Three Royals Takeaways From the MLB Winter Meetings

The MLB Winter Meetings came and went this week without much action from the Kansas City Royals.

Not only did the Royals not sign any free agents or make any trades during the weeklong executive and media frenzy in Dallas, but they also didn’t draft anyone in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft. They did draft two in the Minor League portion and lost to the Athletics reliever Noah Murdock, who pitched with Northwest Arkansas and Omaha last season.

Safe to say, it was a bit of an underwhelming week for Royals fans. That was especially true for those with high hopes that the club would continue to add to the roster this offseason after signing Michael Wacha to an extension and trading Brady Singer to Cincinnati for second baseman Jonathan India.

However, does the lack of transactional activity during the Winter Meetings mean this will be a calmer offseason for the Royals? Or will Kansas City still be active, but it will just come a little later than expected?

Here are three takeaways from the Winter Meetings specific to the Kansas City Royals and what Royals fans should expect in the coming months leading up to Spring Training in Surprise.

Deals From Bigger Clubs Could Open Up Opportunities for Royals

The Royals may not have made any trades, but two trades this week could open up some possible transaction scenarios in the coming week or two.

The first is the December 11th deal involving infielder Jake Burger going to the Rangers from Miami in a multi-player deal.

Burger gives the Rangers some power in the middle of the lineup, but he is a tough fit defensively. He’s not particularly adept at third base or any position (-22.5 career Def via Fangraphs). Furthermore, while he did hit 29 home runs and posted a .209 ISO with the Marlins in 2024, he only had a .301 OBP and a 0.21 BB/K ratio.

Secondly, he doesn’t help Texas’ lineup situation, which is still heavily right-handed. Corey Seager and Nate Lowe are proven left-handed hitters for the Rangers. However, Evan Carter had an injury-riddled season in 2024, and Josh Smith and Leody Taveras (a switch-hitter) aren’t precisely left-handed options known for their hitting prowess.

Texas could make sense for either MJ Melendez or Michael Massey. They both are left-handed options that could fit in the bottom of the Rangers lineup, have power that could translate well to Globe Life Field, have plenty of club control, and offer more defensive upside, whether as regular players or utility ones off the bench.

As for Kansas City, Melendez or Massey could help them acquire Adolis Garcia, who had a rough season in 2024 with a -0.2 fWAR in 154 games with Texas. That said, the Royals could utilize him more effectively defensively (have him rotate at DH more often than he did with the Rangers). He also would provide a much-needed power boost in the middle of the lineup, as evidenced by his 25 home runs and career .212 ISO.

The second trade that could affect the Royals’ ability to make an impactful trade is the most recent deal between the Astros and Cubs that sends Kyle Tucker to the North Side.

The Tucker deal improves the Cubs lineup but clogs up their outfield situation.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell will need to find playing time in the outfield and designated hitter spot for not just Tucker but also Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Bellinger is slotted to play CF via Roster Resource for now. However, Crow-Armstrong would be a much better defensive fit, and he finished the year strong at the plate.

Furthermore, Chicago doesn’t have a solution at the hot corner, with prospect Matt Shaw projected to be the Opening Day third baseman via Roster Resource. Shaw may be the Cubs’ third baseman of the future, but that’s a lot of faith in a guy who’s not even on the 40-man roster yet, let alone doesn’t have an MLB plate appearance on his resume.

Could Massey or Maikel Garcia be part of a trade package to help the Royals acquire Bellinger, especially if Kansas City is willing to take on most of his $27.5 million contract this season?

The 28-year-old Cubs outfielder did regress a bit in 2024. He only hit 18 home runs and posted a 109 wRC+ and 2.2 fWAR after hitting 26 home runs with a 136 wRC+ and 4.4 fWAR in 2023. Nonetheless, Bellinger’s profile would still significantly boost the Royals lineup, especially in the middle of the batting order, which struggled mightily in 2024.

Royals Likely Won’t Make A Major Splash in Free Agency

Many big free-agent deals happened in Dallas during the Winter Meetings.

Juan Soto signed his historic mega deal with the Mets on Sunday night. Max Fried signed with the Yankees shortly after Soto signed with the Mets. Nathan Eovaldi re-upped with the Rangers for three more seasons, while Luis Severino surprised everyone and signed a multi-year deal with the now “Sacramento” Athletics.

Willy Adames signed with the Giants before the Winter Meetings began, as did Blake Snell, Blake Treinen, and Michael Conforto with the Dodgers.

There is still plenty of talent available on the free-agent market. According to Spotrac, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander, Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Alex Bregman, Joc Pederson, Corbin Burnes, Sean Manaea, and Jack Flaherty are just some of the names that haven’t signed with any clubs yet.

All those players will require a significant financial commitment in AAV and years. While Royals owner John Sherman has shown more willingness to open the pocketbook than previous owner David Glass, it is hard to imagine the Royals significantly surpassing their $116 million payroll budget projection on a free agent. This is especially true when thinking about possible extensions, with Vinnie Pasquantino and Cole Ragans likely being ones the Royals may want to lock down in the next year or so.

There are still plenty of affordable free agents that could fit the Royals’ budget and plans.

Yoan Moncada hasn’t gotten a ton of interest and could be a nice 1-2 year project that could provide a more traditional hitting profile at the hot corner over Garcia (which would then allow Garcia to be more of a utility infielder). Harrison Bader is still available and could play all three outfield positions and be a boost on the basepaths. Josh Rojas also could play multiple positions in the outfield and infield and be the kind of bench bat who could thrive in Kauffman’s spacious confines.

Royals GM JJ Picollo won’t sit out in free agency this offseason, especially when finding a bat to boost the lineup. However, Royals fans should temper their expectations, as it seems less likely after the Winter Meetings that they will spend big money on that possible bat this offseason.

Expect the Royals to Be Creative in Pitching Acquisition

While I mainly focused on hitters in the previous section, Royals fans should also expect Picollo to be aggressive in acquiring pitching this offseason.

In the most recent newsletter from MLB.com beat writer Anne Rogers, manager Matt Quatraro mentioned the need to add more pitching depth to help offset any possible injuries that could happen in the rotation or bullpen. He also alluded that Kyle Wright may need more time to build up, which is understandable considering he missed all of 2024 due to shoulder surgery recovery.

Here’s what Quatraro said about Wright in Rogers’ newsletter:

3. Kyle Wright’s status

The skinny: The Royals traded for Wright in November 2023 thinking a year ahead, and now it’s here. Wright spent all of 2024 rehabbing from right shoulder surgery, and Kansas City expects him to be healthy and competing for a role on the team in Spring Training. What that role will be is yet to be determined. Starting is the goal, but health and innings factors will be considered.

Quatraro: “That’s a huge question mark for us. He’ll have to build up, and hopefully he gets back to where he was prior. That would be a huge boost for us. … As far as being able to break as a starter, I would hope so. There’s so much medical involved in that that I can’t really say.”

Based on this perspective, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wright start the season in Omaha to build up (he does have a Minor League option). Thus, that could spur the Royals to invest in someone in free agency who could have the ability to pitch in both the rotation and bullpen (and flip between those roles quickly).

Here are some targets who could fit that mold and be signed on an affordable one to two-year deal via Spotrac. I have organized them on this table via Fangraphs and have organized them based on data from the past two seasons.

  • Michael Lorenzen: I have talked about him possibly returning before. However, after the Wright news, I think it’s even likelier, especially since he and the organization already have familiarity with each other from last season.
  • Griffin Canning: He’s shown flashes of living up to his once lofty prospect hype with the Angels. The Royals have done well with post-hype prospects (see Ragans), and I think Royals pitching coaches Brian Sweeney and Zach Bove would like the opportunity to work with his profile.
  • Cal Quantrill: The ERA over the past two years is terrible, but he generates groundballs and could thrive in a move to the bullpen or as a spot starter. He also has experience with Sweeney in Cleveland, which could make him willing to sign a cheaper deal in Kansas City.
  • Adbert Alzolay: Coming off an injury and wasn’t healthy last year. However, he has 76 saves in the past two years, a solid xFIP (3.84), and can be stretched out if healthy (he used to be a starter with the Cubs). I’ve always been a fan of him, so I would be stoked to see him try to rebuild his reputation in Kansas City for a year.
  • Jose Urquidy: He missed all of 2024 due to injury and may need some time to recover, much like Wright. However, he’s always had a solid profile when healthy, and I think he won’t get hurt as much by home runs as he did in Houston.
  • Patrick Sandoval: He will likely miss all of 2025, so he’s a long-term project like Wright. However, he’s been worth 3.6 fWAR over the past two years and can strike out hitters in bunches. He may be a nice two-year investment for the Royals, who could pay significant dividends to the rotation or bullpen in 2026.

The Royals may not make that significant splash for a pitcher in free agency like Manaea, Burnes, or Flaherty. However, they could acquire one from the list above and significantly boost their pitching depth not just for 2025 but possibly beyond as well.

Photo Credit: Gareth Patterson | AP

6 thoughts on “Three Royals Takeaways From the MLB Winter Meetings”

  1. It’d be more expensive obviously but what about Josh Jung? Don’t know if we have what it takes for that but that seems like potential to be the middle of the order bat they desire.

    1. Would love it if we could somehow acquire Jung. However, he’s still pretty young so I would have a hard time seeing Texas part ways with him. But if there’s a possibility, I’m all for it

  2. Agree with a lot of what you propose. However, If there was a free agent to go after, it might be Jurickson Profar. His career has been a bit erratic on offense, but he always manages to be productive. If he loves SD, but the Padres are not so keen, he might really like family friendly KC. He can help us in many ways.

    Cody Bellinger would have to be a sign & trade deal. We could suck up about 15 or 16 million (of the $27.5) if he were to sign a 2 year extension at 18 million or so with incentive escalators. I don’t see that happening. Also, he probably would go to LF as I project a much better fielding platoon at cf. His bat should play better as a corner OF. That would force Picollo to do somethong with/about Melendez. If we could trade Massie and Pratto for him, that would help. If we were to sign Profar, I’d throw in Renfroe and play Bellinger in RF. Might lack the shoulder cannon, but he could make it up in fielding coverage. That (Profar-Bellinger) should improve our pitching statistics.

    I think Wright will be “Opening day ready”, but, if we were to sign Lorenzen, it might help to keep him in Omaha, on an extended rehab, until May when some of the fringe pitching that always make the roster falters and gets optioned. I’d be open to all five pitchers you mention on 2 or 3 year Minor League contracts with appropriate hikes in pay (in excess to whatever MLBPA has in the contract) for MLB time. They will come in handy when rosters expand.

    I’ve been a proponent of a mutually beneficial signing on Moncada, and I like Bader for a starting spot at a reasonable price. Rojas could certainly function in the type of roster Quartaro seems to favor, but Garcia is a likely starter (by mid ’26) and will likely get preferential treatment.

    Constructively disposing of Massey, Pratto and Renfroe would open enough roster spots to really beef up the offense. Moncada and Bellinger would be 2 year players, ideally traded at the deadline in ’26 or ’27 for prospects. Profar may last longer. We do have prospects to slide into the lineup by then.

    1. I felt early on that Profar would re-sign with San Diego, but the longer the wait, the more I think it’s a possibility that he could come to Kansas City. He’s definitely the best-case scenario but I think he would be out of the Royals’ price range. If he is within that price range, hopefully they can pounce on it. I would think that wouldn’t happen until closer to Spring Training, when players have less leverage.

      That’s a good point about Bellinger. It’s a lot to invest in, which should lessen the prospect return. Nonetheless, you bring up some good points, and I think Bellinger could bring more challenges than wanted.

Leave a Reply