After a brutal week weather-wise in Kansas City, things are finally looking rosier when transitioning to Spring. February will be over by this time next week; the weather will hit the 60s next week in Kansas City (yes, I know), and the Royals kicked off Cactus League play on Friday. For those who look forward to baseball season more than any other sport, Opening Day can’t come soon enough (in addition to Royals games on television, which was detailed this week by the organization in a social media post).
While the Royals’ first Spring Training game garnered fans’ attention this week, there were a couple of other news items worth analyzing, including the signing of one new Royals pitcher and one All-Star infielder whom the Royals demonstrated some interest in this offseason.
In this edition of the ” Jottings, ” let’s break down those news items and the Royals’ win over the Rangers.
Royals Pitchers and Gentry Thrive in 5-2 Win Over Rangers
The Royals always kick off their Cactus League campaign against the Rangers because they share the Surprise, Arizona complex. In this 2025 edition, the Royals were triumphant over the Rangers in a 5-2 win.
One of the main highlights of the game was a three-run home run by Tyler Gentry, which broke a 2-2 tie. Gentry came in for Nelson Velazquez later in the game and struck out in his first plate appearance. However, with two runners on (Dairon Blanco and catching prospect Carter Jensen), Gentry hit a monstrous home run that gave the Royals the lead for good.
I looked at Gentry as a hitter who may be at a crossroads this Spring Training with the Royals organization, especially after regressing in 2024 in Omaha after a promising 2023. A strong Cactus League campaign could get him back in the playing-time discussion, though he will be a long shot to make the Opening Day roster because he still has a Minor League option.
Another game highlight was the Royals’ pitching staff, which “raided the zone” against the Rangers. As Royals Baseball Information and Communications guru Dave Holtzman pointed out on Twitter, the Royals didn’t walk a single Texas batter and collected a strike rate of 75%.
Noah Cameron was one pitcher who primarily excelled against Texas on Friday.
In two innings of work, he allowed no runs, no walks, one hit, and had one strikeout. His arsenal also profiled strongly in his first Cactus League outing, as his fastball was getting up to 95 MPH, and his other pitches rated well via TJ Stuff+ data.
Cameron will face a lot of competition this spring for a spot on the pitching staff (especially since he was recently added to the 40-man roster this offseason). However, his solid start to the 2025 Cactus League was a step in the right direction.
Royals Sign Ross Stripling
Shortly after the Royals’ first team workout, JJ Picollo added some depth to the Royals pitching staff this spring by signing former Athletics pitcher Stripling to a Minor League contract.
Stripling is an interesting case study, as he is coming off a weird season in Oakland last year. His surface-level metrics look bad, as he posted a 6.01 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and 7.4% K-BB% in 85.1 IP, all career-worsts.
Conversely, his xERA was 4.74, and FIP was 3.89. Furthermore, he produced a 1.1 fWAR, giving the Athletics some value, even if that didn’t come from ERA or WHIP. He also showcased some interesting PLV data overall and with his secondary pitches last season, though his four-seamer rated poorly in 2024.
TJ Stuff+ was slightly more conservative with Stripling’s pitch quality last season. That said, it appeared that Stripling may have been better than what his 6.01 ERA indicated (or at least showcases more potential).
Stripling is not a high-strikeout pitch. He only produced a 12.9% K% last year, and after posting a 20.7% K rate in 2022 with Toronto, he only sported an 18.4% K% in an injury-plagued 2023 with San Francisco. It’s possible that Stripling was still recovering and working on some things after 2023. However, at 35 years old, it’s also plausible that Stripling may be at the end of a career that has spanned back to 2016 with the Dodgers.
Nonetheless, Stripling is a nice dart throw by the Royals, who could at least give some depth in Omaha and step in at the Major League level if a pitcher on the active roster flails or gets hurt early in March and April.
Nolan Arenado Spurs Kansas City As Destination
The Cardinals’ third baseman was the subject of trade talks all offseason. Yet, he remains in St. Louis, as John Mozeliak and the Cardinals front office could not agree to a deal with a team of Arenado’s choosing.
It sounds like Arenado had limited his choices to five teams this offseason: the Dodgers, Padres, Yankees, Red Sox, and Astros.
Safe to say, Arenado intends to play with a big-market team in 2025 and beyond if he isn’t playing the hot corner in St. Louis. In other news, the sun rises in the east.
It appears that Picollo and the Royals inquired about acquiring Arenado this offseason but pulled away from trade talks when it was apparent that Arenado wouldn’t consider Kansas City a “destination” in 2025.
This is always the hard part about “hot stove” talk, especially with a club like the Royals. Do the Royals need more “thump” in the middle of the order? Absolutely. The fans know it. Picollo knows it. Even manager Matt Quatraro probably knows it. The Royals got their much-needed leadoff hitter and added pitching depth this offseason. However, they fell short in acquiring another bat in the middle of the order.
However, it’s not because Picollo and the Royals didn’t put in enough effort.
This isn’t MLB The Show, where players can override “fair trades.” GMs don’t just make trades based on Baseball Trade Values calculations. The Royals tried to sign Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar in free agency and trade for Starling Marte from the Mets. And yet, nothing developed because both sides have to approve of a deal. That shows that baseball, especially regarding transactions, is a much more complicated process than fans would like to believe.
Would Arenado have been the answer to the Royals’ issues in 2025? Who knows? That said, the Royals proved in the past two offseasons that they are not just a transactionally aggressive club under Picollo but realistic about their organization and clear in what they believe is fair and what is not.
I’ll take that prudence over a club like the Rockies and Angels, who sign big names (Kris Bryant and Anthony Rendon) for big cash and see those players never live up to their contracts, thus hamstringing the club for years.
Photo Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports