Royals should take a page out of Athletics’ book and continue locking down core

This past week, the Athletics made another future-focused move when they opted to extend corner outfielder Tyler Soderstrom off the back of a breakout campaign in 2025.

Not only did it mark a commitment to the future of this franchise lying with it’s young core, it was just the latest extension for this promising young A’s team.

As Jared Greenspan of MLB.com stated, after Soderstrom “cemented himself as a potential franchise cornerstone” he became “the third member of the A’s emerging core to sign a long-term contract extension with the team in the past calendar year.” The other two names of course were DH Brent Rooker and outfielder Lawrence Butler.

Now, you might be asking yourself, what does this have to do with the Royals?

Well, the Athletics and the Royals are in pretty similar boat right now, as Kansas City has pulled off some future-focused extensions recently themselves.

In February 2024, they handed the Bobby Witt Jr. his massive 11-year contract extension to be the long-term backbone of the franchise. Then of course, they most recently inked Maikel Garcia to a five-year contract extension to solidify their elite left-side of the infield for the next half decade.

While these two were vital extensions to make, like the A’s have proved over the past year that the buck shouldn’t stop there. The Royals have plenty of young building blocks who remain without an extension that could be more than worth the investment down the road.

Royals should follow Athletics’ lead and keep planning for the future

Of the names that could be the next ones to receive an extension, the most deserving is undoubtedly Vinnie Pasquantino.

Already a fan-favorite and vocal leader in the clubhouse, after series of impressive seasons derailed by injuries, the 28-year-old put it all together in his first fully healthy season of his career in 2025. In 160 games, he slashed .264/.323/.475 with career highs in homers at 32 and RBI at 113, while also displaying great plate discipline with a 15.7% K-rate.

Now, as the A’s proved, Rome wasn’t built in a day and not all their business should get done in one winter.

Pasquantino might be a strong candidate for Royals to double-down this winter, but there are several “show-me more” candidates that seem to be teetering on extension talks if they can repeat their impressive but more limited success once again in 2026 – similar to how the A’s rewarded Soderstrom after a strong but short campaign in 2024 followed by a full season of success in 2025.

Carter Jensen looked like Kansas City’s catcher of the future or the heir apparent to Salvador Perez if you will after his strong September cameo last season. If he can be the AL Rookie of the Year candidate that some believe he can be in 2026, there will be no denying his worth to the Royals moving forward.

Then there’s Noah Cameron, who after dazzling debut followed by a gaining regular role in the rotation in May, seems just another strong year away from be a strong candidate to help lead this rotation into the future of their contention window.

Then of course, possibly weirdly lost in the mix due to the fact he’s received a short-term arbitration period extension already, is their ace in Cole Ragans. Locked up through 2027, he still has a year of unsolidified team control left in 2028 before he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2029.

It’s hard to talk about a certain future after the injury-filled season he just endured, but he looked like his old self again once he returned healthy in September and could be just another Cy Young-caliber showing away from being more than deserving of being dubbed the team’s ace for the future and given the financial compensation that comes with it.

The Royals are entering a pivotal moment in their franchise’s history and while it might be fun to dream about the flashy new names that could enter the fold, J.J. Picollo and the front office must ensure they continue to focus on the gems they already have under their control and do everything in their power to ensure they remain at the team’s core in their peak years.