The 2025 season was a letdown for the Kansas City Royals as they went 82-80 and finished in third place in the American League Central, missing the playoffs in the process. The offense was their main achilles heel this past season.
Finding a way to boost their offense and add some protection behind Bobby Witt Jr. is the priority for general manager J.J. Picollo. More specifically, they need power in their lineup.
At the trade deadline, they acquired Mike Yastrzemski from the San Francisco Giants, and he gave the lineup a temporary boost. Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicts that Kansas City will bring him back for 2026.
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Royals Predicted To Bring Back Mike Yastrzemski
Yastrzemski has been linked to the Royals as a possible return candidate for several weeks now. After joining the team, he slashed .237/.339/.500 with nine home runs, 18 RBI and an .839 OPS. He hit a total of 17 home runs during the regular season.
The 35-year-old veteran should not be an expensive free agent, which works out well for the Royals as they will not be trying to sign the likes of Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker or Kyle Schwarber.
It should only take a one-year deal for the Royals to keep him around, and he could be exactly what they need: a power-hitting outfielder. And this time, they would have him around for the whole season barring a trade deadline sale.
This also would leave room for the Royals to potentially make a trade or add another bat via free agency to boost their lineup. The offense certainly has holes, and while Yastrzemski isn’t a household name, he’s a solid stopgap solution for the small-market Royals that allows for more opportunities to add other pieces.
If the Royals keep Yastrzemski and add another piece or two, they could at the very least find themselves back in the AL Wild Card picture, but the AL Central is also wide open, so they could potentially take the division for the first time since 2015.
The Royals will be an interesting team to watch from the Winter Meetings on, and they’ll have plenty of players to target in trades or free agency as they try to make the necessary adjustments to their lineup.
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