Kansas City Royals news: What’s next for the Royals in 2026?

Do they have another move in them?

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What is the story about?

Jaylon Thompson writes about what the Royals have done so far and what they could still do before the season begins.

While the Royals are still linked to potential trade targets Jarren Duran and Brendan Donovan, among others, the club filled significant needs in a strategic way. Still, there’s reason to expect the Royals will continue searching both offseason markets in the upcoming weeks.

As a reminder, the Royals signed closer Carlos Estévez just ahead of spring training last season. He went on to

lead the majors in saves and made the All-Star team.

So moves could still be made. How the market shapes up might affect what the Royals do in the final weeks of the offseason.

“We’re happy with the offseason so far,” Picollo said. “I’ll even include moving up in the draft is something that we’re excited about.”

Anne Rogers writes about the optimism around Jonathan India’s potential to bounce back from a poor season.

“You talk to [India], he wasn’t happy with the quality of his at-bats,” Quatraro said. “He knew he was popping too many balls up. It wasn’t that he was trying to hit homers, he just couldn’t get out of that swing funk. But I think more than anything, I would attribute a lot of that to the fact that he was trying to learn two new positions in Spring Training, and went into his first year with a new organization out of his comfort zone.”

The context of India’s 2025 season — being his first in Kansas City and the new positions to learn — gives the Royals some optimism heading into ‘26 that India might look more like himself. The team also points to some underlying metrics that provide reason to believe he’ll bounce back.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep wants the Royals to take a different direction with their new stadium than the Chiefs did.

They need to pick a site in Kansas City and stick with it, keeping all factors in play. One reason their plan failed in the 2024 vote was its shoddy organization, which suddenly shifted from the East Village to the Crossroads with little notice.

The Royals should either pick the Washington Square Park site, which has been the most recent downtown location suggested, or go back to the drawing board in the East Village, which is closer to the Jazz District and Negro League Baseball Museum. Baseball stadiums can revitalize an area that may seem “undesirable.” South of Market in San Francisco was a ghost town before Oracle Park arrived. The same could be said of the area where Petco Park is now in San Diego, as the stadium’s presence has helped develop the “Gaslamp District” in downtown San Diego.

David Schoenfield at ESPN looks at the most important stat for each AL team.

The number: 7.2%

The Royals were 29th in the majors in walk rate — only the Rockies walked less often. As a result, the Royals posted a .309 on-base percentage, ranking 22nd in the majors. Worth noting: None of the 12 lowest teams in on-base percentage made the playoffs. Yes, OBP is life. The biggest culprit: The outfield, which ranked last in the majors with a .285 OBP (and also next to last in home runs and near the bottom in batting average and stolen bases).

Mark Simon at SIS is glad to see Alex Gordon on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Stephen Parello at Kings of Kauffman suggests two free agents that could help the Royals on the bases.

Japanese free agent slugger Kazuma Okamoto has traveled to the U.S. to meet with teams.

Free agent pitcher Tatsuya Imai has until January 2 to sign with an MLB team.

The Mariners are willing to deal top prospects for Brendan Donovan.

The Reds may still be looking to add outfielders.

Have the Orioles done enough to compete in 2026?

What are the potential landing spots for Bo Bichette?

The Dodgers trade outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the Marlins.

The Cardinals have a serious marketing problem.

Baseball America redrafts the 2021 draft. [$]

Andy Reid says he plans to return with the Chiefs next year.