Royals must build around Bobby Witt Jr. by pursuing offensive upgrades

The Kansas City Royals went from 56 wins in 2023 to an impressive 86 wins and a wild-card playoff series victory in 2024. Its solid rotation and the emergence of shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. are the main reasons for this historic turnaround.

The good news for the Royals is that Witt is locked down until at least 2031, and the Royals' rotation from last year will be intact, barring injuries or a trade. Recently, Michael Wacha opted out of his 2025 contract but re-signed with the team for three years and $50 million. 

Kansas City has Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Brady Singer and Wacha as steadfast anchors in the rotation. They also have Alec Marsh and Kyle Wright, whom they acquired from the Braves last offseason. Wright was injured in 2024 but won 21 games as recently as 2022. 

The offense is another story. Outside of Witt, injury-prone first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and aging catcher Salvador Perez, the Royals have minimal offensive production. All three players had at least 97 RBI in 2024, but the production fell off precipitously after that. 

Kansas City needs at least two impact bats. They need someone who can get on base from the leadoff position and someone to lengthen their lineup in the middle of the order. In 2024, the team slash line for the first spot in the batting was abysmal — .228/.270/.334. The fifth spot in the order was almost as bad — .226/.285/.401. 

Outside of the 2-3-4 spots filled by the Big Three, the lineup was unproductive and inconsistent. There were many culprits, but the main drains on the offense were third baseman Maikel Garcia (an empty .231 batting average), left fielder MJ Melendez (.206), and right fielder Hunter Renfroe (.229)/. All three of these players are still on the roster. 

The Royals must upgrade at third base and move Garcia to more of a super-utility role. Alex Bregman would be a dream signing, but he will likely be out of KC's budget. They might be willing to take a chance on someone like Yoan Moncada or Gio Urshela. Neither will likely cost much, but who knows if the production would be much better. Moncado has a history of a decent on-base percentage (.331), but he's only played in more than 130 games thrice. 

Willy Adames and Ha-Seong Kim have experience at shortstop but might be willing to move to third base. It's uncertain if either will be within Kansas City's budget. 

Several outfielders, including Tyler O'Neill, Jurickson Profar, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander and Max Kepler, are intriguing. They all have pros and cons, but all would be significant upgrades. 

Trading is an option, but the Royals do not have a deep minor-league system to draw much value, and the major-league roster does not hold much appeal either. They might pull off a few minor trades, but it is doubtful they have the trading chips to make a big enough deal to help the offense much. 

Kansas City must be wise regarding free agency to improve the roster. Will ownership increase the budget enough to acquire two good bats to lengthen a weak, shallow lineup? It doesn't seem reasonable to think the offense will be better without upgrading. The Royals must look for options to improve the offense surrounding Witt significantly. It will be interesting to watch.