Are the Royals actually making moves?

This offseason the Royals have been making moves. After finishing last season with a record of 56-106 nobody expected the Royals to come into free agency and spend money but that’s what they’re doing. So far they have signed 6 plays to major league deals who can really help their young core compete. Here we’ll look at what they’re trying.

Roster overview:

Coming out of last season the Royals felt like they had found their young core to build around. Starting with their shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. After being the top prospect in baseball by many Witt was called up in 2022 where he was slightly disappointing. He had one of the worst gloves in the league, walked very little, struck out too much, and didn’t hit the ball as hard as he did in the minors. He still showed signs with 20 homers and showed his speed with 30 steals. But last season in 2023 Witt broke out with a 5.7 WAR and 115 wRC+. He massively improved defensively becoming a potential gold glove caliber shortstop. The only thing left to improve is his walk problem still sitting under 6%. The Royals know they have a future star with Witt.

They also have first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino who missed most of last season after getting surgery. He looks like one of the best hitting first basemen in the league walking a ton and rarely striking out while hitting a high average. If he can figure out the power he should be a constant All Star. They also saw the emergence of Maikel Garcia last season who went from a backup infielder to the starting third baseman who plays gold glove defense and hits for a high average. They still have former top catching prospect MJ Melendez who has transitioned to the outfield and has been really bad but still has potential with the bat. They’re still trying to squeeze every ounce they can out of 8 time All Star Salvador Perez who still can barrel the ball with the best of them. 

They’re main problem has been their rotation and bullpen. Last season they were running out Zack Grineke, Jordan Lyles, Daniel Lynch, Brad Keller, and many more bad starters. At the deadline they traded reliever Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers for young starter Cole Ragans. Once he got to the Royals, Ragans made 12 starts with a 2.49 FIP. He was one of the best pitchers over the final 2 months. He has a dominant change up and slider that gets a ton of whiffs. If he can fix his walk issue he might become an All Star. They also have Brady Singer who had a down year in 2023 after a great 2022. He could become a very good #4 in the rotation after a bounce back year next season.

Coming into the worst division in baseball with the Twins winning the division and being the only team to finish over .500. The Twins lost players this offseason including Sonny Gray which could lower their win count next season. The Royals decided this is the time to finally put together a competent team and made 6 signings already this season.

Free agent signings:

First as I’ve already talked about they signed Garrett Hampson. Hampson will help the team by being a great defensive and baserunning utility man who will sub in anywhere in the lineup. He’s taking this role from players like Matt Duffy and Hunter Dozier who were basically net negatives.

Next they brought in veteran reliever Will Smith. He’s been a great back end reliever for multiple playoff and World Series teams for his entire career winning the last 3 World Series. Smith should work perfectly in the massive ballpark that is Kauffman Stadium with his very low ground ball rate and should at worst be a great lefty specialist and at best a top closer. On only a 1 year $5 million deal the Royals are getting him for a steal.

They also brought in Chris Stratton in the bullpen who has been one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. He has put up less than a 3.80 FIP all of the last 4 seasons. Last year was his worst season out of the 4 mainly because he got very little whiff on his curveball and slider. In the past those were his put away pitchers but last season he had to use his fastball a lot more causing more hard hit balls. I think the Royals will fix both pitches and Stratton will turn back into an above average reliever. The Royals got him this year for $4 and a player option for 2025 meaning the Royals and Stratton are expecting a bounce back this season leading to a larger deal next offseason.

Next they upgraded their rotation that had the 4th worst starter ERA in the league last season. First signing Seth Lugo to a 3 year $45 million deal with an opt out in 2026. Lugo had his first full season as a starter last season for the Padres. He’s known for his elite control only having a 6% walk rate and getting his strikeouts a lot of the time looking not chasing. I expect him to throw his new sweeper a lot more in 2024 to induce more chases but his sinker fastball combo is some of the best in the league.

The Royals next signed Michael Wacha. This will be his 6th team in 6 years but that puts Wacha in a bad light compared to his last two seasons. With both Boston and San Diego Lugo had a low 3’s ERA. Wacha upped the usage of his sinker each of the last two seasons which really made his fastball and changeup play way up. Just like Lugo, Wacha has an average strikeout rate and plays towards flyball contact. Wacha’s peripherals are a lot better than Lugo’s because Wacha limits hard contact a lot more than Lugo. He’s definitely not the #1 or #2 that the Royals will use him but for a 1 year $16 million contract with a player option for 2025 it is a great pick for the Royals. 

The last player the Royals have signed so far was right fielder Hunter Renfroe. After signing with the Angels last offseason and eventually joining the Reds after being put on waivers Renfroe had a very disappointing 2023. He had always been known as a high strikeout power hitter who could give you 25 or more homers but last season his barrel and hard hit rate dropped dramatically leading Renfroe to get cut by the Reds and being off a team by the end of the year. The Royals need him to bounce back with top prospect MJ Melendez struggling to start his career and no other outfielder being a positive hitter currently they need Renfroe to get back to his old ways. If he doesn’t they’ll turn back to Nelson Valesquez who they acquired before the deadline last year for the Cubs and went on a run hitting 14 homers in 40 games.

I think this is a good thing for the Royals fanbase and baseball in general. Are these guys going to turn Kansas City into a contender, no but it will give their young players a look at what a real Major League roster looks like. Some of these signings I would be against like the Lugo and Renfroe but I love what they're doing to add to their bullpen and the Wacha deal. All in all a great offseason so far that should be built upon more by adding another starter and second baseman.