Royals counting on many hopes and ifs to improve offensive production

The Kansas City Royals did little this offseason to improve an offensive lineup that lacks depth and quality. 

Outside of shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., third baseman Maikel Garcia, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and catcher Salvador Perez, last season's offense showed little pop or consistency. 

The two additions the Royals did make to their offense were signing outfielder Lane Thomas and trading for outfielder Isaac Collins. Both add some depth to a pitiful outfield, but neither qualifies as a significant addition. 

Royals are counting on too many things to go right with their offense

Thomas will certainly upgrade the depth of the outfield and will provide a right-handed platoon for incumbent center fielder Kyle Isbel. Thomas' split against lefties is .292/.359/.500, which is significantly better than Isbel's numbers against southpaws. Isbel is toothless against left-handers, hitting just .228/.295/.586. Thomas can also play the corners, making him a true fourth outfielder. 

Collins finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year race last season, and the switch-hitter is sure to be penciled in as the everyday left fielder. He will be a major improvement over the assortment of stiffs Kansas City used in left a year ago. Neither player will add much power to the lineup, however. 

The Royals are counting on big improvements from Jonathan India, whose 2025 slash line of .233/.323/.346 was the worst of his career in every aspect. Kansas City also hopes that young slugger Jac Caglianone is much closer to the hitter he was in the minors (.308/.377/.547) than he showed in his rookie year in the majors (.157/.237/.295). 

The Royals also have a rookie catcher in Carter Jensen, who they hope can start taking over for the aging Perez. During a brief September call-up last season, Jensen impressed with a slash line of .300/.391/.550. He hit three home runs and six doubles in just 60 at-bats. While repeating those numbers for a full season seems unlikely, the Royals are counting on him to be an offensive presence as a catcher and designated hitter. 

Lastly, the Royals are relying on several big ifs. If Perez can hold off Father Time for another season, if Garcia can at least match his breakout 2025 season, if Pasquantino can continue to be an RBI machine and if Witt can continue being a superstar, then the offense will be great. 

When considering all of these ifs, and the hopes of improvements from Caglianone and India, Jensen being good and Collins and Thomas stabilizing the outfield, it seems doubtful all of these things can happen in the same season. 

The biggest issue is that there isn't quality depth to cover injuries, and there isn't any immediate help in the upper minors, either. The Royals will be in big trouble if anything happens to Witt, Pasquantino or Garcia. 

Kansas City has plenty of starting pitching depth from which it could have dealt for an impact bat, but it seemed unwilling to make a trade. It lets free agent after free agent sign elsewhere, too. Austin Hays signed an affordable one-year, $6 million contract with the White Sox. That seemed like something the Royals could afford. 

Willi Castro signed a two-year, $12.8 million deal with the Rockies. The Royals could have done a similar deal. These are just a couple of examples of players who could have helped the Royals this season. 

If everything goes right for them, they are in line for an incredible season. If a few things go wrong, 2026 might not turn out very well.