For the Kansas City Royals to achieve their goals next season, the good players on the team have to become great.
Bobby Witt Jr. is otherworldly, but his excellent season still cost the Royals a few wins this year, because it wasn’t the all-time season he had the year before. And the peak version of Witt still won’t be enough; the Royals also need more from their secondary stars.
Third baseman Maikel Garcia stepped up and became one of those stars this year at age 25. But he’s still far from a perfect player, and there’s one area of his game that actually took a step backward compared to last season.
After stealing 37 bases and only getting caught twice a year ago, Garcia ran less, yet was also less efficient this season. He stole 23 bags and was caught nine times.
Garcia is challenging not only himself, but the entire Royals team to be more aggressive and confident on the basepaths next season, which is a worthy goal for a team that won’t outslug a lot of its opponents.
“That’s part of my game,” Garcia said, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “I want it to be and the team needs it to be. … We can win the game with one run. As a group, we need more confidence. We can’t be afraid to be aggressive.”
As a team this year, the Royals went 111-for-153 (72.5%) on stolen base attempts, compared to 134-for-165 (81.2%) the previous year. Garcia was clearly a part of the drop-off, and fellow speedster Dairon Blanco, who stole 31 bases in 38 tries in 2024, didn’t make the roster out of spring training.
Garcia also went from a baserunning value of eight last year, which ranked in the 99th percentile of all players, to zero, which dropped him to the 48th percentile.
In all other regards, 2025 was a huge step forward for Garcia, who became an All-Star and established himself as a candidate for a long-term extension. But if he can get back to being a force on the bases, the Royals will be a much scarier team.
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