The Kansas City Royals are making a big offseason decision this winter, but it has nothing to do with player personnel. But it should help the offense.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Royals are planning to change Kauffman Stadium to induce more home runs going forward.
The Royals plan to shrink the outfield, bringing in the walls by a considerable amount, to help create more home runs at the ballpark for 2026 and beyond.
Royals to shrink Kauffman Stadium to create more homers
“The Kansas City Royals are moving the majority of their outfield fence in by 10 feet,” Passan writes, “drastically changing the offensive environment of a notoriously bad stadium for home run hitting, one the team hopes will play as league average, sources told ESPN.”
This is a fascinating decision from the Royals, as instead of what the Baltimore Orioles did a few years ago by moving the fence back, the Royals are moving the fence in to create more home runs.
Bobby Witt Jr. and the rest of the offense will surely love this change, but their pitching staff might not be as happy now that homers will be easier to come by in Kansas City.
“We want a neutral ballpark where if you hit a ball well, it should be a home run,” J.J. Picollo, the Royals general manager, said.
More: MLB Hot Stove tracker: Live updates on news, rumors, signings and trades for 2025 free agency
It’s an interesting decision, especially since the Royals aren’t planning to create an environment that will match the very hitter-friendly ballparks around Major League Baseball.
To induce a higher home run total at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals are moving the right and left field power-alley fences from 389 feet to 379 feet. All the way to the foul poles, the outfield is expected to shrink from 9-10 feet according to this report.
Next season, the Royals are expected to now see a lot more home runs thanks to much more favorable dimensions. While center field isn’t changing, the majority of the outfield will be around 10 feet shorter.
It’s a clear goal to induce more home runs, and based on the shallower fences, the Royals are going to see a few more home runs in 2026 and beyond.
More MLB news:
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.sportingnews.com ’
