Welcome to the 2026 Kansas City Royals “Report Card,” where the Royals On SI beat writers grade every player on their performance at their respective positions this season.
Jaylon Thompson wrote about the now-wrapped season. The Royals have a long way to go. Their 2026 campaign was an utter disappointment. The Royals entered the year with high expectations but fell short of their intended goals.
The regular season is officially over, and the Royals have a lot of things to fix in the offseason. It was a lost season for the Royals, which saw them come into the year with expectations of competing for the division but falling well short, going 69-93.
The 2026 Royals season did not go as expected. After back-to-back winning seasons, the Royals felt they had the core of a team that could return to the postseason with a few minor tweaks to the roster.
When the 2026 Kansas City Royals season came to a close on Sunday, there were only three words bouncing around in my head: “Well, that sucked.” Objectively, this year’s Royals squad was awful.
The 2026 season has been headlined by young players emerging, but some wily veterans have also had their day. As we head toward the end of the regular season, these 30 players stand out as the biggest surprises on their teams.
The Kansas City Royals finished their 2026 campaign with a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday. The Royals are now officially in offseason mode.
Vinnie Pasquantino's second solo homer of the day broke an eighth-inning tie and sent the Kansas City Royals to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.
The rookie season Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen is having will be one that is remembered for a long time. In their 12-9 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, Jensen hit not one but two home runs.
Cleveland is doing its best to hold onto the American League Central lead but will face a stiff challenge on Saturday night from Kansas City's Michael Wacha, who has dominated the Guardians this season.
It has been a long and arduous season for the Royals, but it will be coming to an end with this last series against the Guardians. As we approach October, the Royals have put together a bad final month of the year, going 5-13 and ending on a sour note.
On the surface, the 2026 Kansas City Royals‘ season has been a huge disappointment. That’s in sharp contrast to how things were feeling just two years ago.
The Kansas City Royals entered the 2026 season in hopes of writing the wrongs of the 2025 season and recapturing the euphoric feeling they felt the year prior in their surprise run to the ALDS.
The Chicago White Sox lost an opportunity to clinch the third American League wild card, a playoff spot and a chance to move into first place in the Central Division with a 5-4 loss at the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
The brother of longtime Major League Baseball star Craig Kimbrel has passed away. He was 36 years old. Matt Kimbrel, the brother of the flame-throwing closer, was killed in a motorcycle crash in Alabama.
The younger brother of nine-time All-Star reliever Craig Kimbrel was killed in a weekend motorcycle crash in Huntsville, Ala. Matt Kimbrel, 36, a former minor league pitcher with the Atlanta Braves, died Saturday morning after colliding with a dump truck, police said.
There are still questions surrounding the White Sox: Can they hold on to a playoff berth, and can they prove that the 2026 season is more than a flash in the pan? Otherwise, they may end up sharing the same fate as the 2003 Royals.
The Kansas City Royals named shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. their nominee for Major League Baseball’s 2026 Roberto Clemente Award on Monday, hours before the club opened a three-game series against the Houston Astros.
The Kansas City Royals have released 26-year-old outfielder Connor Scott from Double-A Northwest Arkansas, ending the former first-round pick’s second stint in the organization.
Left-handed reliever Matt Strahm recently underwent surgery on his right knee, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. It is not clear exactly which type of procedure was performed.
Look, Major League teams don’t draft for need. However, the Royals, a team that’s had a well-documented need for impact outfielders, will hope that Zion Rose can become a fixture in Kansas City’s lineup for years to come.
The Royals have released infielder Brandon Drury, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He is now a free agent and eligible to sign with any club.
Across his first 15 relief appearances with the Royals, Pearson logged an impressive 0.61 ERA, demonstrating his ability to provide shutdown innings in high-leverage situations.