There’s been a lot of minor Royals news over the past week. However, I didn’t think they were worth a full expansive article. Thus, I will break many of the Royals stories down this week via a “Reporter Jottings” post to end this snowy week in Kansas City.
Let’s examine some key Royals news this week and what it could mean as we inch closer toward pitchers and catchers reporting to Surprise.
Royals Claim INF Braden Shewmake Off Waivers
After signing Michael Lorenzen, Royals GM JJ Picollo made an interesting move on Wednesday, claiming infielder Braden Shewmake, recently designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox this offseason.
Shewmake was drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Braves in 2019 after playing college baseball at Texas A&M. Last offseason, he was part of a six-player trade for reliever Aaron Bummer that included Shewmake, Nicky Lopez, Mike Soroka, Jared Shuster, and Riley Gowens going to the South Side. The now 27-year-old infielder only has 71 career plate appearances, with 64 coming last year with the White Sox.
Unfortunately, his numbers with Chicago weren’t great, which explains why White Sox GM Chris Gets was willing to part ways with him this offseason.
Shewmake’s profile resembles Lopez’s, who played 4.5 seasons with the Royals from 2019 to 2023.
Like Lopez, the former Aggie doesn’t barrel the ball much (3.6% barrel rate) or hit the ball consistently hard (28.6% hard-hit rate). However, he doesn’t strike out much (14.9% K%) and puts the ball in play, especially on pitches in the strike zone (86.1% Z-Contact%). The Royals’ scouting department seems to have an affinity for these players, so, unsurprisingly, they would pick up Shewmake to add some infield depth to their organization.
Since the Royals claimed Shewmake, he has been added to the Royals’ 40-man roster. That currently fills up the Royals’ 40-man as of Friday. I am surprised that the Royals couldn’t have just waited to pick up Shewmake once he cleared waivers, as it seemed unlikely that any other club would claim him. The Royals’ intel might have felt another team was interested, which explains why they decided to claim Shewmake.
Interestingly enough, scouting director Brian Bridges was formerly in the Braves organization and intimately knows Shewmake, as Bridges drafted him when he was running the MLB Draft for Atlanta. Thus, Bridges may have convinced Picollo that the Royals player development team could tap into Shewmake in ways that Atlanta and Chicago couldn’t
The Royals do not need to rush Shewmake to the big leagues, as he does have a Minor League option remaining. Shewmake could also be an easy DFA candidate if he struggles in Spring Training, and Cavan Biggio, who was signed on a Minor League deal, has a strong Cactus League campaign.
Royals Come to Deals With All Arbitration-Eligible Players
First, the Royals settled with Kyle Wright early in the offseason. Then, on Thursday, the Royals announced they had agreed to contracts with all arbitration-eligible players.
Here’s how all those players’ dollar amounts break down for 2025 via Roster Resource payroll data.
There are not a lot of surprises with that group, as Harvey is the highest-paid of the seven at $3.7 million. The agreements bring the Royals’ estimated 2025 payroll to $123 million, already four million dollars higher than a year ago. Despite their higher payroll from 2024, it’s still in a range where the Royals can make another reasonable deal or two.
The bigger story from the announcement is that the Royals will not be going to arbitration with any players this offseason. Former Royals GM Dayton Moore was notorious for being able to avoid those arbitration cases, as they can end up getting personal and touchy. After all, the team has to give reasons, in front of the player’s representation, why they are NOT worth a certain amount of requested money.
Royals fans have seen arbitration cases in the past four seasons that have hurt players the following year.
Lopez went to arbitration after a surprising 2021 and tanked in 2022. Brady Singer went to arbitration after a solid 2022 and regressed heavily in 2023. Singer’s arbitration case from 2022 was a big reason why the Royals were willing to move him this offseason so that they wouldn’t have to go through that process again (though Singer did agree to a deal with the Reds to avoid arbitration).
The fact that the Royals won’t have any of these cases hovering over them when they arrive at camp in Surprise is a positive thing and will help the team focus solely on baseball.
Is Arenado to Kansas City A Possibility Again?
There’s no question that the St. Louis Cardinals want to trade Nolan Arenado and somewhat shed his massive contract off their payroll. The Cardinals have already parted ways with Paul Goldschmidt (a Yankee now) and seem to favor a “re-tooling” process in 2025, where they can focus on younger, system-developed players.
Unfortunately, the “dream” of Arenado coming to Kansas City seemed to hit a snag earlier in the offseason, as Arenado has a no-trade clause in his contract and is specific about where he wants to play in 2025.
There were rumors that a possible deal to acquire Arenado in December was lined up for Houston. However, he squashed it, as he did not want to play for the Astros (they ended up acquiring Isaac Paredes instead from the Cubs).
If Arenado didn’t want to play for the Astros, it seemed unlikely that he would like to play for the Royals, especially since Arenado is a California guy. Kansas City is also a much smaller market than Houston and is more akin weather-wise to Texas than a Californian city (i.e., KC can get hot and muggy).
That said, many things have changed in St. Louis, especially with Spring Training nearly a month away.
According to the Belleville News’ Cardinals beat writer Jeff Jones and MLB Network insider Jon Morosi, Arenado has softened his stance since that vetoed Houston deal nearly a month ago. The Royals could be a possible destination for the St. Louis third baseman.
Maikel Garcia seems lined up as the Royals’ Opening Day third baseman for 2025 via Roster Resource. However, Garcia profiles hitting-wise more as a middle infielder/utility infielder than an everyday regular. Arenado would give the Royals a more traditional hitter at the hot corner in 2025 while still not losing much defensively (Arenado is a 10-time Gold Glove winner).
Then again, Arenado is coming off a down-hitting season, especially in the power department. His 16 home runs were his lowest in a non-Covid season since 2014. He also had a stark difference in his wOBA and xwOBA in 2024 and posted questionable barrel and hard-hit metrics via TJ Stats data.
Arenado’s 102 wRC+ from a season ago would undoubtedly be an improvement over Garcia’s 69 wRC+ in 2024 and 76 career wRC+. However, Arenado’s AAV is $30.55 million, and the Royals would have to figure out with St. Louis how much they would be on the hook with Arenado’s contract. He is owed $32 million in 2025, $27 million in 2026, and $15 million in 2027 via Roster Resource.
The idea of Arenado coming to Kansas City is fun to think about from a fan perspective. Conversely, I am not sure he would be worth the exorbitant cost to acquire him, even if the Cardinals threw in some money to help the Royals.
Photo Credit: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Shewmake is a 6’4″ shortstop. He can hit, but not for power. What a quandary.if he could play OF, and a bit of 1b, he could be a Whit clone.
That’s a good point. Gotta imagine the team will move him around in Omaha to maximize his value. With his size and athleticism, if he can’t hit for power, he needs to be able to hold multiple roles defensively
Well, if he can get on at a high rate, like a .330+ OBP he will be valuable. Have to look at other areas of his game like Base running speed. Also, if he is, or becomes, a smart hitter, take two hacks inside the strikzone and look for a 9 or 10 itch at bat, he becomes valuable, as the guy on deck is likely to see the pitcher’s full repertoire. Jorge Orta was a light hitting first baseman. If the guy pairsvthe .330 OBP with a .280 BA, he will be a regular.
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