The Surprisingly Active Offseason of the Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals finished with the worst record in baseball these past three seasons. Obviously, the Royals need to add some good players to the roster but nobody thought they’d do it this soon.
The Royals only have one player in the top 100 prospects list after having some of the best picks in the draft these past couple of years. With that in mind, the Royals’ front office knew they had to make some moves if they wanted a chance of being anywhere near postseason contention over the next couple of years.
The Royals started their offseason by trading for pitcher Nick Anderson from the Braves.
Anderson posted some great numbers in 2019–2020, but ever since his UCL surgery, he’s slowed down a bit. But he’s shown a little life in the 2023 season with the Braves pitching to a solid 3.06 ERA over 35 ⅓ innings and 35 appearances. On paper Anderson looks like a solid bullpen option, it’s just a matter of whether he can stay healthy.
Next, the Royals signed utility man Garrett Hampson to a 1-year 2 million dollar deal.
Hampson played in Colorado from 2019–2022 and spent the 2023 season with the Marlins. He’s known for his stellar defense but he had an alright hitting season in Miami this year. His batting line of .276/.349/.380 was slightly above the league average.
Although he only played in 98 games and struck out at a 26.6 percent rate, I’m excited to see if he can put his hitting and defense together and play in a full season. If he does, he could be a solid leadoff option.
Shortly after the Hampson deal, the Royals signed relief pitcher Will Smith to a 1-year 5 million dollar deal.
Smith has been a solid pitcher after he made his switch from starting to relief. His most notable tenure was in San Francisco where he pitched to a 2.66 ERA while striking out 35.8 percent of the batters he faced.
Will Smith is also known for being the only player in MLB history to win a World Series with three different teams in three consecutive years. First in 2021 with the Braves, 2022 with the Astros, and 2023 with the Rangers. But that’s beside the point. Will Smith will be a great bullpen piece for a team in desperate need of pitching.
The Royals’ biggest signing this offseason was a 3-year 42 million dollar deal with starting pitcher Seth Lugo.
Lugo came up with the Mets as a starter but quickly transitioned to a reliever after failing to be a consistently good starter. Lugo was always a reliable option for the Mets. He never did well enough to earn an all-star nod, but he’ll always be remembered for his time in New York.
After the 2022 offseason, Lugo signed a 2-year 15 million dollar contract with the San Diego Padres with an opt-out after the first year. Lugo transitioned to a starter while with San Diego, and he didn’t do horribly. He pitched 146 ⅓ innings with an ERA of 3.57 while striking out 23.3 percent of the batters he faced.
Whether the Royals use Lugo as a starter or a reliever, he can consistently eat up innings while pitching to a consistently good ERA. He has the potential to have a high strikeout rate with his devastating curveball.
Next, the Royals signed outfielder Hunter Renfroe to a 2-year 13 million dollar deal.
Renfroe bounced around the past couple of years and this will be his 6th team after leaving his long tenure with the Padres in 2019. Renfroe is known for his amazing power having hit 20 home runs every season since his breakout year in 2017. Even though he has power, he doesn’t have a great on-base percentage or batting average.
So, with the Royals signing Renfroe, they have to hope his power is still there, or they really didn’t sign much.
The next player they signed is Michael Wacha, a right-handed pitcher — the deal is 2 years 32 million. The Royals have been signing a lot of pitchers this offseason, and it’s great that they’ve been because they desperately need pitching. Over his past two years with the Red Sox and the Padres, Wacha has a 3.27 ERA and a 21.3 percent strikeout rate.
Wacha was lights out for a while with the Padres this year, but he came back down to his usual performance towards the end of the season. Wacha will be a consistent starter no matter what version of him you get, but hopefully, he can find his San Diego form again.
The last notable player the Royals signed is utility man Adam Frazier. The deal is worth 1 year and 8 million dollars.
Frazier is known for his defense and for being a consistent contact hitter. Ever since the start of the 2020 season, Frazier has a batting slash line of .260/.323/.370. Frazier is guaranteed to be a great second baseman and hopefully can keep up his amazing bat-to-ball skills.
Overall, the Royals made some good moves this offseason and it shows that they’re moving in the right direction. Hopefully, these guys can be great leadership options for the young guys coming up and make the Royals a great team in the near future.
