Phillies $36 Million All-Star Would Be Dream Free-Agent Signing For Royals

The Winter Meetings were a flurry of activity for many Major League Baseball teams, but the Kansas City Royals kept quiet.

As a small-market team, the Royals certainly weren't in on the Juan Soto negotiations, or even those of Max Fried. And because they have a relatively lean farm system, they weren't involved in the blockbuster trade sweepstakes for Garrett Crochet.

At some point between now and Opening Day, though, the Royals should still make at least one splash signing if they want to compete for an American League pennant. There are multiple avenues that signing could take, but here's one possible scenario.

Say the Royals find themselves hopelessly outgunned in the free-agent sweepstakes for big bats like Teoscar Hernández and even Gleyber Torres. They decide that the only way they'll be able to add a hitter is via trade, and they turn their focus to stockpiling pitchers instead.

Last year, the Royals learned the value of a former reliever converting to a full-time starter when they added Seth Lugo. This year, they could take a similar approach and shoot for a reliever who many believe can become a starter in the Philadelphia Phillies' Jeff Hoffman.

Hoffman, 31, began his career as a starter with the Colorado Rockies, but washed out and found himself let go by two organizations. Then, he landed with the Phillies and became an All-Star reliever, finding so much success (2.28 ERA since the start of 2023), that the time seems right for him to give starting another go.

Hoffman is projected for a three-year, $36 million contract by Tim Britton of The Athletic, and the big question now is whether he will blow past that figure. Clay Holmes, who is virtually the same age and had a worse season than Hoffman, got $38M from the New York Mets to try and become a starter.

Do the Royals really want to enter the year with Alec Marsh, Kris Bubic, and Kyle Wright having to fill two rotation spots? It seems unwise. Bringing in Hoffman gives them far more flexibility, and the option to kick another possible high-impact arm to the back end of the bullpen.

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