The midseason acquisition of Adam Frazier helped provide a spark for the Kansas City Royals, who finished the first half of the season with a 47-50 record, and then went on to post a resurgent 35-30 mark down the stretch in 2025.
The veteran’s versatility and competence both in the field and at the plate helped keep the line moving for the Royals, no matter what position he was asked to play.
Now with Frazier hitting free agency, the Royals will have to find a way to replace the versatility off the bench that they covet so dearly.
These four utility men could provide a big boost to the Royals’ bench
1. Luis Rengifo
Back in 2024, Luis Rengifo was a top Royals’ trade deadline target, and it was easy to see why. The switch-hitter batted .300/.347/.417 with six homers and 24 steals, capping a three-year run of above league-average performance with the bat.
There are some downsides, however. While Rengifo can play second base and third base, as well as moonlight some in the outfield, he’s not a particularly good defender at any position.
Additionally, he long outperformed his peripherals, until 2025 when he slashed just .238/.287/.335. Kansas City might be able to be convinced that his bat will come around, but his subpar glove could stand in the way of a marriage between both sides.
2. Willi Castro
A long-time AL Central foe, Willi Castro was on his way to another above-average season until he was dealt at the deadline to the Chicago Cubs. Prior to the trade, he slashed .245/.335/.407 with 10 homers with the Minnesota Twins, but he saw that crater to a .170/.245/.240 mark with one dinger as a member of the Cubs.
There’s some thought that the infrequent playing time he received with the Cubs contributed to his downturn, and Castro’s posting wRC+ numbers of 107 and 106 in 2023 and 2024, respectively, should alleviate concerns about his bat moving forward.
Defensively, he’s a fine defender and truly versatile, logging time at every position but first base and catcher in 2025.
3. Ramon Urias
Long-time Baltimore Oriole Ramon Urias might be the best hitter with the most pop on this list. He hit a career-high 16 homers in 2022, owns a career ISO of .145, and a career wRC+ of 104, meaning you can likely count on him to hit a tick above league average when called upon.
Like many others on this list, Urias is coming off a rough 2025, slashing .241/.292/.384 between his time in Baltimore and with the Houston Astros after the trade deadline.
The bat still likely plays well, but he lags behind some of the other options when it comes to defensive versatility. He’s never played a game in the outfield over the course of his big league career and hasn’t played shortstop since 2022. Instead, he’s primarily a third baseman with some reps at second and first as well.
4. Andy Ibáñez
Andy Ibáñez is another option the Royals know well from his time with the rival Detroit Tigers. In Detroit, Ibáñez was more of a secondary utility player, taking a back seat to the likes of Zach McKinstry, Javier Baez, and Colt Keith in Detroit’s pecking order.
He’s more of a glove-first option, though when he did get increased playing time in 2023, he hit 11 homers and posted a 103 wRC+, giving some hope that he could also be productive with the bat if given semi-consistent playing time.
He might be cheaper than some of the other options that could be viewed as fringe starters for some clubs, and therefore might be right up the Royals’ alley.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
