The Royals had hoped to contend this year, and instead fell flat on their face to begin the year, eventually losing 93 games. It was a season that included blown leads, cold lineups, but also some bright spots like the emergence of Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone, the ageless Michael Wacha, a turnaround by Noah Cameron, and another sensational Bobby Witt Jr. performance.
We asked our writers to reflect on the 2026 season and the upcoming offseason.
What was the biggest reason why the Royals lost 93
games this year?
Matthew LaMar: The obvious answer is the bullpen, and the other obvious answer is injuries, but neither of them get to why both things were so impactful, and that “why” is just a total lack of organizational talent depth in the upper minors. That severely limited Kansas City’s ability to improve the team in the previous offseason via trades and was why the Royals couldn’t replenish talent internally when they needed to. It’s a little better now, but pitching depth is still a problem.
Jeremy Greco: I said it on our most recent podcast, so I guess I’ll stick to my guns: The bullpen. Last year’s bullpen on this team makes it a playoff contender, I think. There is certainly plenty of blame to go around between the offense not being good enough, the starting pitching suffering so many injuries, and then the offense suffering injuries.
But the bullpen was catastrophically bad. They were not especially good last year, but still put up a total of 4.1 fWAR. This year, they put up -3.2. That’s a difference of 7 wins and would have gotten them all the way up to 76 or 77, which still would have missed the tournament, but if they got most of those before the trade deadline, the Royals probably buy instead of sell, and who knows how that changes things.
Max Rieper: The bullpen was a major reason, and it has been a big weakness for J.J. Picollo during most of his tenure. The lineup also suffered from slow starts to key players like Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, an injury to Maikel Garcia, and the continued absence of a good on-base guy to set the table in the lineup.
Cullen Jekel: Roster mismanagement, specifically with pitchers. The bullpen went to hell incredibly quickly and there was no one available to step in and stop the bleeding. Additionally, the rotation took a big hit when Cole Ragans went down, which, I mean, shouldn’t have been too surprising. And yet there was no one available in the organization to replace, or help replace, him, either. The front office banked too heavily on the arms being healthy, and that house of cards completely collapsed early in the season.
sterlingice: They ranked in the bottom third of the league in runs scored and runs allowed. The offense performed as it has for 3 of the last 4 seasons. They just aren’t good enough unless Witt is having a superhuman season and a couple of other players are having career years. That needs to change. Meanwhile, the pitching took a step back. In the 2024 playoff season, the starters were historically lucky with health. This year, they relied on oft-injured starters like Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, Stephen Kolek, and Ryan Bergert alongside aging veterans Wacha and Lugo with predictable results. If castoff Randy Dobnak and his 5.9 K/9 ends up as your third-highest pitcher in bWAR, you’ve had a bad pitching season.
What was your favorite thing about this season? Player, game, play, moment, etc.?
sterlingice: Even though Father Time is undefeated and Perez had a down season, I enjoyed Salvy’s chase for the franchise home run record. I like that he did it during one of his trademark hot streaks where he had four home runs in seven games. I love that the record-breaking home run tied the game in the late innings, as so many of his have done throughout his career. I wish it had been at home, but kudos to the respectful Detroit fans. Of course, I wish it had been during a playoff chase. But sometimes these milestones help you get through a long August in a lost season.
Jeremy Greco: I want to cheat a little and say the World Baseball Classic was my favorite part of the season. It was an absolute blast, and I wish we could do it more often. But actually, in the season, it’s the star turns of Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. They both showed so much that it’s easy to believe they even yet have superstar potential left in their arsenals. When I think about just those two players for too long, it’s really easy to see why JJ thinks the team can compete next year.
Max Rieper: Every day I get to watch Bobby Witt Jr. in a Royals uniform is a treat. Again, he is one of the top three players in the league. That is amazing.
But yes, Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone each look like bona fide studs. It was cool to see them rake down the stretch.
Matthew LaMar: I really enjoyed Carter Jensen putting a strong season together. All too often, we’ve seen strong Royals prospects have a great debut and then fall off hard the following year (from Eric Hosmer to Ryan O’Hearn and Vinnie Pasquantino). Jensen, meanwhile, ended up with 27 home runs and nearly 4 WAR as a 22-year-old, all while catching much more than we thought he would. He was a consistent bright spot.
Cullen Jekel: Two things here. First, I was able to attend my first-ever Opening Day at Kauffman. I went with my wife, two sons, and father-in-law, and we had a great time. My boys still talk about it, and the youngest still sleeps with the Sluggerrr stuff I bought him that day. Second, Carter Jensen. After the team completely overplayed his sleeping in, after he found his footing, he became one of the best catchers, let alone among rookies, in the entire league. He had some growing pains, but he was a joy to watch every time he came to the plate. I’m excited that he’s part of the Royals core going forward. It isn’t easy finding a franchise catcher, but the Royals seemed to have nailed it with the local kid.
What should the Royals do this offseason?
Cullen Jekel: Talk about a loaded question. What shouldn’t the Royals do? The Royals should go out and acquire an entirely new bullpen while also adding another two or three starting pitchers. I would also like a new starting center fielder and left fielder, please and thank you, because Kyle Isbel and Isaac Collins ain’t it.
Jeremy Greco: Since they’ve declared their intention to compete, they should be incredibly aggressive to improve their roster. They need to add at least two high-quality starting pitchers plus a couple more who can act as depth, at least until guys start coming back from injury around midseason. They did an impressive job adding less-terrible options to the bullpen, but they need at least one and probably two really high-quality guys, plus a few more depth guys that you can mix and match with the current group so you can pick the ones who are working. They also need to add a legitimate-hitting left fielder.
Max Rieper: Revamping the bullpen is the top priority. The thing I noticed in this postseason is that with a few exceptions, the bullpens of contenders aren’t filled with high-priced free agents. It’s homegrown guys, guys picked up on minor league deals, waiver claims, and Rule 5 picks. That’s coaching. I like what pitching coach Brian Sweeney has done, but the pitching staff definitely took a step back. We need to find more diamonds in the rough.
I would look to add a left or center fielder. I would cut back on Salvy’s playing time, possibly with a platoon. I think you can squint and see them bouncing back well if they make the right moves.
Matthew LaMar: If the Royals want to compete next year, the only real option available to them is to spend a lot of money and cash some of their exciting young A+ to AA prospects in for established players. They need to grab Randy Arozarena or Taylor Ward for starters.
sterlingice: They clearly need another good right-handed bat. However, like the last two offseasons, there just aren’t many out there. This year, there are exactly two: Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki. Both will command a substantial contract that will look bad on the back end as both are in their early 30s. However, both would look good in this lineup for the next couple of years.
They need at least another starter and, really, more than that. The rotation for 2027 is currently Michael Wacha, Noah Cameron, Seth Lugo (5.17 ERA), and that’s it. There are a decent number of mid-rotation starters. The Royals need to sign one and it needs to be the right one. I don’t even know where to start with the bullpen. All of the pitchers need to be ones that Brian Sweeney and company can improve so they are paying 50 cents on the dollar because there’s a lot of work to be done and limited resources.
What will the Royals do this offseason?
sterlingice: With the impending lockout, it’s very difficult to predict. There was a flurry of activity before the 2021-2022 lockout, including a one-day record, but the Royals weren’t a part of that. However, they were in a different place in their contention window than they are now. Smart teams will hedge as to whether it’s better to make moves pre or post-lockout and it remains to be seen which direction the Royals go. They have some money to play with, but not a lot.
I think they’ll sign a mid-rotation starter, a couple of mid-leverage bullpen arms that cost too much for what they are but won’t break the budget, and go bargain shopping for OF bats. It won’t be enough unless Witt has another great year, Jac and Jensen continue their upward trajectory, Vinnie can figure out how to start a season as strong as he ends them, the starters stay healthy, and the bullpen is magically overhauled. That’s a lot of “ifs.”
Max Rieper: I think they will have about $20-30 million to spend this offseason, which can go pretty quickly. I would expect them to trade for an outfielder – not a big trade, but maybe someone more promising than Isaac Collins. They will also likely bring in an outfielder, another Lane Thomas type, although that worked out pretty well when it was all done. The rest will be allocated to the pitching staff, maybe another starter and reliever if there is money left over.
Matthew LaMar: The Royals will not spend a lot of money and will keep all of their exciting young A+ to AA prospects. They’ll maybe go out and get someone for like $10 million a year over two or three years and tout that as a big acquisition. I am prepared to be underwhelmed.
Jeremy Greco: I think they’ll sign Taylor Ward, two middling starting pitchers, and one really good reliever, and hope they can cobble together the rest of it from spare parts.
Cullen Jekel: Nothing? I’m pessimistic about the 2027 season even occurring, and it’s going to be a rush to get things done this truncated offseason before a lockout. Now, if by some miracle of the baseball gods that there’s a (relatively) normal offseason, I can see the Royals adding a couple of cheap arms for the bullpen while maybe–maybe–coughing up some dough for a fifth starter. I bet they don’t make any changes to the coaching staff or the lineup aside from adding bench pieces. But Jensen-Witt Jr.-Caglianone-Garcia-Pasquantino-Perez-Massey-Collins-Isbel will probably be the Opening Day lineup.
World Series prediction?
sterlingice: I’d love it to be something fresh like Rays vs Brewers. But it will probably be something awful like the Dodgers over the Yankees/Red Sox winner.
Cullen Jekel: Well, at the beginning of the season, I predicted the Mariners over the Dodgers. Uh, I think I need to change at least half of that. Let’s go with the Rays over the Dodgers in seven even though I’ll be rooting for the Brewers.
Jeremy Greco: Padres over Rays in 7. Adrian Morejooooooooon
Matthew LaMar: Dodgers over White Sox. The new Evil Empire punctuates the season with their third consecutive victory over a plucky upstart and ushers in particularly nasty CBA negotiations.
Max Rieper: The Brewers win their first ever title, defeating the Red Sox.
