The Royals were the surprise spender of the 2023-24 offseason, putting down a combined $110.5MM on eight free agents: Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Hunter Renfroe, Chris Stratton, Will Smith, Adam Frazier, Garrett Hampson and Austin Nola. Several of the moves didn't pan out, but the ones that did paid of in spades. Lugo and Wacha helped anchor a strong rotation, which the Royals rode to a Wild Card berth in the American League. They quickly swept the Orioles out of said Wild Card round before falling 3-1 to the eventual AL Champion Yankees in the Division Series.
Not every offseason spending spree produces such favorable results. More often than not, it seems to go the other direction. "Winning the offseason" has become something of an oft-cited punchline, given the frequency with which the team that grabbed the most headlines over a given winter ultimately still falls shy of expectation.
That doesn't mean the Royals should be reluctant to take a similarly aggressive approach to the free agent market this winter, however. To the contrary, there are several reasons why they should give serious thought to an even more aggressive winter -- perhaps even breaking their prior free agent precedents -- especially with an early strike to retain Wacha on a three-year contract already complete.
It's not exactly a novel concept to suggest that a team that just completed a surprising playoff berth thanks to big contributions from some on-the-rise stars should spend in free agency, of course. But the Royals are better positioned than many might realize, and if you're looking for dark-horse candidates to make a significant splash in free agency, they're among my favorite picks to do so. Let's break down the reasons.
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Great synopsis, Steve. I also expect KC to do something big; like you, I think I’d rather see the risk diversified among 2-3 players rather than go all in on Adams or Bergman. Some interest on KC’s part in trading pitching (Singer/Bubic/Marsh?) for bats as well, or so it has been put out there. Maybe Wacha makes Singer expendable? Should bring back a decent bat if so.
Interested to see what KC adds and subtracts on the Position Player side this off-season.
In the bullpen, I think one under-the-radar piece they could add at an affordable rate would be Andrew Kittredge.
props to KC
went from 106 L to the postseason
quatraro did a great job
witt, ragans, pasquantino, maikel, jac… great young core
Gleyber
Witt
Teoscar
Salvy
Pasquantino
JDM
Massey
Melendez
Isbel
Seems like a solid lineup
KC is my pick for an Arenado trade.
KC should be proud. They made huge strides this year.
The Royals will be hard pressed to make the playoffs again next year. The central is very close in talent., with the Twins and Tigers looking good too! The East and West very well could get 2 teams in the playoffs. There are usually 5 new teams in the playoffs each year. Seattle, Rays, and Jays all could be playoff teams along with Cleveland, New York, Astros, and Baltimore.
Twins and tigers regress big time
3/54 for Wacha is just too much for me.