The Kansas City Royals ultimately missed the postseason after going 82-80 during the regular season and finishing in third place in the American League Central. Last year, they rose from 106 losses in 2023 to win 86 games and clinch the second Wild Card spot. The offense let them down in 2025, and there wasn’t much else the pitching staff could do to keep the team afloat in the standings.
However, not every aspect of 2025 was a failure for Kansas City, even on the offensive side. They had a few players break out this season and emerge as stars. The biggest example is third baseman Maikel Garcia.
Oliver Vandervoort of Kings of Kauffman called for Garcia to be named to the All-MLB Team this offseason.
“There might be no Royals player that came out of nowhere this season than Maikel Garcia. While he struggled down the stretch, he still slashed .286/.351/.449, and his 16 home runs were more than double his previous career high,” Vandervoort wrote.
“Third base was a strong position in the American League this season with the usual suspect in José Ramírez seemingly leading the charge and the new challenger in the slugging Junior Caminero putting together quite the season himself.
However, with the second highest fWAR in the AL at 5.6, Garcia should at least make All-Second Team, with a potential chance case to make for him to join Witt on the top list.”
Garcia was an All-Star for the first time this season, posting a 5.8 WAR and an .800 OPS while also stealing 23 bases. It certainly was a year to remember for him, and he should at least receive some consideration for the All-MLB Team.
Though the offense struggled, Garcia was one of the few bright spots and helped keep the Royals in contention until the very end of the season. He is now a key building block for the future and can help the Royals bounce back into contention next season.
Having him and Witt to build around is a good start if they decide to go outside the organization and find some help offensively.
It will be interesting to see of Garcia will ultimately be given this honor at the end of the season after breaking out and earning his first All-Star nod.
More MLB: Royals Could Cut Ties With 28-Year-Old All-Star With High Trade Value: Insider
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