The Twins start the season with a familiar foe.
For the first time in a while, the Kansas City Royals went into the offseason with a clear goal to get better. While they undoubtedly did, the roster still has plenty of question marks, though projections systems seem to believe they can challenge the Twins for the AL Central crown.
For these series previews, I’ll be taking a look at each team and what’s changed since the last time they faced the Twins, which will be quite a bit when a whole offseason has passed.
Where were they in 2023?
The Royals were once again bottom feeders, finishing bottom two in the ALC for the seventh straight year. Bobby Witt Jr. continued his development and looks ready to break out in 2024 and they made the steal of the century by acquiring Cole Ragans for three months of Aroldis Chapman. Their other main lineup fixture, Vinnie Pasquantino, has looked good when he’s on the field but has already missed extended time in each of his first two seasons, including season-ending shoulder surgery last year. They only had a single position player and pitcher finish above 2 fWAR in 2023, the mark many consider to be starting-caliber.
While they didn’t have the quantity, Ragans and Witt looked like two of the best players in baseball throughout the entire second half, with Ragans putting up a 2.64 ERA/2.49 FIP, 11.2 K/9, and 1.07 WHIP and Witt hitting .301/.343/.507 with 16 HR, 22 SB, and a 137 wRC+. Witt’s season earned him a healthy 11 year, $290 million contract extension full of complicated escalators and opt outs, but it at least ensures he will be a thorn in the Twins’ side for years to come.
The bad news was that there wasn’t much development on either side of the ball beyond those two. Their once-vaunted young pitchers all either regressed, got hurt, or both. On the offensive side, KC legend Salvador Perez continued his steep decline in his 30s, with his offense getting nearly as bad as his defense, while the young hitters also didn’t improve, outside of Maikel Garcia who still hasn’t shown much, if any, power.
What’s New in 2024?
In the case of the Royals, quite a bit! They spent a lot of money this offseason, though most of it on players who are projected to be around league average. That being said, league average would be a huge step up, especially on the pitching side.
Their offseason was headlined by the acquisition of Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, two veterans who have turned in solid if unspectacular careers. Lugo, 34, signed a three year, $45 million contract with an opt out on the last year. Wacha, meanwhile, received a two year, $32 million deal with a player option on year two. They’re not going to compete for Cy Young’s, but they bring much-needed stability to an organization that’s shown an inability to develop pitchers. They also picked up Kyle Wright in a trade with Atlanta, but he is expected to miss the entire 2024 season.
They brought in a bevy of vets in the bullpen as well, both via free agency and trades. John Schreiber, Chris Stratton, Will Smith, and Minnesota native Nick Anderson should bring high-floor, low-ceiling options to KC’s arm barn.
On the offensive side, the Royals brought in Hunter Renfroe and Adam Frazier to add some veteran presence to the lineup. If Kansas City has their way, they likely want both of those players to have bench roles by the time the season ends, but they both project as starters for the time being. Like the pitchers, they will bring competence, not necessarily star power.
The only key player not returning to the 2024 squad is future Hall-of-Famer Zack Greinke, who remains a free agent. He wasn’t great last year but looked like an ace compared to the rest of their pitching staff.
Other Names to Know
JJ Picollo is in his second full season running the Royals, taking over for long-time GM Dayton Moore after the 2022 season. However, Picollo has been in the organization his entire career, so it’s still a bit unclear how much things are changing in his tenure, which is disappointing for a franchise that could use plenty of improvements on the player development side.
Backup catcher Freddy Fermin quietly had a promising 2023 and could take over backstop duties by the end of the season. Salvy Perez is one of the most loved and respected veterans in the league, but his defense is close to making him unplayable in the field. Even if KC won’t name Fermin the true starter, expect Perez to get plenty of time at DH.
Speaking of defensively challenged catchers, the Royals have officially given up on the MJ Melendez experiment, moving him to the outfield full time. He’ll need to make huge strides offensively if he wants to remain in the Royals’ long term plans.
Down on the farm, there is no help coming to the big league squad anytime soon. The system is barren thanks to KC’s lack of player development, with most of their top prospects being several years away. “Top prospects” is also relative, with only a single player appearing on MLB’s Top 100 list: Blake Mitchell, a rookie ball catcher.
In a sentence…
Don’t trust MLB social media trying to convince you the Royals are division sleepers. They will be better than they were in 2023, but they’re still solidly the fourth-best team with the potential to be much, much worse if Witt or Ragans miss extended time.