The 2024 Royals added 30 wins relative to the prior season, going from 56 to 86 and sneaking into the playoffs for the first time since their World Series win in 2015. Now they'll go into the winter as clear contenders for the first time in a while, but still with lots of uncertainty ahead.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Bobby Witt Jr., SS: $279MM through 2034 (Final four years are annual player options; Royals can trigger three-year club option for '35-'37 if Witt triggers all player options)
- Seth Lugo, RHP: $30MM through 2026 ('26 is $15MM player option)
- Salvador Perez, C: $24MM through 2025 (including $2MM buyout on '26 club option; $2MM of '25 salary is deferred)
Other Financial Commitments
- Owe Hunter Dozier $1MM buyout on 2025 club option
Option Decisions
- Michael Wacha, RHP: $16MM player option
- Hunter Renfroe, OF: $7.5MM player option
- Chris Stratton, RHP: $4.5MM player option ($500K buyout)
- Team, IF/OF Adam Frazier hold $8.5MM mutual option ($2.5MM buyout)
Total 2025 commitments (assuming Renfroe and Stratton are the only two options triggered): $61.5MM
Total future commitments (assuming Renfroe and Stratton are the only two options triggered): $348.5MM
Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via Matt Swartz)
- Josh Taylor (5.121): $1.1MM
- Hunter Harvey (5.047): $3.9MM
- Brady Singer (4.156): $8.8MM
- Kris Bubic (4.135): $2.8MM
- Kyle Wright (4.062): $1.8MM
- John Schreiber (4.027): $2MM
- Carlos Hernández (3.099): $1.2MM
- Kyle Isbel (3.043): $1.7MM
- MJ Melendez (2.153): $2.5MM
- Daniel Lynch IV (2.136): 1.1MM
Non-tender candidates: Taylor, Harvey, Hernández, Melendez
Free Agents
- Will Smith, Michael Lorenzen, Tommy Pham, Garrett Hampson, Paul DeJong, Robbie Grossman, Yuli Gurriel
Coming into 2024, the Royals were an afterthought for many observers. They had spent close to a decade in the wilderness, finishing at .500 or below in each season from 2016 to 2023. But they managed to shoot back into contention this year and secure a postseason berth, mostly thanks to their starting pitching.
The Kansas City rotation had a 3.55 earned run average this year, second only to the Mariners. An aggressive offseason a year ago played a part in that, as the Royals were one of the more active teams last winter. Their two biggest free agent deals were for starting pitchers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, both of which were big wins for the club this year. Lugo made 33 starts and tossed over 200 innings with a flat ERA of 3.00, which will surely lead to some Cy Young votes. Wacha got to 29 starts and 166 2/3 innings with a 3.35 ERA.
They also gave a massive extension to Bobby Witt Jr., who went on to have an MVP caliber season in 2024. Those moves and others pushed the payroll to $115MM, per Cot's Baseball Contracts, getting into nine-figure territory for the first time since their last competitive window closed. It's unclear whether they plan to maintain that level of spending, increase it or decrease it.
It was speculated by some that the free agent signings and the Witt extension last winter were an attempt by owner John Sherman to build some public goodwill that would help him secure public money for a new stadium. But in April, voters in Jackson County, Missouri rejected a sales tax measure that would have provided funding for a new stadium for the Royals as well as upgrades for Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL's Chiefs.
There's also the broadcast revenue situation to consider. The Royals were one of the clubs with Bally Sports in 2024 but they may not be able to continue that relationship going forward. Diamond Sports Group, the company that has owned Bally for years, has been in bankruptcy for almost two years now and is planning to significantly scale back its MLB operations in 2025. As of a few weeks ago, they were reportedly planning to cut ties with 11 of the 12 clubs they broadcasted in 2024, with the Royals one of the many on the chopping block. It's possible that a new deal could be worked out, but that would come with lower fees than the club had received previously. The Royals reportedly received $45MM as part of their deal with Diamond as recently as 2022.
Even though the club just had a strong season and got some playoff revenue, will Sherman have less interest in throwing money at the team now that the stadium situation is in no man's land and there's likely less TV money coming in?
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
Dim outlook. Time to consider trading Witt to get some prospects and salary relief.
That’s funny. And I don’t even have the front office. But these restrictions make me want to do so.
It’s not. In a market that size the path to contention is diversified payroll. Perez, Lugo and Witt are clogs. Moving on from at least two makes them contenders in the central. Keeping them limits everything they can do in the future.
Nice bait.
They have arguably the best player in the league locked up, Salvy still produces and they always take care of their own guys. This team doesn’t cheap out when they play well.
I tend to agree with much of what you said, but I couldn’t believe how bad Sal Perez looked in the playoffs.
He looked very much the “old catcher past his prime”. I’ve been a huge Perez fan, but it looks like he has reached the end of the line.
They didn’t take care of Saberhagen, Dye, Beltran … but sure.
That was a long time ago, and yes not everyone like I implied, but they tend to hold onto their players more than teams like the Pirates, Rays, and A’s.
Adding Lorenzo Cain.
the only thing the same about those teams and this team is the name on their jersey
I agree.
The Royals need a couple bats and they are as good as anyone. Get a high OBP lead off hitter and someone like Tyler O’Neil.
Not happing. They blew their money on sus pitching last year barely to get a wildcard. They are headed back to the 2023 Royals version after yoking the fans into ticket packages and they are saving their money to invest in a new stadium
Another power hitter would go a long way. I’m not sure if Santander would be the answer, but Royals should at least kick the tires on him.
The Royals have some rather specific needs. They need an outfielder or 2. They need a 3b. Outfielder should be right handed or a switch hitter 3b could be any. The problem is it’s difficult to play defense in that stadium they need an athletic outfielder but they also need a big bat. Santander is a bat but he’s not a great defender. Bregman would be a pretty good fit.
Bregman’s HRs in Houston are warning track outs in KC.
That’s probably true but that problem is not exclusive to Bregman.
They need an athletic all around type of outfielder. Like what Dylan Carlson or Andrew Benintendi are supposed to be. Kind of like Riley Greene. Lorenzo Cain was that kind of guy.
Kepler might be a good fit there. Good defense with possible plus offense
Yeah I was thinking that too. I think a righty is a better fit though. But yeah he’s the kind of guy that can succeed in that park.
Isn’t Bregman a client of Scott Bora$?
Honestly, they had a good year. I did expect them to because they made good deals this past offseason. Too bad they couldn’t beat the Yankees
We better not nontender Hunter Harvey after we gave up a top prospect for him. I still want a refund and Cayden Wallace back. We also better not nontender MJ Melendez there’s no reason not to give up on him. And Bobby Witt Junior has a no trade clause. He wants to be a royal forever.
Royals had the second largest attendance increase this year (behind only the Diamondbacks) plus 2 sold out home playoff games. I think they will be big spenders this off-season again. They obviously won’t go for Soto or Burnes. But I can see them going after Santander and O’Neil as well as another starter, one or two bullpen arms, and possibly a low cost third baseman.
Wacha looks like a forgone conclusion to opt out, but he stabilized the pitching staff which has been an issue for KC for a while. I wonder if they’ll try to retain him or Lorenzen, both would be great pitching options to have next year.