Nine Realistic Free Agents for the Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals will embark on free agency with a different lens this winter than they’ve had in recent years.

This time last year, they were a team that had just posted the second worst record in all of Major League Baseball at 56-106, leading to an offseason of moves to put themselves in a better position to be more competitive.

They signed crafty veterans like Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo for the rotation along with veteran bats with a track record like Hunter Renfroe.

But after a 2024 season that saw their rebuild heavily accelerated, resulting in their first trip to the postseason in nine years, Kansas City finds themselves in a position to spend once again, but this time spend in a way that outright contenders might.

The Kansas City Royals are heading to the ALDS in their first playoff appearance since 2015!!! pic.twitter.com/OJhZoSI91s

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 2, 2024

That being said, it’s important to remember the Royals are a smaller market organization that doesn’t have the same financial war chest that other contenders would have if they made it to a Divisional Series.

Yes it would be nice to land the big fish like a Juan Soto or a Corbin Burnes, but those moves come with significant finances tied to them that Royals realistically cannot afford, especially when the inevitable bidding wars take place for them.

They’ll likely need to play within the margins and find value in more mid-tier free agent names this winter, like the moves they’ve already started to do make the early stages of the offseason after re-signing Michael Wacha for the rotation, and trading for a leadoff-style second baseman in Jonathan India.

These moves are a great start, but the wheeling and dealing almost certainly won’t end there as the Royals still have several areas to address before the new season begins in order to keep themselves in the American League postseason picture.

The three areas that require the most work at the moment are; depth in the starting rotation, back-end bullpen arms and another starting caliber outfielder.

So with those areas in mind, here are some realistic free agents the Royals could go after this winter:

Starting Pitching

When it comes to depth in the starting rotation, value adds are exactly what the Royals need, considering their top three is solidified with Lugo, Wacha and of course their ace Cole Ragans.

Their focus should be on arms to fill out the bottom two rotation spots, but also have enough upside to account for any regression Lugo or Wacha might face now that they’re in their mid-30s.

Walker Buehler

It was a less than ideal regular season for the 30-year-old Buehler after posting a 5.38 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 75.1 innings of work for the Dodgers.

But after injury struck Los Angeles’ rotation in the late stages of the year, Buehler was called upon to be a part of the postseason starting staff.

WALKER BUEHLER CLOSES IT OUT AND THE DODGERS ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!pic.twitter.com/frodx7BvTH

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 31, 2024

And after tossing 10 innings scoreless innings between the NLCS and World Series, he not only redeemed himself after the season he just had, he showed off some of the top-end upside that saw him finish fourth in NL Cy Young voting in 2021.

October proved that Buehler’s far better than what we saw in the 2024 regular season, meaning he’s an ideal bounce-back candidate to be a four or a five in the Royals rotation and has the upside to be an arm that could easily challenge the top three.

He’s not going to get the contract we thought he would get back when he was dominating in 2021, due to the risk he showed this year prior to October, which means the Royals have an opportunity to get a real upside arm for a fraction of the price.

Matthew Boyd

In a Guardians rotation that was less than ideal beyond Tanner Bibee in 2024, Boyd returned from the IL and was the supporting spark they were desperately looking for all year.

In 39.2 innings, Boyd threw to the tune of 2.72 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP, and then looked borderline untouchable in the postseason sporting a 0.77 ERA in Cleveland’s run to the ALCS.

It’s important to remember that 2024 was a small sample size though, especially considering he entered the year coming off a mid-5.00 ERA season in 2023 in Detroit.

But if Boyd can perform to his 2024 expected metrics of a 3.10 xERA and a .216 xBA next season then the Royals would have a more than a suitable backend starter, who’s looking to prove that 2024 was not a fluke.

Nick Pivetta

Pivetta may not have the upside to challenge for the mid-rotation spots of a contending starting staff that Buehler or Boyd might have, but he’s the textbook definition of a quality four or five starter.

In his past four full seasons with the Boston Red Sox, he sported mid-to-low 4.00 ERAs. And in 2024 he took things up a notch ranking above the 80th percentile in both strikeout rate and walk rate.

He turned down the one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Red Sox, leading me to believe he’s opting for term over AAV which makes him even more of an appealing option to bolster the bottom of a rotation, even if it does cost a bit of draft compensation.

Relief Pitching

The Royals made some savvy moves to bring in some solid relief talent at last year’s trade deadline in Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey.

The Royals are acquiring right-hander Lucas Erceg from the A’s, per @JeffPassan. pic.twitter.com/nPkJOwD2Xo

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 30, 2024

Erceg still projects to be the Royals closer next season, so swinging big for an outright closer like Tanner Scott isn’t necessary.

The Royals should focus on arms who are capable of pitching in the later innings, but also address some efficiency issues they faced in 2024.

Their bullpen finished last season with the third-worst strikeout rate in baseball at 20.8% and the fifth lowest K/BB rate at 12%. And because of their lack of swing-and-miss capabilities and mediocre walk rates they ranked 23rd in WHIP (1.33) and 25th in AVG against (.245).

While names like Sam Long, Kris Bubic and John Schreiber certainly have places in the Royals ‘pen in 2025, the volatility of relief pitchers year-to-year needs to be taken into account by Kansas City, meaning they should direct their focus to quality value in backend arms.

José Leclerc

After a down year with the Texas Rangers this past season, where he posted a mid-4.00s ERA with a 1.32 WHIP, Leclerc is an ideal bounce back candidate for 2025.

Despite his bloated ERA and WHIP, he still managed to hold hitters at bay with a solid .222 AVG against, while also striking them out at a 92nd percentile rate of 30.9%, something we’ve established that the Royals ‘pen struggled to do last season.

He also limited the amount of quality contact opposing hitters had off him, posting a 96th percentile hard-hit rate and an 84th percentile average exit velocity in 2024.

Pair all that with a great prior track record of two sub-3.00 ERA seasons in 2022 and 2023 as a key part of Texas’ late inning strategy, and he could make the ideal set up man for Kansas City in 2025.

Yimi García

García was one of the few things that went right in the Toronto Blue Jays putrid bullpen in 2024 with his 2.70 ERA before he was dealt to the Mariners at the trade deadline.

He’s posted K/9 totals above 10 over for two consecutive seasons now while also ranking in the upper quarter of major league league arms in hard-hit rate in each of the last three seasons.

And García has been a fixture in the backend of bullpens for much of his career, which would provide a valued veteran presence for current and less experienced Royals relief options.

Chris Martin

Chris Martin was a key fixture in the late inning spots of the Red Sox bullpen last year. And that level of quality has actually been present in him for the past six straight seasons now.

Martin has posted sub-3.50 ERAs in five of the last six years, and the season in which he didn’t in 2021, he still remained at a sub-4.00 ERA.

And continuing with the trend of strikeout relivers, Martin posted a 27.8% K-rate paired with a 35.2% chase rate this past season. Add that to a very small 1.7% walk rate, and Martin’s efficiency as a reliever is very clear.

The 38-year-old has been putting up these performances for the greater part of his career, meaning the Royals would be wise to take a run at adding a crafty veteran like him.

Outfield

This is where the Royals should be the most aggressive this winter given how poor their outfield performed in 2024.

Their outfield ranked tied for 27th in both fWAR and OPS at 0.9 and .648 respectively, as well as 28th in wRC+ at 79, in 2024.

While pieces like MJ Melendez, Renfroe and Kyle Isbel still likely have a place on this roster in 2025, the Royals could stand to use someone with more of a track record as a solid MLB starter.

Tyler O’Neill

O’Neill would be a huge get for Kansas City coming off a monster year with the Boston Red Sox in 2024 in which he slashed .241/.336/.511 with 31 home runs.

The main thing he would bring to the table for the Royals is his immense power. Kansas City ranked just 20th in MLB last season in homers with 170.

He doesn’t offer much in the average department. His .241 AVG is paired with an xBA of .213. But he makes up for it with a strong ability to draw walks, with an 87th percentile BB rate of 11.2%, a swell as his ability to make quality hard contact, with a 90th percentile hard-hit rate of 48.8% and a 98th percentile barrel rate of 17.8%.

TYLER O’NEILL MONSTER NUKE FOR THE WIN!!!! pic.twitter.com/EpLW4oJPHG

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 12, 2024

His patient power profile makes a lot of sense sitting right behind the two current catalysts of the Royals lineup in Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino.

He’s coming off two pretty average looking years before last season with a 99 wRC+ in 2022 and 97 wRC+ in 2023 with the St. Louis Cardinals, but with a 143 wRC+ in 2021 there’s definitely reason to believe that 2024 was not an anomaly.

Michael Conforto

This isn’t the same Michael Conforto we saw in his prime years between 2017 and 2020 with New York Mets. In those seasons he had three with a wRC+ of 125 or higher and three seasons where hit 25+ HR.

In the three years following that stretch (2021-23) he never had a season over 104 wRC+, an AVG above .240 and an OPS above .730, and also missed the entirety of the 2022 season to injury.

But after one of the worst seasons of his career in 2023, with a 99 wRC+ and a .718 OPS, Conforto had decent bounce back season in 2024 slashing .237/.309/.450 with 20 HR, 66 RBI and a 112 wRC+, showing glimpses of his past self.

Like O’Neill, the quality contact Conforto had on display in 2024 would be an asset in the middle of the Royals lineup, with his 77th percentile hard-hit rate of 46.0% and his 80th percentile barrel rate of 11.8%.

Again, he’s not the guy he was in his prime, but 2024 showed that there’s still a productive player in there and if surrounded by the quality at the top of that Royals order, he could thrive even more than he did in San Francisco last season.

Max Kepler

Unlike the other two names mentioned in this outfield section, Kepler is coming off a down year in 2024.

In 399 plate appearances with the Twins this past season, he only posted a 94 wRC+ and a .682 OPS.

But despite poor showings in 2021 (97 wRC+) and 2022 (94 wRC+) on top of 2024, Kepler is only a year removed from arguably the best year of his career, where slashed .260/.332/.484 with 24 homers, 66 RBI and a 123 wRC+.

He’s had seasons in the past where he’s shown his ability to hit the ball hard and make quality contact, but he also puts forth a smart approach when at the plate, as in 2023 he ranked above the 75th percentile in hard-hit rate, barrel rate, chase rate and whiff rate.

And don’t forget the defensive game Kepler provides with quality OAA and DRS totals in his career, with 66 OAA and 50 DRS so far in his career.

With the production he showed before his regression in 2021, and then what he showed most recently in 2023 leads me to believe that with the right core surrounding him that isn’t plagued by the injuries the Twins seem to be hampered with year in and year out, he could still be a productive ball player with a change of scenery.

But at the same time, his familiarity with the AL Central and the five ballparks he’s played in most consistently, could also be an underrated detail that could be of intrigue for the Royals.