Kansas City Royals: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Royals make sneaky move on World Series champion pitcher

Like all small-market MLB executives, Kansas City Royals general manager J.J. Picollo is forced to get creative during the offseason. He has not made a huge free agency signing or blockbuster trade, but KC’s front-office leader has completed multiple under-the-radar moves that could push the team closer toward a playoffs return.

Features

The Morning Bark

The Quiz of the Day

Royals land former World Series-winning pitcher

The Kansas City Royals are adding a former World Series winner to the team’s pitching staff. The Royals on Monday reportedly signed veteran relief pitcher Hector Neris.

Vinnie Pasquantino News / Kansas City Royals on SI / January 26

Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino Has 3-Word Reaction to Seahawks' NFC Championship

The Kansas City Royals are hoping 2026 is their year to make it back to the World Series for the first time since 2015, and perhaps they can look to another 11-year drought for inspiration.

Harrison Bader News / Kansas City Royals on SI / January 26

One Outfielder Royals Could Target After Harrison Bader Signs Elsewhere

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that outfielder Harrison Bader has agreed to a two-year, $20.5 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. Bader had been linked to the Kansas City Royals as a potential free-agent target, but that option is now off the table.

Cleveland Guardians News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The 'MLB active doubles leaders' quiz

How many of the active MLB players with 300 or more doubles in their career can you name in five minutes?

The '2025 MLB hits leaders' quiz

The 'Cleveland's 1997 World Series roster' quiz

The 'Most multi-HR games by MLB team' quiz

Video Games News / Athlon Sports / January 26

MLB The Show 26 Won’t Feature a New Cover Star — What the Update Signals

People have been starving for MLB The Show 26 news. The kind of starving where fans refresh timelines, overanalyzing every color detail, and convince themselves a background gradient means a new game engine.

MLB News / Yardbarker

The 20 most significant MLB Rule 5 draftees

The Rule 5 draft, held annually at the winter meetings in December, never garners much fanfare, but it has been known to yield some noteworthy transactions.

Kansas City Royals News / Kansas City Royals on SI / January 26

Why Stakes Are High for One Royals Player in 2026

The expectations are clear for the Kansas City Royals in 2026. It is a playoff-or-bust mentality. After making a postseason push in 2024, returning to October is the focus across the organization.

Kansas City Royals News / Kansas City Royals on SI / January 26

Bold Free Agent Idea Lands 3-Time Cy Young With Royals

The Kansas City Royals have had a mostly quiet offseason. They've only signed one free agent, that being outfielder Lane Thomas, and the two trades to land Isaac Collins, Nick Mears and Matt Strahm were far from blockbuster deals.

Kansas City Royals News / Royals Review / January 26

Royals, Rankings & Real Life: Finding Perspective in Baseball

In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, Jacob Milham and Jeremy “Hokius” Greco take stock of the Kansas City Royals while balancing baseball discussion with the reality of current events and the importance of community support.

Kansas City Royals News / Royals Review / January 26

The Royals are unique in MLB’s risk-averse culture

If you’ve been paying any attention over the last few years, you’ll have noticed thata smaller and smaller percentage of movies to make it to the theaters.

Kansas City Royals News / Kansas City Royals on SI / January 26

Royals Lose 26-Year-Old Free Agent to White Sox After Injury

Rylan Kaufman's Kansas City Royals career began in the 2018 draft, and it came to a close last week. Kaufman, who was a 12th-round pick for the Royals out of San Jacinto College, pitched 68 games in the Kansas City organization, and generally struggled to keep runs off the board.

Kansas City Royals News / Royals Review / January 26

Kansas City Royals news: Cleveland signs José Ramírez to terrorize Royals pitchers for seven more years

Preston Farr writes about what the Royals could still do before the season, such as add infield depth. Brendan Rodgers and Ramon Urias are both interesting names.

MLB News / Yardbarker

The 25 greatest pitching seasons from the modern MLB era

America's favorite pastime has more memorable performances than any sport. As such, figuring out which pitchers had the best seasons ever is no easy task.

Kansas City Royals News / Kansas City Royals on SI / January 24

Royals Boast Multiple Top 100 Prospects At Key Position

MLB.com released its preseason Top 100 prospects list, highlighting the best young talent in baseball. Two Kansas City Royals players landed on the rankings, both at the catcher position.

Bobby Witt Jr. News / Athlon Sports / January 24

Bobby Witt Jr. MVP Push Fantasy 2026

My mother expected everyone to win. When CBS SportsLine went public, she said, “Did you know my friend’s son is a Vice President at IBM? When does that happen for you?” Bobby Witt Jr.

Click here to get Yardbarker's Quiz of the Day emailed to you!

The 'MLB active doubles leaders' quiz

The 'NFL undrafted receiving leaders' quiz

The 'NFL tight end receiving leaders' quiz

The 'Last 100-catch season by team' quiz

Kansas City Royals News / Kansas City Royals on SI / January 23

Latest Rankings Prove Royals Infield Is Loaded With Star Talent

MLB Network revealed its Top 100 list, with several Kansas City Royals making the cut. While it marked a first-time honor for a few players, the majority of Kansas City’s selections came from the infield.

Bobby Witt Jr. News / Just Baseball / January 22

Kauffman’s New Dimensions Will Win Bobby Witt Jr. an MVP

After they achieved their first playoff berth in nearly a decade during the 2024 season, the future of the Kansas City Royals seemed very bright. They had the early makings of a good, young core that could carry them deep into October year after year, which had fans across the league very excited.

Kansas City Royals News / Last Word On Sports / January 21

Why the Kansas City Royals Moved the Outfield Fences at Kauffman Stadium

The Kansas City Royals outfield fence move at Kauffman Stadium represents a data-driven attempt to modernize run scoring, improve roster efficiency, and generate new revenue without abandoning the park’s identity.

Kansas City Royals News / Last Word On Sports / January 19

Why Revenue Sharing Standards Matter for the Kansas City Royals Right Now

Major League Baseball is once again circling a familiar argument. Payroll gaps are widening. Mega-contracts are stacking up at the top of the market. Owners, analysts, and fans are driving renewed calls for a salary cap.

MLB News / MLB Trade Rumors / January 18

Royals “Increasingly Unlikely” To Trade For Jarren Duran, Brendan Donovan

The Royals have been fairly active this offseason on the trade market and have already worked out deals that brought outfielder Isaac Collins (alongside righty Nick Mears) and lefty setup man Matt Strahm to Kansas City.

Kansas City Royals News / Last Word On Sports / January 18

Kansas City Royals: Expectations vs. Reality in Big-Money MLB

The Kansas City Royals’ expectations are colliding with reality in modern Major League Baseball. As payroll gaps widen and mega-deals dominate headlines, Kansas City continues to operate in a disciplined lane built on development, timing, and value-based roster construction rather than bidding wars.

Bobby Witt Jr. News / Yardbarker / January 16

Royals' reluctance in free agent market could hinder Bobby Witt Jr.'s prime

In 1989, Mark Davis threw 92.2 innings, had an ERA of 1.85, and saved 44 games. He won the Cy Young and entered free agency looking for a big contract.

Kansas City Royals News / Field Level Media / January 13

Royals announce new outfield dimensions at Kauffman Stadium

The Kansas City Royals are bringing the outfield fences a little closer to home plate at Kauffman Stadium, the team announced on Tuesday. Per the team-provided diagram, the left- and right-field corners will be pulled in 9 feet to 347 and 344 feet, respectively.

Kansas City Royals News / Just Baseball / January 10

Three Free Agent Bats the Royals Should Target

After going 82-80 and missing the playoffs in 2025, the Kansas City Royals have certainly made an effort to get better this offseason, especially on the offensive end.

Kris Bubic News / Yardbarker / January 7

Potential Mets-Royals trade centered on breakout starter Kris Bubic would be win-win

Trade between the Mets and Royals involving Bubic would make sense. The two sides could help strengthen weak points on the other roster.

Phillies prove desire to move on from Nick Castellanos with latest free-agent target

The 20 worst MLB teams from the 1990s

The '2024 MLB home run leaders' quiz

Kansas City Royals News / MLB Trade Rumors / January 7

Royals Exploring Trade Market For Relievers

The Royals are still in the market for relief help and appear likelier to find another bullpen arm via the trade market than via free agency, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.