{"id":2058837,"date":"2025-09-30T02:18:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T02:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2058837"},"modified":"2025-09-30T02:18:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T02:18:42","slug":"royals-review-roundtable-the-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/royals-review-roundtable-the-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Royals Review Roundtable: The end"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Royals ended their 2025 season with mixed results. They finished with back-to-back winning seasons for the only time in the last 30 years other than the 2013-15 seasons. They played meaningful baseball into September, and still had a chance to make a run with two weeks to go. On the other hand they fell well short, ending five games back of a playoff spot and six games out of first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We gathered our writers at the conclusion of the season for an autopsy of the season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is the single biggest reason why the Royals failed to make the post-season?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Matthew LaMar: <\/strong>The quick answer is that the Royals didn\u2019t do enough to acquire a bat. The longer and more thorny answer is that the Royals are in this position because they basically bombed four consecutive drafts from 2020 through 2023. Kansas City had the fourth, seventh, ninth, and eighth overall picks in those drafts and those draftees tanked so hard they lost a huge portion of their predraft value within a year, let alone work their way to the big leagues. That\u2019s why they needed a bat in the first place and why they didn\u2019t have the prospect inventory to go get one. Carter Jensen could be that guy, but it\u2019s too late for this season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jeremy Greco: <\/strong>Lack of offense, specifically outfield offense. It was the Royals\u2019 biggest problem heading into last offseason, and they failed to address it. They can\u2019t make that mistake again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cullen Jekel:<\/strong> It\u2019s a broad reason, but it\u2019s the offense. The offense stunk–bottom five in runs scored and home runs, while bottom ten in on-base percentage and wRC+. Jonathan India failed to set the table and the outfield at the plate no matter who was out there in this revolving door. Getting shut out five times by the score of 1-0 and 2-0 is embarrassing. A more consistent offense, and we\u2019re having a completely different conversation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Greg Walker: <\/strong>There just wasn\u2019t enough offense as the team finished 26th<\/sup> in baseball in runs scored and produced a 93 wRC+. The outfield was a particular weakness, ranking last in MLB in wRC+ (73) and fWAR (-1.1). The Royals gave 1789 plate appearances to hitters that were below replacement level \u2014 playoff teams don\u2019t tend to give that much playing time to bad players.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Max Rieper: <\/strong>Offense, particularly outfield offense, no doubt. You saw how easy it was to upgrade it midseason when they picked up Adam Frazier and Mike Yastrzemski, making it more baffling that they didn\u2019t do some small moves like that before the season to hedge their bets against MJ Melendez continuing to swing the bat poorly and Hunter Renfroe being completely washed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What should be the highest priority this off-season, and how should the Royals address it?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cullen Jekel:<\/strong> Adding another bat. I\u2019d prefer a third baseman, but the Royals will probably continue with Maikel Garcia there, which is fine. Then I\u2019d turn my attention to the outfield. Kyle Isbel is great in the field but continues to perform far below league-average at the plate. Landing a center fielder who can hit would certainly change the dynamic of this offense. But really, just give me a consistent bat to put anywhere in the outfield and I\u2019d feel a lot better about the lineup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jeremy Greco:<\/strong> Yep, you guessed it. They need a true power bat in left field. Not a bargain bat, not a bounce-back bat, a real live bat that they can feel comfortable slotting in fourth or fifth in the order based on who he has been, not who he might become. Probably right-handed. The emergence of Maikel Garcia and Carter Jensen plus the promise of Cags would seem to make it so they only need the one, but they need that one BADLY.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Alternatively, they could try adding a second baseman if they find one they like better. I\u2019m not sure Jonathan India needs to be back, and Michael Massey seems comfortable in left as well as at second.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Matthew LaMar: <\/strong>Kansas City needs to go out and spend a lot of money on a bat with some upside. It doesn\u2019t have to be an outfielder because they need someone at second base. Bo Bichette or Cody Bellinger will be expensive, but it takes money to build a contender. It\u2019s time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Max Rieper: <\/strong>A real solution in left field. A lineup with Bobby, Maikel, Vinnie, Salvy, with some production from Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone, plus a good left fielder could be sneaky good. But I don\u2019t know what the move is – this year\u2019s outfield free agent class isn\u2019t great<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Greg Walker:<\/strong> The highest priority this offseason is the same as it should have been last offseason: augment the lineup, ideally with an outfielder or two. The Royals entered 2025 with Plan A being MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe in the outfield corners. This went predictably poorly. There aren\u2019t any impact outfield prospects in the system that are likely to help the team in 2026, so they will need to be active this offseason to bring more thump to the lineup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What do you make of Jac Caglianone\u2019s first season?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Max Rieper:<\/strong> I\u2019m not panicking, but he did just have one of the worst debut seasons by a first-year outfielder<\/a> since World War II. What is confounding is that his strikeout rate is actually pretty good, he\u2019s just hitting too many ground balls. I think he\u2019ll see more of those ground balls get through next year, but he could perhaps benefit from some refinement to his batting stance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Matthew LaMar:<\/strong> I was initially not worried about Jac, but since coming back from his oblique injury and looking just about as bad as he did before, I am officially worried. Not so much about Jac<\/em>, but about the Royals\u2019 ability to work out his issues. It\u2019s hard to think that someone like him would be struggling like this with another organization with a better track record of hitting development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jeremy Greco:<\/strong> The talent is clearly there, but he appears to lack the ability to stick to his guns when he does everything right and it doesn\u2019t work. I have complete faith that he will be able to figure it out, but the current hitting coaching staff seems unable to get through to him. Whether it\u2019s new Royals coaches or working with an outside coach during the offseason, he needs a new voice in his ear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cullen Jekel:<\/strong> Unfortunate. He clearly couldn\u2019t handle the pressure of the Majors into which he was unfairly thrust because (a) the Royals front office failed to address the outfield last offseason, and (b) Cags tore up the minors. He should\u2019ve been kept in the minors. I\u2019m worried about his confidence as his body language is so poor. After he returned from the IL late in the season, he seemed to have better at-bats, working the counts better and drawing some walks. Hopefully, the underlying numbers aren\u2019t lying and the power pops in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Greg Walker: <\/strong>He was one of the worst players in baseball, struggling offensively to a 46 wRC+ while looking like a first baseman attempting to learn the outfield in right. I thought his hyper-aggressive approach could give him problems against big league pitching and that turned out to be true as Caglianone frequently got himself out by swinging at pitches he would have been better off spitting on. At the same time, he was weirdly passive against pitches in the zone. It is distressing that he played as poorly as he did this season, but I think some tweaks to his approach can get him back on track. Long story short, I\u2019m not overly concerned about Caglianone and still believe he can be an excellent big league hitter for the Royals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Predict one off-season move for the Royals this off-season.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Matthew LaMar<\/strong>: The Royals will retain the services of Adam Frazier or Mike Yastrzemski. Maybe both. Now, I\u2019m not sure how much I like retaining the services of one or two outfielders who are at minimum in their age-34 season, but that seems pretty likely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jeremy Greco: <\/strong>I\u2019ll give you two. Adam Frazier comes back on a one-year deal. Kyle Isbel gets traded as part of the package to get that power bat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cullen Jekel:<\/strong> We\u2019re finally going to get that Vinnie Pasquantino extension.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Greg Walker: <\/strong>They will try something similar to last winter\u2019s Brady Singer-Jonathan India swap, trading one of Kris Bubic or Cole Ragans to bring in another bat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Max Rieper:<\/strong> I think they\u2019ll largely run it back, bringing back Yaz to play left and platooning him with someone like free agent Rob Refsnyder. I\u2019d also expect a contract extension, probably for Maikel Garcia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Who are you rooting for in the post-season? Who do you predict wins it all?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Greg Walker:<\/strong> San Diego, but they are cursed and good things don\u2019t happen in the world, so the Dodgers will win another title.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Matthew LaMar:<\/strong> I am rooting for the Seattle Mariners. Predicting who will win it all in the World Series is a fool\u2019s errand, but this certainly feels like the kind of year where the Yankees ruin a few teams en route to another championship. Aaron Judge can\u2019t slumber in the playoffs forever–right?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jeremy Greco:<\/strong> It\u2019s gotta be the Mariners. They\u2019ve never even made it to the World Series, much less won it. Cal Raleigh is such a fun guy to root for, too. I\u2019m hoping they beat the Padres to bring home their first championship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cullen Jekel:<\/strong> I\u2019ll be rooting for the Brewers. I like a lot of their players, including their young center fielder Jackson Chourio, who\u2019s just an exciting player to watch. Christian Yelich looks like he\u2019s finally fully bounced back after years of injuries. I\u2019ve been a fan of their manager, Pat Murphy, since he coached in college. A neat story to watch him jump to the pros and succeed as he has. Plus, it would be nearly perfect if they won in honor of Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker, who passed away in January. As far as my prediction, though, before the season started, I tabbed the Red Sox to win it all. No point in changing that now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Max Rieper: <\/strong>The Brewers and Mariners seem to have some \u201cteam of destiny\u201d mojo going for them, and I\u2019d love to see them make runs. I think the title is up for grabs more than it has been in years – no Astros, and the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers are all pretty flawed. Should be a fun post-season!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.royalsreview.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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