The Kansas City Royals have been busy this offseason trying to fix an outfield that ranked dead last in WAR during 2025, but they were unable to land one of the bigger names on the free agent market.
According to a source via Francys Romero of Beisbol FR, “the Kansas City Royals were genuinely interested in signing outfielder Adolis García and are still working to improve their outfield department.”
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García ultimately signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, leaving Kansas City to look elsewhere for help in the grass.
What García Would Have Brought to Kansas City
The 32-year-old outfielder would have been a nice fit for a Royals team that finished the 2025 season with an 82-80 record, good for third place in the AL Central but not enough to return to the playoffs.
García hit .227/.271/.394 with 19 home runs and 75 RBI in 2025, which was a down year compared to his All-Star campaigns, but his numbers still would have been a boost over what Kansas City got from its outfielders last season.
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The Royals’ outfield posted a collective .225/.285/.348 slash line with a league-worst 73 wRC+ in 2025, meaning even a struggling García would have been an upgrade.
His defense also remains among the best in baseball, as he finished third among all outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved and was a Gold Glove finalist despite his offensive struggles.
García is best known for his 2023 postseason heroics when he won ALCS MVP and helped the Texas Rangers capture their first World Series title, posting a 1.108 OPS with eight home runs in the playoffs.
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Where the Royals Pivot From Here
Kansas City has already made moves to address the outfield this winter, signing Lane Thomas to a one-year, $5.25 million deal and acquiring Isaac Collins in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Thomas is coming off an injury-filled 2025 season in which he hit just .160 in 39 games for Cleveland, but he mashed lefties at an .859 clip earlier in his career and could platoon with the left-handed hitting Jac Caglianone in right field.
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Still, the Royals are not done shopping.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Kansas City has shown interest in Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran and Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan, though both would require giving up significant talent in a trade.
The Red Sox have reportedly asked for ace Cole Ragans in any deal involving Duran.
Free agent center fielder Harrison Bader has also been mentioned as a fit for the Royals, and he could come at a lower cost than making a blockbuster trade.
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Bader hit .277/.347/.449 with 17 home runs in 2025 while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense.
The Royals clearly wanted García and his right-handed bat, but with him now heading to Philadelphia, J.J. Picollo and the front office will have to find another way to give Bobby Witt Jr. some help in the lineup as they try to get back to the postseason in 2026.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source ca.sports.yahoo.com ’
