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When Royals general manager J.J. Picollo picked up the phone early Tuesday morning, about the first thing he said was that he was \u201cplaying around with different lineups\u201d and working through all sorts of scenarios for the early season starting Friday in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou just try to think through all things,\u201d he said, laughing and adding, \u201cAnd there\u2019s no perfect answer. There\u2019s no, \u2018Here it is.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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Even so, the Royals believe they have plenty of answers to lift them back to the postseason after they sagged out of the playoffs last year.<\/p>\n
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That was a particularly disappointing setback because of what was implied by the stirring 2024 season, which featured a 30-win improvement from the year before, their first postseason games since winning the World Series in 2015 and the emergence of Bobby Witt Jr. as one of the faces of Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n
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The twist, though, is that for the most part any return to glory will largely pivot on much the same cast, supplemented by a handful of new players with fine profiles \u2026<\/p>\n
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But not the monster extra bat(s) the Royals \u2014 and fans \u2014 had hoped they\u2019d add.<\/p>\n
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In fact, at least entering the 2026 season, the single most overt change from a year ago isn\u2019t so much personnel-based as it is the dimensional analysis that led the Royals to move in the fences at Kauffman Stadium.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At Royals Rally in January, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino aptly summed up the rationale.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMost people that follow baseball would agree the Royals have always built their teams in specific ways, which was to fit the ballpark,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Royals have not traditionally won a ton of games.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But don\u2019t confuse an absence of dramatic moves with settling for a status quo as the Royals seek just their fourth postseason berth since 1985.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s just that Picollo thinks it\u2019s time for the young Royals to flip the switch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I asked him in January about the Royals realizing along the way last year that they needed more veteran leadership, Picollo said he had put a lot of thought into that dynamic \u2014 especially when it comes to the young nucleus of Bobby Witt Jr., Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are getting into Year 3, 4 and 5 in the major leagues, at some point it\u2019s your time,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now, Bobby, Vinnie, Maikel, it\u2019s your time.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A step toward that was each, among other Royals, making his presence known in the World Baseball Classic.<\/a> Pasquantino became the face of Team Italy and hit three home runs in a game; Witt made some awe-inspiring defensive plays; and Garcia was named most valuable player<\/a> of the WBC for Team Venezuela.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTheir role in the game is greater now than it\u2019s ever been prior to this,\u201d Picollo said. \u201cThey\u2019re all sensing that responsibility, and they take pride in it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another emerging case in point is embodied in expectations for outfielder Jac Caglianone and catcher Carter Jensen in their first full seasons.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n