The KC Star and MLB mothership had no new articles on the Royals today. The top of the Rumblings today is a blog roundup.
Brian Burrows at Kings of Kauffman criticized JJ Picollo’s approach to the 25-26 offseason.
One area Picollo failed to address last winter was the rotation, and that can’t happen again this offseason. While the Royals had a lot of arms under contract and team control, they also were relying on oft-injured players to stay healthy, which they didn’t. Picollo didn’t add major league-ready
depth, and that ended up hurting the team.
The biggest takeaway from last offseason was that the Royals tried to bargain hunt instead of using real capital (money or prospects) to upgrade the team. They need to go into this offseason and spend money on proven free agents, not players looking to bounce back. If they are going the trade route, do it for players with a track record, not players from the bargain bin.
He also took a position-by-position look at the current roster’s spending heading into the offseason.
The Kansas City Royals finished the 2026 season with the 18th-highest luxury tax bill in Major League Baseball according to Spotrac.com. That’s not bad for the team that ranked 27th in team valuation by Forbes.
The Royals will have some work to do this winter, however. While the infield seems to be figured out for the time being, the outfield and pitching staff need to be addressed. How J.J. Picollo decides to attack this offseason will say a lot, but he’ll also need to know how much ownership is willing to spend.
Philip Ruo at Royals Keep gave his thoughts on what to do with Nate Pearson.
Pearson hit the ground running after coming to Kansas City. In his first 20 appearances with the Royals, he pitched 21 innings with only 1 earned run, 20 strikeouts, and 11 baserunners allowed, good for a 0.43 ERA and a 2.62 FIP. Pearson’s emergence into the Kansas City bullpen was a much-needed spark for the bullpen that had posted a 5.30 ERA before his arrival.
Pearson slightly adjusted his pitch mix by leaning more on his fastball and sinker. In Kansas City, he increased his fastball usage from 40.5% to 48.1% and his sinker from 9.5% to 16%. To offset this adjustment, he decreased his slider usage from 36.1% to 21.6%.
Pearson was unable to maintain the near-perfect start to his Royals tenure. In September, he had a stretch of five consecutive appearances with at least one earned run, during which his Royals ERA ballooned to 4.62 and his FIP to 3.77.
Trey Donovan at SI analyzed Jac Caglianone’s breakout season.
The Rays defeated the Guardians to advance to the World Series, which means we will have a first-time World Series winner no matter what. And an all-indoors World Series (maybe….Milwaukee has a retractable roof). I hope it goes to extra innings in Game 7 and we get at least 3 fly balls hitting the Trop’s catwalk. Maximum chaos.
What’s next for the Guardians?
Aaron Boone will return to manage the Yankees in 2027.
The Orioles have hired Jared Banner to be their new GM.
The Athletics have hired Taylor Smith to be their new President of Baseball Operations.
Hanshin Tigers star and NPB Central League triple crown winner Teruaki Sato will be posted this offseason.
The Qualifying Offer has risen to $23.15M, a 5.1% increase.
Will the Nationals trade CF Jacob Young? He is currently 27 and put up a 95 wRC+ in 471 PA in 2026.
The Chiefs need to improve their red zone offense.
The Jalen Hurts blood clot saga took another turn yesterday.
The Rams are vying with the 49ers for the most injured team. The 49ers saw Mike Evans leave last night’s MNF game with an achilles injury of some kind.
The Colts fired longtime GM Chris Ballard.
The Japanese space agency has fired rockets to Mars’ moon Phobos with the intent of bringing back samples to Earth.
It’s spooky season. My kids love spooky season and spooky songs, but not so much spooky movies. Your song of the day is The Creepshow with Demon Lover.
