Poll: Who Will Win The AL Central?
With Opening Day just around the corner, the offseason is more or less complete for MLB’s 30 clubs and teams are now focused on the incoming season and being the team to raise the Commissioner’s Trophy. Until the playoffs begin, however, teams will be focused on a smaller goal: winning their division. In the run-up to the start of the season, we will be conducting a series of polls to gauge who MLBTR readers believe is the favorite in each division. The AL Champion Blue Jays came out on top in the AL East yesterday with 39% of the vote. Today, we’ll be moving on to the AL Central. All teams are listed in order of their 2025 regular season record:
Cleveland Guardians (88-75)
The Guardians managed to sneak their way into an AL Central title in the eleventh hour last year, overtaking the Tigers at the very end of the year thanks to a 20-7 September. They immediately got bounced from the playoffs by Detroit, however, and their response to that quick exit this postseason has left something to be desired. That seemed like a setup for a big offseason, but no such eventful winter occurred. Deserved as Jose Ramirez‘s latest extension may have been, it does nothing to improve the team for 2026. The only potential impact player the team has added anywhere on the roster is veteran first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who is in camp on a minor league deal but is all but certain to make the team. More or less running back a roster that won 88 games last year isn’t the worst idea in the world, but it’s easy to feel as though last year’s division champs may have been overtaken by their rivals who made bigger splashes over the offseason.
Detroit Tigers (87-76)
The Tigers took the Mariners to Game 5 of the ALDS before falling just short, and now they’ll be looking to make the most out of what is likely to be Tarik Skubal‘s final season with the organization. A reunion with Gleyber Torres was the only big move on offense (although the impending debut of top prospect Kevin McGonigle could still transform the team’s lineup this year), but the Tigers were very active in overhauling their pitching staff. Framber Valdez joins Skubal at the front of the rotation and helps cushion the blow of losing Reese Olson to shoulder surgery, while Justin Verlander provides some mid-rotation stability in his homecoming at 43 years old. In the bullpen, the addition of a second future Hall of Fame veteran in Kenley Jansen and a reunion with Kyle Finnegan should create a solid back of the bullpen for a Tigers team that had the second-worst bullpen in the AL by FIP last year. Those additions seem likely to be enough to make the Tigers the favorite to finally claim the AL Central crown for the first time since 2014, though that also seemed likely to be the case last year.
Kansas City Royals (82-80)
The Royals had a middling season last year where they remained on the periphery of playoff relevance but never quite cracked the top tier of contenders. They wound up finishing just barely above .500, but will enter 2026 with hopes of a return to the postseason. Better health from Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic should go a long way for the club, as could the ascension of top prospect Carter Jensen as the heir apparent to franchise catcher Salvador Perez. In terms of external additions, the outfield will now feature Isaac Collins, Starling Marte, and Lane Thomas in addition to incumbents Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel, while Matt Strahm was brought in to fortify a high-leverage relief mix that already included Carlos Estevez and Lucas Erceg. With a handful of solid (if unspectacular) additions and an exciting young talent coming up from the minors, it’s not hard to imagine the Royals having a better year in 2026. Will that be enough to win the division?
Minnesota Twins (70-92)
2025 was a tough year for the Twins, as the organization was unable to lock down the sale both ownership and fans were hoping for off the field, while the team on the diamond struggled badly and wound up getting blown up at last summer’s trade deadline. Minnesota was saved from the basement of the AL Central by the lowly White Sox, but this offseason a change in control person, the hiring of a new manager, and the sudden departure of team president Derek Falvey led to instability at the top of the organization without much movement on the roster to show for it. Josh Bell and Victor Caratini are both solid complementary additions to the lineup, but neither makes up for the loss of Carlos Correa. A rotation that looked like the team’s strength lost Pablo Lopez before the season even began, while Taylor Rogers and others will be asked to save the bullpen after the losses of Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and Louis Varland. There’s plenty of interesting young talent (Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Luke Keaschall, Taj Bradley) on the roster, but a whole lot would have to go right for the Twins to fight their way back to the top of the AL Central this year.
Chicago White Sox (60-102)
The White Sox are still in the midst of what figures to be a lengthy rebuilding process, but more optimism can be found in the organization than has been the case for quite a while now. Young, impactful players like Shane Smith, Colson Montgomery, and Kyle Teel are beginning to establish themselves at the big league level, and the White Sox put in some effort to supplement that budding young core with external additions. Munetaka Murakami is the big addition who could easily add 40 home runs to the White Sox lineup if he pans out, but Anthony Kay, Sean Newcomb, and Seranthony Dominguez could all prove to be savvy additions to the roster as well on he pitching side. It would be a shock if these moves were enough to pull Chicago all the way to the top of the AL Central, but it seems possible that their days of losing 100 games a year are coming to a close.
Who do MLBTR readers think will win the division when all is said and done? Will the Guardians manage to come out on top for the third straight season despite virtually no additions? Will the Tigers finally break through in Skubal’s final season before free agency? Will the Royals’ busy offseason be enough to help them take a leap forward? Or will the Twins or White Sox shock the baseball world? Have your say in the poll below:
Who will win the AL Central in 2026?
Latest On Royals’ Rotation
The Royals announced that right-handers Ryan Bergert and Mason Black have both been optioned to Triple-A Omaha. The two of them will begin the 2026 season as rotation depth options for the club.
The two came into camp blocked for rotation roles. Their only real path would be if someone ahead of them got injured. The Royals have been fortunate in that regard and should start the season with their projected top five of Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron. The most notable injury in camp thus far was an oblique strain for Stephen Kolek, who was likely ticketed for Triple-A.
With five healthy guys in the rotation, that squeezes Bergert and Black to the minors, where they should be joined by Ben Kudrna, Luinder Avila and Mitch Spence. Spence and Avila haven’t been officially optioned yet but Avila has been away from the club, playing for Venezuela in their World Baseball Classic championship run. Kolek can jump into that mix whenever he’s healthy.
With all of those depth options, it leaves Bailey Falter in an interesting spot. Per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Royals have considered using him as a sixth starter or long reliever but are also open to trading him.
Falter has been a serviceable but not dominant pitcher in his career. In 466 innings, he has allowed 4.58 earned runs per nine. His 6.9% walk rate is quite strong but he has only punched out 17.8% of batters faced.
Kansas City traded for Falter at last year’s deadline when Bubic, Ragans and Michael Lorenzen were all on the injured list. Lorenzen came back a few weeks later, which got Falter nudged to the bullpen. After two relief outings, Falter himself landed on the IL due to a left bicep contusion. He spent a little more than a month on the IL to finish the season.
Falter is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors. That means the Royals have to keep him on the active roster or else remove him from the 40-man entirely. A trade would be one way to do that but his value probably isn’t terribly high. As mentioned, his results have been more passable than great. He can’t be optioned down to Triple-A and is going to make $3.6MM this year.
While there are certainly other teams who could use some extra depth, they have other options. Free agency still has guys like Lucas Giolito, Tyler Anderson and Patrick Corbin out there. As Opening Day nears, there are some veterans who could opt out of minor league deals. Some arms will also end up on waivers as teams make their final roster decisions as well.
Photo courtesy of Denny Medley, Imagn Images
AL Central Notes: Valera, Collins, Baldwin
Guardians outfielder George Valera has made a solid case for the left field job this spring. The 25-year-old has an .833 OPS across 10 games. Valera hasn’t been in the lineup since Monday, and manager Stephen Vogt revealed his dealing with a mild left calf strain. He’ll remain sidelined for a few more days, relays Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.
Valera made his debut in the final month of the 2025 campaign. He delivered a respectable 113 wRC+ in his brief stint with Cleveland. The lefty-swinging outfielder was on the bench in Game 1 of the Wild Card round with Tarik Skubal on the mound for the Tigers, but drew the start in right field for the next two games of the series. Valera homered off of Casey Mize in the first inning of Game 2, setting the tone for Cleveland’s lone win.
The Guardians struggled mightily to find consistent offense in the outfield last year. Steven Kwan had a fine season, but Cleveland finished dead last in OPS in both center field and right field. Angel Martinez was the main culprit in center, with Nolan Jones dragging down the numbers in right. The current plan for the upcoming season is for Kwan to move to center field, with Valera and top prospect Chase DeLauter handling the corners, at least against right-handed pitching. Martinez and Johnathan Rodriguez could factor in against lefties.
Outside of a stumble in his first taste of Triple-A, Valera has typically held his own as a hitter at every minor league level. Injuries limited his workload in 2025, but he slashed .255/.346/.457 in 28 games at Columbus.
A newcomer to the division is dealing with a minor injury of his own. Isaac Collins of the Royals is working through back/side tightness, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The outfielder hasn’t suited up for a spring game since Tuesday. Collins downplayed the issue to Rogers, describing the injury as something he doesn’t want to attempt to play through with Opening Day around the corner.
Kansas City acquired Collins and right-hander Nick Mears from the Brewers for Angel Zerpa in mid-December. The outfielder was a bit of a late bloomer, debuting as a 26-year-old with Milwaukee in 2024. He only appeared in 11 games that season, but emerged as an everyday player this past year.
Collins posted a 122 wRC+ across 441 plate appearances in his first extended chance as a big leaguer. He chipped in nine home runs and 16 stolen bases. Braves catcher Drake Baldwin took home NL Rookie of the Year honors fairly comfortably, but Collins finished fourth in the voting, just behind former teammate Caleb Durbin.
Similar to the Guardians, the Royals had a tough time finding reliable offensive production in the outfield last season. The club made sure to address that need this winter, trading for Collins and signing Lane Thomas and Starling Marte. The two veteran additions are right-handed, making them sensible platoon partners for Kyle Isbel and Jac Caglianone. The switch-hitting Collins should be ticketed for an everyday gig in left field, assuming this injury isn’t too serious.
The White Sox outfield will be missing a familiar face this year, with longtime center fielder Luis Robert Jr. getting dealt to the Mets. His potential replacement is now dealing with an arm injury. Brooks Baldwin has been sidelined with elbow inflammation, per Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times. The versatile 25-year-old hasn’t appeared in a spring game for more than a week. “Talking to the trainers, we got an image, we got everything done,” Baldwin said. “But a lot of soreness in there, [we’re trying] to get it to calm down and take it day to day and see where we’re at.”
Baldwin spent the majority of the 2025 season with the big-league club, slashing .240/.290/.407 with 11 home runs across 103 games. He made 64 starts in the outfield, but also picked up double-digit appearances at second base, third base, and shortstop. Baldwin is headed for regular center field work this year, flanked by Andrew Benintendi and new arrival Austin Hays. If he’s forced to miss time, journeyman Derek Hill and former Yankee Everson Pereira would be candidates to see increased opportunities.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Which Top Prospects Could Be On 2026 Opening Day Rosters?
In the not-too-distant past, it was relatively rare for organizations to break camp with their very best prospects on the roster. It still happened at times, but MLB's service time structure was set up such that keeping a top prospect in the minors for even two weeks to begin the season effectively ensured that he'd be controllable for seven years rather than the standard six. There were obvious exceptions to this thinking -- Atlanta fans surely remember Jason Heyward breaking camp as a 20-year-old and belting a three-run homer on Opening Day -- but there were far more cases of keeping a player in the minors to buy the extra year. Kris Bryant, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and others were all called to the majors just when they'd spent enough time in the minors to give their clubs an extra year of control. There was nothing inherently nefarious about the gambit; teams were operating within the collectively bargained rules and making business decisions.
The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement sought to implement some real incentives for teams to bring their best players north to begin the season, however, and by and large they've been effective. With the Prospect Promotion Incentives (PPI), any prospect who appears on two recognized top-100 lists and is called up early enough to earn a full service year can net his team a bonus draft pick, either in that season's Rookie of the Year voting or in MVP/Cy Young voting over the next three seasons.
There's also a disincentive to holding a player down. For those same qualified top prospects, a top-two finish in either league's Rookie of the Year voting will net a full year of major league service time, regardless of when they were called up. Said prospects still have around 90% of a season in such instances, which is more than enough time to turn in a ROY-worthy performance.
Teams now know that holding a player down for 15 days or so might lead to him getting a full year of service anyhow and comes with the disadvantage of rendering that player ineligible for future PPI picks. As such, it's become increasingly common for touted prospects to break camp on their teams' rosters.
With that in mind, and with fewer than two weeks to go until Opening Day, it seems worth running through a slate of top prospects who could factor into their teams' Opening Day plans.
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
Rays Acquire Matthew Hoskins As PTBNL In Kameron Misner Trade
The Rays announced that they have acquired right-hander Matthew Hoskins from the Royals as the player to be named later in the Kameron Misner trade. Tampa flipped Misner to Kansas City for cash or a PTBNL in November. Hoskins wasn’t on the Royals’ 40-man roster, so no corresponding move is required.
Hoskins, 22, was just selected in the 12th round of the 2025 draft. The Royals didn’t have him pitch in affiliated ball after signing him, so he still hasn’t made his professional debut. He had spent the previous three years pitching for the University of Georgia. He gave the Bulldogs 50 2/3 innings with a 6.22 earned run average. His 27.6% strikeout rate was strong but he walked 40 of the 243 batters he faced, a 16.5% clip. He also hit 16 batters and threw six wild pitches.
Baseball America ranked Hoskins the #496 player available in the draft. Given his college numbers, they unsurprisingly noted that he will require some polish and is likely to be a reliever in the long term. But they highlighted that his fastball sits in the upper 90s and can touch triple digits. His slider is his best secondary pitch and he also throws a changeup. The Rays are seemingly betting on the raw stuff and will take on Hoskins as a long-term project.
Photo courtesy of Rich Storry, Imagn Images
Offseason In Review: Kansas City Royals
Improving the offense (and in particular the outfield) was the key focus of the Royals’ offseason, and there was plenty of speculation that K.C. would again look to move an arm for a bat. Instead, the Royals hung onto their rotation depth and made some moves that still leave the lineup with a few question marks.
Major League Signings
- Lane Thomas, OF: One year, $5.25MM
- Starling Marte, OF/DH: One year, $1MM
- Alex Lange, RHP: One year, $900K
2026 spending: $7.15MM
Total spending: $7.15MM
Trades And Claims
- Acquired OF Isaac Collins and RHP Nick Mears from Brewers for LHP Angel Zerpa
- Acquired LHP Matt Strahm from Phillies for RHP Jonathan Bowlan
- Acquired OF Kameron Misner from Rays for cash considerations or player to be named later
- Acquired RHP Mitch Spence from Athletics for minor league RHP AJ Causey
- Acquired RHP Mason Black from Giants for minor league RHP Logan Martin
Option Decisions
- Randal Grichuk, OF: Declined his end of $5MM mutual option for 2026 ($3MM buyout)
- Michael Lorenzen, RHP: Royals declined their end of $12MM mutual option for 2026 ($1.5MM buyout)
Notable Minor League Signings
- Abraham Toro, Brandon Drury, Elias Diaz, Hector Neris, John Means, Josh Rojas, Jorge Alfaro, Luke Maile, Kevin Newman, Aaron Sanchez, Jose Cuas, Eli Morgan, Connor Kaiser
Extensions
- Maikel Garcia, 3B: Five years, $57.5MM (includes $3.2MM buyout of $21MM club option for 2031)
- Salvador Perez, C: Two years, $25MM (extension overwrote Royals’ $13.5MM club option on Perez for 2026)
- Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B: Two years, $11MM (contract buys out Pasquantino’s first two arbitration seasons; Pasquantino still under control through 2028)
Notable Losses
- Zerpa, Bowlan, Lorenzen, Grichuk, Mike Yastrzemski, Hunter Harvey, Adam Frazier, Taylor Clarke, MJ Melendez, Dairon Blanco, Sam Long, Kyle Wright
After reaching the playoffs in 2024, the Royals hoped to significantly upgrade their lineup last winter, except the trade that brought Jonathan India to Kansas City from Cincinnati (with Brady Singer going to the Reds) ended up being the Royals’ biggest offensive addition. General manager J.J. Picollo was open with his frustration, telling Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star in February 2025 that “that’s probably the one area in the two years we haven’t been able to reach our goal of getting that [offensive bat]. It’s a little disappointing, but we can’t force teams to make trades they don’t want to make. We were active in the free-agent market; we just weren’t able to land the guys.”
Thirteen months and another offseason later, an argument can be made that the Royals have again had to settle for a half-measures approach. To be clear, the additions of Isaac Collins, Starling Marte, and Lane Thomas should help the outfield, although that’s in part because there was really nowhere to go but up. The Royals’ outfield combined for a dismal -1.7 bWAR in 2025, so even if Collins and Marte just replicate their combined 3.1 bWAR from last season, that’s already a substantial step forward.
That said, Royals fans were surely hoping that the team’s biggest free agent expenditure of the offseason would be on a player who didn’t also have a sub-replacement year. Thomas played in only 39 games with the Guardians due to a bone bruise in his right wrist, and then multiple IL stints due to plantar fasciitis that eventually led to foot surgery in late September. Over 142 plate appearances for Cleveland, Thomas hit only .160/.246/.272, translating to -0.6 bWAR and just a total wash of a year for the 30-year-old.
Thomas isn’t far removed from a 23-homer, 109 wRC+ 2023 season with the Nationals, and he was still hitting well before his bat cratered following a trade to the Guards at the 2024 deadline. It could be that a change of scenery to another AL Central team will help Thomas get his career on track, but he can’t be counted on as a sure thing for 2026. For a Royals club working within a limited budget, committing $5.25MM to Thomas carries some extra risk, especially since he might end up being just a part-time player.
Kyle Isbel will continue to get regular work in center field, as his excellent defense makes up for the lack of punch from his left-handed bat. Thomas (a right-handed hitter) could end up platooning with Isbel in center, or take platoon duties or even everyday duties in right field depending on Jac Caglianone‘s development. The Royals would like nothing more than to see Caglianone start to live up to his top-prospect potential, though his first 232 plate appearances in the majors resulted in a measly .157/.237/.295 slash line. Given Caglianone’s bigger-picture importance to the organization, the Royals would have no problem relegating Thomas to platoon duty if it means Caglianone has a sophomore breakout.
Collins is expected to hold down the everyday left field job in 2026 and potentially for years to come. Kansas City’s most notable trade of the winter saw Collins and righty reliever Nick Mears acquired from the Brewers in exchange for left-hander Angel Zerpa. Milwaukee may yet explore moving Zerpa back into a starting role, but on paper, the Royals were able to land a controllable (through 2030) outfielder as well as some more bullpen help without dealing from their rotation depth.
The trade made some sense for both teams, beyond just the Royals’ outfield need and the Brewers’ surplus on the grass. From the Brewers’ perspective, they may have felt they were selling high on a late bloomer (Collins turns 29 in July) who didn’t make much hard contact in 2025 and may have benefited from a .326 BABIP. Teams may have figured Collins out a bit, given how his numbers cooled off drastically over the season’s last six weeks. For the Royals, Collins brings a switch-hitting bat, good left field defense, very strong walk and chase rates, and room to grow after his fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Milwaukee has plenty of outfield depth, and Zerpa has an extra year of control over Mears, who like Collins struggled down the stretch (5.89 ERA in his final 20 appearances).
Marte signed with K.C. two weeks into Spring Training, bringing another notable name into the position-player mix. Nobody expects Marte to return to his old All-Star form at age 37, and he’ll likely spend most of his time at DH with only a handful of outfield appearances. But, Marte hit a respectable .269/.331/.398 with 16 homers over 699 plate appearances for the Mets in 2024-25 working in this same part-time capacity. The Royals will happily take those numbers for the low cost of $1MM and some incentive bonuses.
Kameron Misner was also acquired from the Rays in an early-offseason trade. Between Misner, John Rave, Drew Waters, and utility types Tyler Tolbert and Michael Massey, the Royals have depth on hand as they try to finally establish some stability in their outfield mix.
Marte may end up sharing DH at-bats with either Salvador Perez or Carter Jensen. The Royals will want to try to give Jensen at-bats beyond just a backup catching role, and also give Perez a fair amount of rest days (which opens the door for Jensen to get more reps behind the plate). The rest of the infield picture is set, with Maikel Garcia at third base, Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop, India at second base, and Vinnie Pasquantino at first base.
India’s return is the only surprising element of the otherwise stable K.C. infield. The Royals opted to give India another chance by signing him to an arbitration-avoiding one-year, $8MM contract, rather than simply non-tendering the veteran second baseman.
While it seems like the team simply believes India can bounce back in his second year in Kansas City, committing $8MM to this belief is another matter. Owner John Sherman indicated in October that the Royals would be spending at roughly the same levels as their $138MM payroll from last year, and as per RosterResource, K.C. has around $148.6MM on the books for 2026. India and Thomas combine for $13.5MM of that number, and one has to wonder whether the Royals could’ve done more with that money than investing in two players who simply weren’t productive in 2025.
Letting India go would’ve created another hole to address at second base, though since Collins has some experience there, the Royals could’ve still acquired him and toggled him between both the keystone and left field. Even after agreeing to India’s contract, the Royals were still linked to a couple of prominent infield trade targets. Kansas City was among the many teams who had interest in Brendan Donovan, though the utilityman might well have seen more time in the Royals’ outfield than the infield. The Royals’ interest in the Nationals’ CJ Abrams indicated a scenario of Abrams moving to second base (since Witt obviously wouldn’t be moved off shortstop) and India then perhaps dealt back to Washington or dealt elsewhere.
Abrams and Donovan were just two of the many players linked to the Royals in hot stove chatter. On the free agent front, K.C. had some interest in re-signing old friends Mike Yastrzemski and Adam Frazier, and other outfielders like Harrison Bader, Adolis Garcia, Austin Hays, and JJ Bleday were all reportedly on the radar. Most of this group ended up signing one-year deals on modest salaries, though Yaz (two years, $23MM from the Braves) and Bader (two years, $20.5MM from the Giants) might have been beyond Kansas City’s preferred price range.
Without much to spend in free agency, the Royals featured in several trade rumors over the winter. Apart from exploring MacKenzie Gore‘s availability as part of their talks with the Nats, most of the Royals’ reported targets were outfielders, including Boston’s Jarren Duran, Houston’s Jake Meyers, and the Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernandez.
Since there are still more than two weeks before Opening Day, we can’t entirely rule out the possibility of a late-spring swap involving any of the outfield trade candidates. Hernandez is the least-likely of the group due to his hefty remaining salary. Meyers is the most established player within the Astros’ own shaky outfield, so it could be tricky for Houston and Kansas City to line up on a deal that addresses both teams’ needs. The Red Sox and Royals, meanwhile, seemed like logical trade partners for most of the winter due to Boston’s outfield glut. No deal came together between the two sides, perhaps because the Royals weren’t interested in moving Cole Ragans.
It isn’t known exactly what players or offers were bandied about during all of these negotiations, but to return to Picollo’s words from last winter, “we can’t force teams to make trades they don’t want to make.” This naturally doesn’t absolve the front office of their responsibility to improve the team, but in relation to the 2025-26 offseason, perhaps the Royals’ rotation depth wasn’t quite as enticing as it seemed in terms of trade talks.
Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha weren’t going anywhere after being recently signed to extensions, so the trade speculations focused around the likes of Ragans, Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron, Ryan Bergert, and Stephen Kolek. There didn’t seem to be much chance that K.C. would move Ragans in the wake of an injury-shortened down year, which is only natural given that he looked like an ace when healthy in 2024.
Bubic showed some front-of-the-rotation ability in 2025 before a rotator cuff strain ended his season early, and while Bubic drew some trade buzz, the combination of his health status and his impending free agency after the 2026 season may have limited his trade value. For Cameron, Bergert, or Kolek, maybe the offers for any of these more back-end rotation types didn’t meet Kansas City’s expectations, if the plan was to bring back an everyday outfielder.
Again, it’s not out of the question that the Royals could still trade a starter in what remains of the offseason. Or, perhaps crucially, the Royals might be more open to moving a starter closer to the deadline, once the team has a better sense of its rotation mix. The 2025 rotation was hit with a number of injuries, so it makes sense that Kansas City wouldn’t want to trade away any starters unless the return was too good to ignore, or if the club was more confident in its starting pitching depth.
Turning to the relief corps, the Royals had to fill some gaps in the bullpen after Hunter Harvey signed with the Cubs, Taylor Clarke was non-tendered, and Zerpa was traded. Mears hasn’t shown much consistency over his six MLB seasons, but 2025 was his best year yet, with a 3.49 ERA and a 5.9% walk rate over 56 2/3 relief innings for Milwaukee. Alex Lange was another inexpensive free agent signing, with the Royals spending $900K to see what the righty can do after a lat surgery sidelined him for almost all of the 2024-25 seasons.
Zerpa’s role as the top southpaw relief option was filled by Matt Strahm, who broke into the majors with the Royals in 2016. Kansas City’s late-game trio of closer Carlos Estevez and set-up men Strahm and Lucas Erceg looks to be a strong group, as Strahm looks to continue his excellent recent track record as a workhorse reliever. He posted a 2.71 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate, and a 6.2% walk rate over 212 2/3 innings for the Phillies during the 2023-25 seasons.
The Phillies were open to moving Strahm for a few reasons — some tension existed between Strahm and the coaching staff, and Philadelphia has other lefties in their pen, so the Royals’ offer of righty Jonathan Bowlan was a fit for both sides. Kansas City was also willing to absorb the $7.5MM owed to Strahm in the final year of his contract, which represents the Royals’ largest investment in new talent this offseason.
Three extensions represented the Royals’ biggest overall spends of the winter, including a deal with Pasquantino covering two of his arbitration-eligible years. The biggest investment was a long-term extension with Garcia that will pay the All-Star at least $57.5MM through 2030, with a club option for 2031. The Royals gain cost certainty through Garcia’s extended (as a Super Two player) arbitration years, and control over what would’ve been Garcia’s first two free agent-years. It’s a nice deal that reflects Garcia’s emergence as both an offensive and defensive force, and his breakout was of massive import to a team in need of hitting.
It was a foregone conclusion that the team was planning to at least exercise its $13.5MM club option on Perez for 2026, and the Royals took it a step further with a two-year, $25MM extension covering the 2026-27 seasons. The deal includes $12MM in deferred money, freeing up some shorter-term savings for the Royals and giving Perez a soft landing for what could potentially be the final two seasons of his big league career. Moving on from Perez and entrusting the catching job to Jensen and (further down the road) top prospect Blake Mitchell might’ve made sense from a pure logic standpoint, but there’s also obvious value for the Royals in retaining Perez, one of the most beloved players in franchise history.
Manager Matt Quatraro also got in on the extension action, as the skipper’s new contract keeps him in Kansas City through at least the 2029 campaign. The 2026 season was the final year of Quatraro’s previous deal, and there was little doubt the Royals were going to keep a skipper who has delivered consecutive winning seasons (and a playoff appearance in 2024) to bring the team out of a rebuild period.
Perhaps the most interesting wrinkle of the Royals’ offseason came not exactly off the field, but to Kauffman Stadium’s field itself. The team is slightly reducing the dimensions of the spacious outfield and lowering the wall from 10 feet to around 8.5 feet, all in the name of making the notoriously pitcher-friendly ballpark more conducive to power hitters. As Picollo told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters, the aim is “a very fair ballpark. We don’t want it to turn into a bandbox and every ball up in the air turns into a home run. We just want hitters to be rewarded when they hit the ball well, particularly in the gaps.”
Maybe there’s a metaphor here for the Royals’ offseason, as the team is also hoping that some minor adjustments to its roster can yield larger results. After winning 82 games in 2025, a return to the playoffs certainly seems plausible if the Royals can get more offense and the pitching stays healthy. Kansas City’s chances are helped by playing in the relatively weak AL Central. Giving Witt and Garcia more established lineup support would’ve been helpful, but the Royals are hoping that Caglianone and/or Jensen can deliver as much or more than the new additions.
How would you grade the Royals' offseason?
Rangers Claim Dairon Blanco
The Rangers have claimed outfielder Dairon Blanco off waivers from the Royals, according to Francys Romero of Beisbol FR. Blanco was designated for assignment by the Royals last week to make room for Starling Marte on the club’s 40-man. The Rangers transferred southpaw Jordan Montgomery to the 60-day injured list to make room for Blanco on their own 40-man.
Blanco, 33 next month, played in the Cuban National Series through his age-22 season but didn’t make it to stateside ball until he was 25 years old back in 2018. Then a member of the Athletics, he was traded to the Royals the following year and eventually made his big league debut during the 2022 season with a five game cup of coffee. The following year he got a much larger role with Kansas City, however, and over the next two seasons he slashed a solid .258/.316/.422 in 270 plate appearances across 157 games. That’s slightly above league average production at the plate, though the vast majority of his production comes against left-handed pitching. Blanco sports a 137 wRC+ for his career against southpaws, compared to a 70 wRC+ against right-handers. It’s also worth noting that he gets a lot of value from his work on the base paths, where he went 55-for-67 (82.1%) in stolen base attempts in 2023 and ’24.
That makes Blanco a useful bench or depth option to be sure, but he ultimately found himself squeezed off the Royals’ roster after the team brought in Marte and Isaac Collins during the offseason to shore up an outfield mix that had rated out as among the worst in the majors in recent years. The Royals already had a crowded bench mix, and Blanco has yet to prove he’s capable of handling more than part-time duties at the big league level. That’s unlikely to be as much of a problem with the Rangers, who are relatively thin on outfield depth (especially when looking for players who can play center field capably) and have plenty of lefties in the lineup like Evan Carter, Joc Pederson, and Josh Smith who could benefit from being spelled against fellow southpaws.
Of course, that isn’t to say Blanco is guaranteed a spot on the team’s bench entering the season. He’ll have stiff competition from veteran Andrew McCutchen for a spot as a right-handed bat, while Sam Haggerty, Michael Helman, and Ezequiel Duran all offer more versatility than Blanco. With that being said, Blanco does have options remaining and could simply start the season in the minor leagues before waiting to get an opportunity in the majors at some point this year. At the very least, Blanco’s wheels should give him a strong argument to join the team when rosters expand in September and perhaps into the postseason if Texas manages to make it that far.
Royals Designate Dairon Blanco For Assignment
The Royals announced they’ve designated outfielder Dairon Blanco for assignment. That’s the necessary 40-man roster move to finalize their one-year deal with Starling Marte, which is official.
Blanco has been a depth outfielder in Kansas City for the past four seasons. He played in nearly half the team’s games between 2023-24 but wasn’t much of a factor last year. Blanco got into nine contests and only took eight plate appearances at the major league level. He went 1-6 with a double while stealing three bases in five attempts.
The 32-year-old (33 in April) missed the first six weeks of the season battling Achilles tendinopathy in his right foot. He returned to health in mid-May and spent the majority of the year on optional assignment. The Cuba native batted .253/.332/.405 with eight homers across 294 plate appearances in Triple-A. He stole 32 bags while getting cut down just three times over 77 games.
A right-handed hitter, Blanco has league average numbers (.257/.312/.416) over 285 MLB plate appearances. The Royals have seemingly been skeptical that’d remain the case over a larger sample. Kansas City outfielders had an MLB-worst .225/.285/.348 batting line last season. Although the outfield has been an issue for the better part of a decade, the Royals never gave Blanco much of a starting opportunity.
They had kept him on the big league roster for the second half of 2023 and all of ’24 as a bench piece. Blanco’s top-of-the-scale wheels made him an asset as a pinch runner. He went 55-67 in stolen base tries over that season and a half. Blanco entered 48 games as a pinch runner. No one else in MLB reached even 20 pinch-running appearances over those two full seasons.
Kansas City has five days to trade Blanco or place him on waivers. He still has a pair of minor league options remaining. He’s on the older side for a player whose game is built so much around his legs, as he didn’t depart his home country until he was 23 and made his MLB debut at 29.
Royals Sign Starling Marte
March 2: Kansas City has officially announced Marte’s one-year contract. It’s a $1MM guarantee that comes with another $2MM in bonuses, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Half of that money comes with roster bonuses and the other half through incentives.
February 28: Starling Marte and the Royals have agreed to a one-year, Major League contract. Financial terms of the agreement aren’t yet known. The deal will be finalized once Marte passes a physical, and the Royals will have to make another transaction to clear space on their 40-man roster for the Klutch Sports client.
2025 was the last season of Marte’s four-year, $78MM contract with the Mets, and while Marte was hopeful of playing for multiple more years, there hadn’t been any public buzz about his free agent market over the winter. Now, the 37-year-old has landed with a Kansas City club whose interest in the former two-time All-Star dates back to last winter, when the Royals had some talks with the Mets about a possible trade.
Marte’s tenure in New York was defined by injuries, as he played in only 396 games during his four-year stint. Groin problems were the source of most of Marte’s issues, as surgery on both his left and right groin muscles following the 2022 season didn’t entirely correct the problem, as the injury resurfaced in 2023. Marte also missed time due to a neck strain, migraines, and a bone bruise in his right knee, and the Mets responded to Marte’s lower-body injuries by making him essentially a full-time DH in 2025.
Marte still made 12 appearances in the outfield last year, and given the Royals’ need for outfield help, Kansas City could consider giving him slightly more time on the grass in 2026. After acquiring both the switch-hitting Isaac Collins and the right-handed hitting Lane Thomas this winter, the Royals’ primary outfield looks like Collins in left field, defensive specialist Kyle Isbel in center, and Thomas and lefty-swinging Jac Caglianone perhaps in a platoon situation in right field. Salvador Perez and top prospect Carter Jensen will handle the catching duties, and whomever isn’t behind the plate will likely get plenty of DH at-bats.
It would add up to another part-time role for Marte, though there’s value in having a veteran bat on the roster. Caglianone struggled badly in his first exposure to big league pitching in 2025, and Thomas is coming off essentially a lost year due to injuries in 2025. Thomas’ top season was his 28-homer campaign with the Nationals in 2023, but he has posted just a 98 wRC+ over 1900 plate appearances over the last four seasons. Collins is also far from a sure thing, as his impressive 2025 rookie season with the Brewers came despite some hard-contact issues that were perhaps obscured by a .326 BABIP.
Marte hasn’t looked like a true top-tier hitter since 2022, but he still managed a respectable .269/.331/.398 slash line and 16 homers over 699 PA during the 2024-25 seasons, translating to a 108 wRC+. Marte is still making hard contact at an above-average rate, even if his power (and his Statcast metrics on the whole) have fallen off.
Whether or not Marte can maintain even this decent production into his 15th Major League season remains to be seen, of course. It can be argued that Collins, Thomas, and Marte couldn’t help but be upgrades for K.C. given how little the Royals have gotten from their outfield mix in the last few years, plus Caglianone is still a highly-touted prospect with breakout potential.
Marte’s next contract will surely be worth only a few million dollars in guaranteed money, with probably some bonus clauses built in based on plate appearances. The Royals’ payroll currently sits at around $149.2MM (as per RosterResource‘s estimates), which represents a modest increase over their $139.8MM figure from 2025. This tracks with owner John Sherman’s comments from October about the payroll likely staying in the same general range, which naturally left the front office a little limited in what they could do in pursuing needed lineup help.
Reporter Yancen Pujols first broke the news that Marte and the Royals were in contract talks. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (multiple links) reported that the deal was in place, and that Marte had inked a guaranteed contract.
Royals’ Stephen Kolek Diagnosed With Oblique Strain
Royals righty Stephen Kolek has been diagnosed with a “Grade 1+” strain of his oblique, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Kolek’s original diagnosis of a strain came yesterday, but the Royals sent him for additional testing — the results of which they’ve now received. He’ll be shut down entirely for about a week before being reevaluated.
Even milder oblique strains can cost players upwards of a month. That the Royals are deeming this a Grade 1 “plus” suggests it’s on the more severe side for a Grade 1 strain. A firm timetable won’t be known until he’s reevaluated after his shutdown, but with Opening Day one month out and Kolek in no-throw mode for the next week, it seems fair to suggest this calls his availability for the season opener into question.
Kolek had an uphill battle to claiming a spot in a rotation currently occupied by Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Noah Cameron and Kris Bubic, but he’s at or near the top of the list for sixth starter options in Kansas City. The 28-year-old righty, who came to the Royals alongside Ryan Bergert in the July trade sending catcher Freddy Fermin to San Diego, started 19 games between the Friars and Royals in 2025 and posted a combined 3.51 ERA. His 16.7% strikeout rate was well south of the 22.2% league average, but his 6.7% walk rate was strong (compared to the 8.4% average) and Kolek kept more than 51% of batted balls against him on the ground.
Since Kolek has minor league options remaining, he might be bound for Triple-A even if he’s able to return to the mound and sufficiently ramp up in time for Opening Day. A lengthier absence would compromise Kansas City’s depth, although they’ve improved on that front over the past year.
Cameron’s breakout showing as a rookie gave the Royals another viable big league rotation arm alongside their slate of veterans. He faded after a historically excellent start but still finished the season with a 2.99 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 41.4% ground-ball rate. Bringing in Kolek, Bergert and swingman Bailey Falter at last summer’s deadline and righty Mitch Spence in a swap with the A’s earlier this month gives Kansas City several more arms to join the mix — all of whom (except Falter) have minor league options remaining.