back issues he battles delayed the start of his 2024 season, later sidelined him for a month more, and cut his playing time to 100 games. Ankle, wrist, and back issues cost him two months of last year’s campaign. This year, an early spring training calf injury kept him on the injured list for the first 10 days of the season. That Massey’s health has impeded his big league career is fact, so much so that it’s plausible his injury history played at least some part in the Royals’ decision to almost double Jonathan India’s salary for 2026 despite India’s well-chronicled struggles at the plate and in the field last year. Now, however, it’s India who’s injured, and Massey who’s playing. And that means the door may be open for Massey to reclaim the second base job that appeared to be his after a strong 2023 performance (more on that momentarily). India was struggling when a shoulder subluxation forced him to the IL on Monday, and Massey is showing signs of coming back around. Can Royals Infielder Michael Massey Seize the Moment? Massey isn’t the perfect second baseman. Only Frank White, the slick-fielding second sacker who won eight Gold Gloves with Kansas City before retiring after the 1990 season and later taking his rightful place in the club’s Hall of Fame, has approached that status. But Massey doesn’t have to be perfect to be good, and he’s had decent seasons with the Royals since breaking in in 2022. His 3 OAA in 2023 tied for the ninth-highest mark in the majors; only six American League second basemen had more, and he posted the best fielding percentage of all big leaguers at the position. He also homered 15 times. Despite spending so much time on the IL in 2024, he still clubbed 14 homers, had a 104 wRC+, and hit a serviceable .259. And last year, he came back from a long IL stint with barely a month left in the season and in 68 down-the-stretch plate appearances posted an excellent .375/.412/.482 line. But notwithstanding India's .233 average, and -6 OAA and -2 DRS at second last season, the new contract the Royals gave India over the winter seemed more than just a hint that he was their presumptive second baseman when spring training opened. Massey, though, appeared to be having none of that presumption — in eight Cactus League games, he was slashing .364/.417/.545 with a pair of homers and four RBI when he suffered his calf injury. Could Massey have beaten out India had he remained healthy? That India finished the spring hitting .194 suggests so. The tables are now turned. India was still battling his bat (.167/.310/.313) when he headed for the IL Monday, giving Massey the chance to prove he can be a greater offensive force. So far? Massey was hitting only .185 when India went down, but through Wednesday’s loss to Baltimore, he was 4-for-7 over his last two games, and in his last five appearances, he was hitting .294 with a home run, four RBI, and two doubles. The homer, a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the eighth of Tuesday's 6-5 losing streak-breaking, walk-off victory over the Orioles, tied that game and gave the Royals their chance to win it in the ninth. India is eligible to come off the IL next week. Whether that happens remains to be seen — shoulder subluxations can be tricky things. But no matter how long it lasts, can Massey take advantage of India’s absence and convince the Royals he should be their regular second baseman? Time will tell, and the club might prefer platooning at second, but a hot bat could do the trick. View full article

The early-season hole they’ve dug for themselves got deeper for the Royals on Sunday. After New York weather delayed the day's first pitch for nearly three hours, the Royals quietly bowed 7-0 to the Yankees in a dispiriting, lackluster effort that completed a winless six-game road trip, extended their losing streak to seven, and left them in sole possession of last place in the American League Central. Even the lowly White Sox have been better than this club, which is now tied with the Mets for the worst record in the majors. This is not the strong contender for postseason play so many expected it to be. Sunday’s loss sank the Royals eight games below .500, a depth they hadn’t reached since 2023 when they lost 106 times. Little has gone right for the 2026 club, and its problems run deeper than the outfield bats, which have become the usual culprits for extended dry spells. What, then, lies ahead? A lot, especially with 140 games left before the regular season ends and the playoffs begin. Even so, and some reasons for hope notwithstanding, KC’s miserable 7-15 start suggests it may be time for even the most optimistic fans to recalibrate their expectations. The Royals Are Not the Team Fans Want Them to Be Kansas City was allegedly an improved team when spring training began. But expectations may have been too high, and prognosticators too kind. After all, the front office failed for the second straight winter to land the big new bat it’s so sorely needed, settling instead for Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas. Collins’ first full big league season performance with Milwaukee last year — he homered nine times, drove in 54 RBI, and posted a .368 OBP and .263 average in 130 games — made him attractive, and Thomas’ 28-homer, 86-RBI 2023 effort with Washington gave Kansas City hope. But Collins and Thomas haven’t given the offense enough … or anything close to it. Together they’re 17-for-91 (.186) with a homer and five RBI. The Royals also didn’t fix second base. Instead of cutting disappointing Jonathan India loose, they re-signed him for $8 million only to see him fail to deliver at the plate; his .167/.310/.313 line through Sunday speaks volumes. Michael Massey also isn’t hitting (.174/.208/.261), and he’s been spending some time in left field as manager Matt Quatraro continues to hunt for someone to stake a strong claim to that position. And what big bats the Royals do have are floundering. Vinnie Pasquantino’s .157/.234/.265 line is terrible, and he didn’t hit his first homer until Thursday. Salvador Perez has three homers, good for second on the club behind Carter Jensen’s five, but going 0-for-4 Sunday dropped his average to .152, and whispered speculation about possible age-related decline has grown louder. Although he boasts a .362 OBP, Bobby Witt Jr. hasn’t been himself — he still hasn’t homered and is batting a certainly serviceable, but un-Witt-like .280. Maikel Garcia’s fast start has cooled (he’s 2 for his last 20), and he finished Sunday hitting .256, which may not bode well for him continuing in the leadoff spot to which Quatraro restored him to begin the season. As a team, and at the close of Sunday’s loss, the Royals were averaging 3.2 runs per game. They ranked last in the majors in runs scored (71), 28th in SLG (.362) and OPS (.356), and 27th in average (.218) and OBP (.310). The Royals’ Rotation Has Struggled Recently That Kansas City’s problems now run deeper than its offense has become painfully apparent. Even starting pitching, by far the club’s greatest strength, is starting to find the going rough. Noah Cameron gifted the Yankees three home runs in one inning Saturday, Detroit tagged Kris Bubic Friday for five charged runs in 4.2 innings Friday, and the Yanks battered Cole Ragans for seven runs in 4.1 frames Sunday. Fortunately, though, the starters’ body of early work has been decent — collectively, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Cameron, Ragans, and Bubic had the majors' 10th best ERA (3.66) and 11th best OAA (.219) when Sunday’s game ended. The Royals’ Bullpen is a Mess The bullpen’s ineptitude rivals that of the offense. KC relievers have blown four saves, their horrific 6.18 ERA is the big leagues’ worst, and they’ve been tagged with an unacceptable seven of Kansas City’s 15 losses. Yes, star Carlos Estevéz’s injury hurts, but the fact that he’s pitched only once means the bullpen must bear much of the blame for the club’s poor start and continuing struggles. Is it Time to Rethink the 2026 Royals? Yes. No big league team is or can be perfect, but Kansas City’s imperfections are glaring. Perhaps general manager J.J. Picollo found the offseason price of a new big bat too high and settled for less than he wanted and his club needed. Perhaps Perez is running out of gas. Maybe some of the club’s talent is overrated, and was from the start. Improvement is needed. And sooner, not later; the club can’t wait for the midsummer trade deadline. But the history of this typically conservative franchise suggests no new, truly impactful major league hitter will arrive this season, and hoping the rotation and bullpen pick up the slack all season is too much to ask. Although it’s still early, this club is in trouble. View full article

Image courtesy of © Peter Aiken-Imagn Images Sixteen games into the new season, the 2026 Kansas City Royals found themselves sharing too many things in common with the 2025 club that so disappointingly fell short of a second straight trip to baseball’s postseason. Sunday’s homestand-ending loss to the White Sox kept the Royals stranded in third place in the American League Central, the same spot they occupied at this point a year ago, and their 7-9 record was a game worse than where they stood after 16 outings in 2025. Unfortunately, though, the similarities to last year don’t end there. With roughly 10% of this new campaign in the books, and despite some new blood on the roster, Kansas City’s struggle to score continues, its outfielders’ bats remain too soft, and who to play where is still a question. Without solutions, Kansas City may well be headed for another "Wait 'til next year" season. The Royals’ Offense Looks Too Much Like the 2025 Version As was the case last season, when they averaged barely four runs per game, the 2026 Royals simply don’t push enough runs across the plate. The nine runs they managed in four games against the cellar-dwelling White Sox to close out last week's play gave them 54 for the young season, a sad 27th among the majors’ 30 teams heading into Monday’s action, and not good enough for anything better than a measly 3.37 per contest average. Take away the April Fool’s Day game in which they plated 13 runs against Minnesota, and the Royals would be averaging 2.73 per game. Ugh. Kansas City’s inability to score enough has many causes, not the least of which is the club’s performance with runners in scoring position, a critical area in which they finished a concerning 21st in 2025 (.255 average), but were dead last heading into Monday (.202). The club needed to be better last season, and get better this year. The Royals Are Still Fighting Their Bats Despite getting highly productive seasons from Vinnie Pasquantino (32 homers, 113 RBI) and Salvador Perez (30 homers, 100 RBI) and quite decent plate performances from All-Stars Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia last year, the Royals were no better than a middle-of-the-road (or worse) offensive team in 2025. And things really aren’t any better this year. Take, for example, the Royals’ .221 team average, which, entering Monday, ranked 24th in the majors. Their .344 SLG, like their total runs scored, ranked 27th. Their .655 OPS was 24th-best. And while KC’s .311 OBP came in at 12th, their sub-average 89 wRC+ topped only five teams. How do those numbers compare to 2025? The Royals finished last year with a .247 average (15th), a .397 SLG (18th), .706 OPS (19th), .309 OBP (22nd), and a 93 wRC+ (22nd). The comparative bodies of work aren’t remarkably different … and that’s not good for this club. The fault lies with no one player. Going into Monday, Perez and Pasquantino had only nine RBI between them, and Pasquantino hadn’t homered yet. Jonathan India and Michael Massey, either or neither of whom could end up with the full-time second base job before the season ends, were hitting a combined .183. (To his credit, India’s eight RBI tied him with Garcia and rookie Carter Jensen for the team lead). Jac Caglianone and Starling Marte hadn’t driven in a run or belted a homer. On the other hand, Jensen led KC with four home runs and Garcia’s .306/.380/.484 line complemented his 105wRC+. Witt was still looking for his first home run but had seven RBI to go with his improving .271/.371/.322 line. And Kyle Isbel was hitting .316 with a .395 OBP, and his two homers were already only six shy of the career-best eight he hit in 2024. But his outfield colleagues’ lackluster performances should keep general manager J.J. Picollo on the prowl for a big outfield bat — newcomer Isaac Collins' bat has plenty of room for improvement, fellow new Royal Lane Thomas was batting .130, and Caglianone’s painful search for sustained success continues unabated. Bottom line? The Royals' offense looks too much like the one that played such a big role in their disappointing 2025 campaign. Without improvement, this could be a long season. View full article

Image courtesy of © Denny Medley-Imagn Images In January, as their search for an established big bat to boost their offense seemed stalled again, the Kansas City Royals suddenly gave manager Matt Quatraro a three-year contract extension. Clearly calculated to help sustain the franchise renaissance triggered in the fall of 2022 by the replacement of head baseball man Dayton Moore with J.J. Picollo, and then manager Mike Matheny with Matt Quatraro, the extension kicks in next season. On its face, the deal gives Quatraro, whose 2023 Royals lost 106 games only to shockingly end the club’s pitiful 35-year absence from the playoffs in 2024, a big vote of confidence and some job security. But as an old baseball saying goes, managers are hired to be fired, a fate that Ned Yost, despite leading Kansas City to two straight World Series and winning one, might have met after his Royals never again had a winning season and lost over 100 games in each of the last two years before he retired. And major league history is replete with examples of managers axed well before their multi-season contracts expired. So, just how secure is Quatraro? Perhaps not as much as his extension suggests. What Could Happen This Season to Threaten Matt Quatraro’s Royals Future? Probably not much … with the emphasis on “probably”. At least in the short term, skippering the Royals to two consecutive winning seasons (2024 and 2025) after they hadn’t posted one since 2015 puts Quatraro on good ground. Only a monstrously catastrophic season, like the Chicago White Sox suffered by losing 121 times in 2024, could compel Picollo to fire the only manager he’s hired since taking the club’s reins from Moore. And that’s not likely to happen. Barring the uncanny string of injuries that dealt the starting rotation such a collective blow last year, Kansas City’s starters appear set to give this club plenty of chances to win. The bullpen might be a different matter. The major league season is so new, and the sample size consequently so small, that trying to draw any firm conclusions about the relief corps is folly. But Quatraro’s bullpen management has been an oft-criticized aspect of his in-game decision-making, and his recent ill-fated decision to summon Carlos Estévez to protect last Saturday night’s slim ninth-inning 2-0 lead against Atlanta further fueled that fire. Predictably bad after his disconcerting Cactus League performances, Estévez choked up the lead and a walk-off grand slam that handed the Braves a 6-2 win and Quatraro a blistering dose of criticism. Not unless the Royals miss the playoffs by a half-game or a full game, though, will that gut-punch loss make a difference in the season. But an accumulation of additional questionable bullpen decisions in high-leverage, late-game situations won’t help Quatraro or his club. (Fortunately, he has Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm to fall back on should Estévez not regain his major league-leading 42-save form of 2025). Then there’s the offense, a sore spot the Royals can’t seem to solve. Yes, they battered Minnesota for 13 runs in Wednesday night’s Kauffman Stadium fog, but because the season is so young, there’s more than enough time for the bats to soften. It won’t be Quatraro’s fault if they do, but big league managers too frequently suffer from their players’ faults and flaws. Finally, a return to mediocrity will spell trouble for Quatraro. No one blames him for his club’s franchise record-tying 106 losses in 2023 — after all, the Royals conceded even before the season began that it would be an “evaluation” year, and Quatraro had never managed in the big leagues before. But a trip to the playoffs, two straight winning seasons, and some important offseason acquisitions tend to irreversibly raise expectations. So, finishing well below .500 in 2026 — an unlikely event, to be sure — will move Quatraro toward shakier ground. This season, then, could prove pivotal for Quatraro. Although the three-year contract extension he received this winter demonstrates the club’s confidence in its skipper, front office faith in big league managers can be stunningly fragile. So fragile, in fact, that his contract extension notwithstanding, Quatraro’s seemingly secure seat in Kansas City’s dugout could heat up before this season ends. View full article

Image courtesy of © Dennis Lee-Imagn Images For Michael Massey, the 2026 major league season will begin in a place he doesn’t want to be — on the injured list, where the Kansas City Royals placed him when they set their Opening Day roster earlier this week. That the dreaded IL isn’t a good way for anyone to start the season is especially true for Massey, a promising player whose previous time there has hampered his otherwise good chances of becoming a regular fixture in the Royals’ lineup. And being sidelined for Friday night's club opener in Atlanta could mark the beginning of a make-or-break season for Massey. While another campaign marred by trips to the IL might not end his professional career, it could spell trouble for his future in Kansas City. Is time with the Royals running out for Michael Massey? That’s an important question facing the team and players as the new season kicks off. After the 15 homers he hit in 2023 helped dampen concerns about his disappointing .229/.274/.381 line and 74 wRC+, and he posted a serviceable +3 OAA in 118 games at second base, Massey appeared headed for a decent run at the keystone for the Royals. But Massey’s health became an issue the following season. Back tightness ended his Cactus League season in mid-March, landed him on the IL to start the season, and kept him off the big league roster until late April. More back trouble sent Massy back to the IL in late May; he returned for good almost a month later, but the 53 days he spent out of the big league lineup constituted an unfortunate feature of his season. Still, he finished with 14 homers and a respectable 104 wRC+ and .259 average in 100 games, but the Royals needed more playing time from him. Unfortunately, they didn’t get it in 2025. Instead, the ankle he sprained in early June kept him from playing in the majors until late August; the long spans spent on the IL and minor league rehab assignments distracted from the .375/.412/.484 he slashed during his down-the-stretch return. That late-season hot streak gave the Royals hope Massey was ready for a stellar 2026. His sizzling .364/.417/.545 eight-game start to the Cactus League campaign intensified that hope, but Massey went down once again when he suffered an early March calf strain. He’s on the 10-day IL retroactive to March 22. Whether Massey will be recovered and primed for play by the time those 10 days are up remains to be seen. It’s a good bet he’ll serve a stint in the minors on a rehab assignment before rejoining the Royals. Whenever he returns, though, questions and concerns about his health will surround him. They are unavoidable. And well-placed. Massey’s situation hasn’t reached Adalberto Mondesi-type proportions, but it feels like it could. That’s why this may well prove to be that ominous make-or-break season for Massey. If he’s healthy, look for him to contribute. If he’s not, it might be time for the Royals to make a move. View full article

Image courtesy of © Imagn Images The Kansas City Royals, a team striving to rebound from the disappointment of missing the playoffs last year after a stunning return to postseason play in 2024, open their 2026 campaign against the Braves in Atlanta Friday night. Featuring as it will the two clubs’ respective aces — Cole Ragans for the Royals and Chris Sale for the Braves — the 6:15 p.m. CDT tilt at Truist Field sizes up as one not to be missed. And the first game of the year for both teams will also snap a trend to which Kansas City has become so accustomed. After opening at home for five straight seasons and nine of the past 11, the Royals are set to launch their newest pursuit of October baseball on the road. Ominously, the club lost its two most recent openers away from Kauffman Stadium — 7-1 at Minnesota in 2017, and 2-0 at Cleveland in 2020 — and hasn’t beaten an Opening Day host since edging Detroit 5-4 in 2008. How, though, did the Royals fare in their first-ever road opener? Answering that question requires turning the baseball clock back 55 years. The Royals Started on the Road for the First Time in 1971 After kicking off their inaugural 1969 campaign by beating the Twins at Kansas City’s old Municipal Stadium, and then losing the 1970 opener to Oakland at home, the Royals headed West to take on the then-California Angels on Opening Day in 1971. And things went well. The Royals won 4-1 to post the first victory of their third season. Leading the way was starter Dick Drago, an original Royal who went the distance and limited California to six scattered singles; although he struck out only two, he didn’t walk anyone, retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, and put the Angels down in order five times. The only run he surrendered came on a fifth-inning passed ball. Drago won 16 more games that season, a total that would today challenge for the big league lead, but significantly trailed major league leader Mickey Lolich’s 25 in 1971. And in another sign of a bygone era, Drago’s 2.98 ERA wasn’t good enough to crack the majors’ top 10. He won at least 11 games in four of his five KC seasons and retired after the 1981 campaign following stops in Boston, California, and Seattle. Most responsible for giving Drago the offensive support he needed were second baseman Cookie Rojas and left fielder Lou Piniella. Piniella opened the top of the second with a single off California starter Clyde Wright, went to third on Bob Oliver’s single, and scored when Rojas beat out an infield single that gave KC its first run of the season and a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Rojas scored what proved to be the winning run on Buck Martinez’s sacrifice fly to Tony Conigliaro in right. Piniella and Rojas struck again in the fourth. Piniella opened the frame with a double and, after Oliver bunted him to third, came home on Rojas’ sacrifice fly to left fielder Alex Johnson. Kansas City scored once more when third baseman Paul Schaal drove in Amos Otis with a single. Otis and Rojas went on to make the American League All-Star team that year. The Game Featured Three Future Royals Club Hall of Famers KC’s 1971 Opening Day lineup included Rojas, Otis, and shortstop Freddie Patek, all of whom also later became members of the team’s Hall of Fame. Rojas spent half of his 16-year big league career with the Royals before retiring after the 1977 season. Patek played nine of his 14 big league campaigns in Kansas City and didn’t play after 1981 with the Angels, and Otis, a Royal for all but three of his 17 major league seasons, played for the last time in 1984 with Pittsburgh. How Did the Royals Fare the Rest of the 1971 Season? It was a historic campaign — the Royals went 85-76 to notch the first winning season in franchise history. But the A’s, whose departure from Kansas City after the 1967 season paved the way for the Royals to bring baseball back to Municipal Stadium in 1969, were simply too good and finished 16 games ahead of second-place KC in the AL West. The season was the Royals’ best until 1973, when they won 88 times but again ended up second to Oakland in the West. Kansas City didn’t clinch its first division title and playoff berth until 1976. View full article

Image courtesy of © William Liang-Imagn Images 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 View full article

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Big questions gnaw at the Kansas City Royals. Will offseason acquisitions Isaac Collins, Lane Thomas, and now Starling Marte, breathe more life into the infamously poor offensive production of KC’s outfielders? Can Jonathan India or Michael Massey come through at second base? Will the starting rotation, so strong in 2024, shake the injury bug that struck too hard and too often in 2025? And is Jac Caglianone ready to prove he can handle big league pitching? No such questions, though, loom over Kansas City’s catchers. When the Royals take the field at Atlanta’s Truist Park to open the season against the Braves on March 27, and absent a late spring training injury, look for nine-time All-Star Salvador Perez behind the plate, where only twice since 2013, his first full big league season, has he not been stationed on Opening Day. And backing him up will be promising Carter Jensen, the franchise’s No. 1 prospect and heir apparent to Perez when the club captain retires. But expect some change at the position. Not a lot, mind you, but some. Royals Catchers At A Glance Starter: Salvador Perez Backup: Carter Jensen Depth: Luca Tresh, Elias Díaz, Jorge Alfaro Prospects: Blake Mitchell, Ramon Ramirez, Hyungchan Um Royals fWAR Ranking Last Year: 18th of 30 Royals fWAR Projection This Year: 18th of 30 The Good There’s a lot about his catchers for manager Matt Quatraro, a former professional backstop himself, to like. Perez, still primarily a catcher as he preps for his 15th big league campaign, threw out 43.8% of runners who tested his arm last season (43.9% is his career high) and KC pitchers seem well-satisfied with his game-calling. His five Gold Gloves speak for themselves. And although the five-time Silver Slugger winner slashed only .236/.284/.446 in 2025, his 30 homers and 100 RBI prove he can still produce. Jensen is, of course, a work in progress, but the progress is excellent. After slashing .290/.377/.501 with 20 homers and 76 RBI in 111 games split between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha last season, he spent September with the Royals, where his 20-game .300/.391/.550 line and 159 wRC+ made him a cinch for the club’s 2026 Opening Day roster. He’ll also get plenty of work at DH. Perez and Jensen will probably be it for the Royals — carrying a third catcher seems unlikely. But the club should be in good stead if injuries hit: Luca Tresh can be called up from Omaha in a pinch, and don’t be surprised if at least one of the two major league veterans working in spring camp on non-roster invitations — Elias Díaz or Jorge Alfaro — sticks around and heads to Omaha with Tresh. There’s also Blake Mitchell, our No. 2 KC prospect who’s in line for No. 1 when Jensen compiles enough big league time to drop off its list. Mitchell, the Royals’ top 2023 draft pick, will reach the majors, but probably later rather than sooner — he’s had some bad injury luck and has yet to see a Double-A pitch. Don’t be shocked, though, if the club gives him a taste of The Show in September. The Bad Perez isn’t, and never will be, a great framer, and he doesn’t block pitches as well as he used to. He’s also entering his age-36 season and will need more time at first base and DH than he’s accustomed to. All that isn’t terrible, though, and beyond the need to rely more on the less-experienced Jensen behind the plate, there isn’t much about KC’s catching to worry Quatraro. The Bottom Line The Royals are in good shape behind the plate. Expect good performances from Perez and Jensen, with Jensen making even more strides under Perez’s tutelage. Previous Installments: Second Base Position Analysis View full article

Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-Imagn Images Kansas City Royals reliever Daniel Lynch IV won’t earn a plaque in Cooperstown. Nor does a spot in his own club’s Hall of Fame seem likely. He hasn’t made an All-Star team, won any major awards, or flirted with stardom. Nevertheless, Lynch is one of the most interesting pitchers the Royals have. That may seem odd considering he doesn’t draw a lot of attention, and when he does it sometimes comes, as it did this winter, in unflattering questions about his suitability for the majors, speculation that he isn’t quite good enough for the Royals, and suggestions that his one remaining minor league option means KC should farm him out and give another reliever a seat in manager Matt Quatraro’s bullpen. Maybe it’s because Lynch doesn’t profile like so many believe successful big league pitchers should. His four-seamer and sinker velocities aren’t especially intimidating. He toils frequently in middle relief, where stars typically aren’t made or imagined. Maybe he just isn’t flamboyant enough. This much is clear, though — Lynch is a pretty decent pitcher, an asset the Royals shouldn’t take for granted. Despite those inclined to think otherwise, he deserves a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster. But that hasn’t always been the case. Daniel Lynch IV Spent A Lot of Time on Shaky Ground Lynch climbed the minor league ladder quickly but didn’t enjoy early success in the majors. Taken by the Royals with the 34th selection of the 2018 amateur draft — an extra pick KC received for losing Eric Hosmer to the Padres in free agency — Lynch arrived in Kansas City during the 2021 season and went 4-6 with an alarming 5.69 ERA and troubling 1.63 WHIP. Things didn’t get much better, and by the end of the 2023 season, he’d lost over twice as many games (23) as he’d won (11) and had a 5.18 ERA in 51 starts. The nagging shoulder issues that limited him to nine starts in 2023 didn’t help. Then he went to the bullpen. And everything changed. Daniel Lynch IV Becomes a Solid Reliever for the Royals Lynch’s mid-July victory over Detroit was, unfortunately, his final appearance of the 2023 season — and one of his last starts for Kansas City. Needing to strengthen their bullpen (and almost everything else, for that matter) after losing 106 games that year, the Royals made Lynch a reliever in 2024, and he came through with a career-best 3.32 ERA, excellent 0.99 WHIP, perfect 2-0 record, and, for good measure, his first career save. The sample size wasn’t huge — 43 1/3 innings, to be precise — but the results were good. And he was even better last season. Lynch’s workload increased to 67 2/3 innings; he just missed dipping below 3.00 in ERA at 3.06, and he won six times while losing only twice. He’s now 8-2 with a 3.16 ERA since shifting primarily to relief work two seasons ago and boasts a 2.72 ERA in 68 appearances out of the bullpen. Lynch’s more advanced metrics, though, aren’t overwhelming. Take last season, for example — per Baseball Savant, his 15.6 K% ranked in the fifth percentile, his 9.0 BB% in the 32nd, his 22.3% whiff rate in the 25th, and his 20% chase rate in the 20th percentile. But despite his lack of eye-catching advanced numbers, Lynch has built himself into a solid reliever. That he wasn’t always so competent makes that achievement even more impressive. That he’s a left-hander adds to Lynch’s value. Yes, the three-batter rule has diminished, at least to some extent, the importance of bullpen southpaws, but they still have their place, especially on clubs managed by handedness-match disciples like Kansas City’s Quatraro. And Lynch is pitching effectively this spring. In four Cactus League appearances, he’s surrendered just one run, struck out five, and hasn’t walked any of the 15 batters he's faced (which helps explain his 0.75 WHIP). Lynch may not be overpowering, overwhelming, or spectacular. But he’s been good for the Royals. So, give credit where credit is due. Look for Lynch in Atlanta when Kansas City opens the season there on March 27. View full article

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Royals’ 4-0 victory over Team Cuba on Tuesday gave fans a taste of things to come while the club’s World Baseball Classic participants — Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, and Vinnie Pasquantino, among others — are gone from spring camp. Until they return, KC’s lineups will feature more players on the Opening Day roster bubble than usual. This temporary shortage of star personnel will disappoint many Cactus League fans, but there’s a silver lining to the cloud — manager Matt Quatraro and his staff get longer looks at players they might be considering for the few available Opening Day roster spots. What better time, then, to wonder what the 26-man roster could look like when the season opens in Atlanta? Royals Keep examined that question before spring training began; now, let’s take a fresh look. Royals Pitchers Starting Rotation Cole Ragans Seth Lugo Michael Wacha Kris Bubic Noah Cameron No surprises here. Unless the dreaded injury bug hits or the Royals receive an irresistible 11th-hour trade offer for Bubic, the five-man rotation is set. Yes, Cameron stumbled in his second spring outing — he gave up three runs, six hits, and hit a batter in 2 2/3 innings against the Angels — but don’t expect that to continue. Relievers Carlos Estévez Lucas Erceg Matt Strahm Daniel Lynch IV John Schreiber Alex Lange Bailey Falter Nick Mears Consider these hurlers bullpen locks. Estévez is the presumptive closer (his recent velocity drop bears watching, though), Erceg and Strahm will set him up, Lynch is a valuable lefty who pitched well last season, and Schreiber’s two years in Kansas City have been solid. Free agent signee and former Detroit closer Lange’s lack of any minor league options makes him a bullpen shoo-in. He’s struck out four in 2 2/3 innings this spring and could sneak into a set-up role if he returns to his 26-save form of 2023. Falter, last year’s trade deadline pickup, who opponents battered for 12 runs in 15 innings before an August bicep injury ended his season, is also out of options and will make the club because it must see what he offers post-injury. Five-year big-league veteran Mears came to KC via the December trade with Milwaukee, which also made Isaac Collins a Royal and sent Angel Zerpa to the Brewers. Like Collins (more on him in a moment), Mears will be in Atlanta on Opening Day. Royals Position Players Catchers Salvador Perez Carter Jensen Like its starting rotation, Kansas City’s catching corps is set. The only question, and it’s a good one, is how much of Perez’s time behind the plate will become Jensen’s. Perez will need more “rest” time at first base and DH in his 15th big league season, and Jensen’s bat is too good to keep on the bench with only occasional reps at DH. First Base Vinnie Pasquantino Who else, and rightfully so? Although he’s only 3-for-15 and hasn’t homered yet this spring, Pasquantino’s bat is big, and he’s KC’s best first baseman since Eric Hosmer left after the 2017 season. Second Base Jonathan India Michael Massey Will someone please convince everyone they deserve to start at second? No one did last season — India flopped at the plate and his glove left much to be desired, and injuries held Massey back, although he slashed .375/.412/.482 with a .896 OPS after returning for good in August. For now, the nod goes to India. Somewhat surprisingly, considering offseason speculation that they wouldn’t bring him back, the Royals handed India an $8 million 2026 contract that suggests the job is his to lose. And although he’s struggling with one single in eight at-bats this spring, and the fact that Massey has spent more spring game time in the outfield (including Tuesday’s game, which doesn’t count in the stats) than he has at the keystone, hints, perhaps, that he may start the season in a Whit Merrifield-type utility role. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. What else is there to say? Third Base Maikel Garcia Also enough said. That’s what a Gold Glove, .286 average, .351 OBP, 121 wRC+, and a new five-year, $57.5 million contract will do. Outfielders Kyle Isbel Jac Caglianone Isaac Collins Starling Marte Lane Thomas No matter what happens in spring games, at least four things are certain about the outfield. Isbel will start in center, Caglianone will get a shot at right field redemption after his horrendous 2025 debut (so far, so good — he’s slashing .400/.550/.733 this spring), newcomer Isaac Collins is the left fielder, and Starling Marte is here to play. Isbel’s defense is too good to pass up, and Caglianone’s potential is too great to ignore. The club acquired Collins to boost its everyday outfield offense, not its bench depth, and newcomer Marte’s .270/.335/.410 line and nine homers in 98 games with the 2025 Mets prove he has something left to offer. Marte and Thomas won’t play every day, but expect Quatraro to get them in the lineup often. Utility Tyler Tolbert No, not Nick Loftin, although with a minor league option left, he'll remain in the organization. Instead, it's Tolbert who should land the final roster spot — as a rookie last season, he played second, short, third, and every outfield position, and in 64 games stole 21 bases (he was caught only twice) and hit .280. That Loftin hit only .208 with a 73 wRC+ in 67 games cinches the deal for Tolbert. View full article