Mar 12, 2024; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; General view of Kansas City Royals hats and gloves in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Royals Outfield Production Listed As Team's Fatal Flaw

Originally posted on Kansas City Royals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Kansas City Royals still have hope of making it back to the postseason for the second straight year. They are 73-71 and are just three games back of the third American League Wild Card spot. However, they have fallen behind both the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Guardians after losing back-to-back games. Their main issue this season has been their offense, or lack thereof.

They need to experience an uptick in offensive production if they want to make a run to the postseason this coming October. Their hopes have taken a hit in recent days. Even after acquiring Mike Yastrzemski from the San Francisco Giants, who helped strengthen their offense, they are struggling to score runs.

When discussing each contending team's fatal flaw, Tim Kelly pointed to the offense for the Royals.

Royals Offense May Be Team's Achilles Heel

"The promotion of top prospect Jac Caglianone didn't have the impact that the Royals hoped it would back in June when they called him up. Caglione has a minus-1.2 WAR,according to Baseball Reference. You can have a defensive-first center fielder in Kyle Isbel, but only if you get great offensive production in the two corners, which the Royals have not," Kelly wrote on Tuesday.

The Royals also added Randal Grichuk and Adam Frazier in trades at the deadline. But those moves have not quite panned out. Only Yastrzemski has given them any sort of offensive lift, and with Caglianone struggling, there isn't much hope for an offensive turnaround.

This could very well lead to the Royals ultimately missing the postseason and falling further down in the Wild Card race. The Guardians are surging and have passed them, and the Royals aren't too far ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, who also have played better baseball as of late.

The Royals need to figure something out quick, or else their playoff hopes will continue to take a hit. They have a crucial series next week with the Seattle Mariners, who hold the third Wild Card spot at the moment, but that series may ultimately seal their fate if they are unable to start scoring more runs.

Perhaps in the offseason, the Royals will target some offense to help score more runs and bounce right back into contention in 2026. It will be interesting to see if the Royals can turn things around and pull off a September comeback.

This article first appeared on Kansas City Royals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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