Kansas City Royals: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

Royals’ Latest Trade Adds Much-Needed Lineup Flexibility

The Kansas City Royals have been busy this week. On Thursday, they took their first step towards improving their offense for 2026, signing Lane Thomas to a one-year, $5.25 million contract.

Features

The Morning Bark

The Quiz of the Day

Royals reportedly discussing trade with Nationals involving star players

The Kansas City Royals still have plenty of work to do on their roster. An unexpected trade could be the beginning of a domino effect.

Kansas City Royals lock in another core player

Jorge Polanco signing shows New York Mets' desperation

Mets' addition of Jorge Polanco shows willingness to get creative

The 25 greatest performances in the MLB All-Star Game

The '2024 MLB home run leaders' quiz

Maikel Garcia News / Royals Review / December 13

Kansas City Royals news: Maikel Garcia gets his deal

Anne Rogers has more on the Maikel Garcia signing. According to a source, Garcia will make $4 million in 2026 (what would have been his first arbitration year), $7 million in ‘27, $10 million in ‘28, $13 million in ‘29 and $19 million in ‘30.

Kansas City Royals News / MLB Trade Rumors / December 13

Royals Sign Kevin Newman, Jose Cuas To Minor League Deals

The Royals announced the signing of infielder Kevin Newman and reliever Jose Cuas to minor league contracts. The team only officially announced a non-roster invite to Spring Training for Newman.

Kyle Schwarber News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The 'Active MLB home run leaders' quiz

How many of the most prolific power hitters in baseball today can you name in 5 minutes?

The 'Last 40-home-run season by MLB team' quiz

The 'MLB All-Star Game MVPs' quiz

The '50-home-run MLB seasons' quiz

Lane Thomas News / Last Word On Sports / December 12

The Royals Signed Lane Thomas for Insurance

The Royals signed Lane Thomas to a one-year deal, not to replace what they lost with Mike Yastrzemski, but to make sure they have enough insurance coverage.

Athletics News / Yardbarker

25 MLB players on the brink of stardom in 2026

The stars were out in full force during the 2025 World Series. From Max Scherzer in Toronto to Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and of course, Shohei Ohtani, in Los Angeles, there was no shortage of the game's best under the brightest lights.

Maikel Garcia News / Field Level Media / December 12

Report: Royals finalizing extension with 3B Maikel Garcia

The Kansas City Royals are finalizing a five-year, $57.5 million extension with All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia, ESPN reported on Friday. The deal with the 2025 Gold Glove award winner includes a club option for a sixth year and is pending the results of a physical, per the report.

Kansas City Royals News / Royals Review / December 12

Royals bring back reliever José Cuas on a minor league deal

The Royals announced they have brought back reliever José Cuas on a minor league deal. Cuas previously pitched for the team in 2022-23. He did not pitch in the big leagues last year, spending the season in the Braves organization.

Kansas City Royals News / Royals Review / December 12

ZIPS projects Royals to have top ten rotation that could position them as division contender

For the second straight preseason, Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections – now available at Fangraphs – see the Kansas City Royals as a club with strong pitching that can compete for the division.

MLB News / Royals Review / December 12

Royals inquired about MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams, per report

The Royals had a quiet Winter Meetings, but have been pretty active in the days since, signing outfielder Lane Thomas to a one-year deal, and inking All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia to a long-term deal.

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.

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

The '2025-26 bowl game host cities' quiz

The 'Active NBA PPG leaders' quiz

The 'Oldest 4,000-passing-yard seasons' quiz

The 'Most passing yards by an NFL rookie' quiz

Kansas City Royals News / Yardbarker / December 12

Kansas City Royals lock in another core player

The Kansas City Royals locked up one of their young stars when shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. signed an 11-year, $288.7 million extension ahead of the 2024 season.

Blue Jays are signing standout pitcher to a $37 million deal

Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro signs a five-year extension

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt signed multiyear extension

Mariners working on a deal with catcher Andrew Knizner

Pete Alonso picks an interesting new jersey number with Orioles

Kevin Newman News / Royals Review / December 12

Royals sign infielder Kevin Newman to a minor league deal

The Royals announced they have signed utility infielder Kevin Newman to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Newman is a 32-year-old right-handed hitter, and an eight-year MLB veteran, mostly with the Pirates.

MLB News / Kansas City Royals on SI / December 12

This Cardinals All-Star Makes Perfect Sense As Royals’ Next Offseason Addition

The Kansas City Royals made their first key move of the offseason on Thursday night when they signed outfielder Lane Thomas to a one-year, $5.25 million contract.

Kansas City Royals News / Royals Review / December 12

No Rule 5? No Problem! Royals’ Winter Meetings Recap

In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, hosts Jacob Milham and Jeremy “Hokius” Greco dig into a pivotal week for the Kansas City Royals and Major League Baseball.

Kansas City Royals News / Royals Review / December 12

What’s your favorite vintage Royals gear?

I didn’t realize until I went to a Nippon Professional League game in Japan just how much sports fashion is a thing here in the United States. Walking the streets there, you don’t see a whole lot of NPB merch being worn.

Kansas City Royals News / Just Baseball / December 12

A Strong Draft Position in 2026 Is Huge for the Royals’ Future

The MLB draft lottery tends to cause chaos each year, and boy, was there chaos in the this year’s lottery on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. That chaos ultimately benefited the Kansas City Royals greatly. Going into the night, the Royals had 1-in-119 odds of getting the #1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.

Lane Thomas News / Kansas City Royals on SI / December 12

Royals Insider Confirms What Fans Already Knew About Lane Thomas Signing

Lane Thomas undoubtedly has upside, but he's no sure thing for the Kansas City Royals. Outside of a three-WAR, 28-homer season in 2023, Thomas' career has generally been uneven.

Kansas City Royals News / Royals Review / December 12

Kansas City Royals news: The Royals add an outfielder

Anne Rogers writes about the Royals landing Lane Thomas. After that uneven 2024, Thomas was limited to 39 games and 125 at-bats for the Guardians in 2025, mostly due to a lingering case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which required surgery in September.