Royals should be interested if Anthony Santander is willing to sign short-term deal

The Kansas City Royals have done little this offseason to improve their offense for 2025. Yes, they added second baseman Jonathan India to take over the lead-off spot, but they've done nothing to fix their weak outfield.

The Royals shouldn't count on superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to be able to repeat his 2024 performance. While he can do so, it won't be easy to match his numbers from a year ago when he finished second in the MVP voting. They shouldn't count on the aging Salvador Perez to continue to defy time. At some point, the Kansas City stalwart will start to slow down. He turns 35 in May, so it could be this season. 

The Royals outfield was terrible offensively in 2024. MJ Melendez slashed .206/.273/.400 as the primary left fielder. Hunter Renfroe wasn't much better in right with a slash line of .229/.297/.392. Neither was center fielder Kyle Isbel, as he slashed .229/.287/.367.

It seemed apparent that the outfield was the most significant need for the Royals this offseason. Yet, they've done nothing.

Anthony Santander could help. He should be better offensively than any Kansas City starters in the outfield. He's not perfect, but his 2024 slash of .235/.308/.506 offers more pop than any of the Royals' outfielders. 

Santander has warts. His career on-base percentage is only .307. Of all his batted balls, 54.8% were flyballs in 2024. That could be a problem in cavernous Kauffman Stadium. His strikeout rate wasn't bad at 19.4%, well below the league average, but his walk rate was 8.7%. Defensively, his career Defensive Runs Scored in left field is -9, and his Ultimate Zone Rating is -7.8. 

Defensively, he's not that much worse than Melendez and significantly better at the plate. Santander hit 44 home runs in 2024, and while it's doubtful he can match that number in Kansas City, it's way better than the 17 Melendez hit. Adding Santander would offer a middle-of-the-order threat to protect Witt, Perez and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, as Melendez and Renfroe don't.

According to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, Santander might be willing to take a shorter contract. 

It would behoove the Royals to make a serious push while Witt's salary jumps and while Perez still has something in the tank. If Santander will take a one-year deal with an option year or two, the Royals should be calling him. Would he take a one-year contract for $20M? That might be low, but it should be in the ballpark.

Kansas City could offer a one-year deal worth $20M, with another year on a mutual option at $22M and a second option year at maybe $25M. With this, if Santander can stay productive, the team will get that middle-of-the-order bat it has been seeking and the player will get rewarded for maintaining a certain level of offense. 

There is no way of knowing if either party would be interested in such a deal, but it would be worth a conversation. In November, Yardbarker's David Hill wrote that Santander would be a good fit for the Royals, and that hasn't changed. Kansas City still needs to upgrade its outfield, and Santander still needs a team.