The Royals’ season is over, and the biggest message hanging over it is simple: there’s still a long climb ahead.
Kansas City came into 2026 with real expectations, then watched the year go sideways fast. The slow start hurt.
The injuries hurt more. By the time June arrived, the Royals were sitting at 22-37, buried behind the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.
And this week, those same division rivals were celebrating playoff berths at Kauffman Stadium while the Royals looked on from their own dugout. That’s the kind of ending that sticks.
Still, there’s already a push to look forward, with 2027 now in view. The Royals have been through a reset before, and a big chunk of this roster was around for the turnaround from 106 losses in 2023 to a postseason run in 2024. The expectation is that there will be some movement around the edges - likely changes on the coaching staff and free-agent additions to help the bullpen and rotation - but the core is expected to remain intact, including starters Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo.
That leaves the burden on the group that’s already here to get back to the standard Kansas City had in mind.
“From my end, I feel like we have the pieces to be able to do it and we didn’t do it this year,” Pasquantino said. “Like I said, that’s a failure.
That doesn’t mean I have any less confidence going into next year. … I’m walking into next season expecting us to be in a playoff push the whole year.
Those are just words; they don’t mean anything right now, but those are my expectations. We just gotta go do it.”
There was also a clear sense that the finish line had already started to disappear before the season officially ended. David Lesky pointed to the last game in August as the point where the wheels really came off, arguing that September was less about one bad stretch and more about a staff that had nothing left in the tank.
He wrote:
“I sort of think September, and this weekend on a smaller scale, was just a team that ran out of gas. Specifically, it was about a pitching staff that ran out of gas.
That’s an issue, of course, but it’s a bigger issue when they weren’t good enough on a full tank. I will never stop believing that when they got the band back together in mid-August and went on that run, they saw that Sunday loss against Cleveland that dropped them to 7.5 back with 24 to play and realized the longshot dream was dead.
They went 7-17 from there. I have a hard time thinking they could have continued the run they were on with this pitching staff, but none of them are stupid.
They knew that they almost had to win that last game of August. And when they didn’t, it completely fell apart.”
Around the league, there was no shortage of other Royals-related and baseball news. Former Kansas City broadcaster Buddy Blattner, who called games for the Royals from 1969 to 1975, is on the ballot for the 2027 Ford C.
Frick award. Kevin Seitzer, a former Royal, was among the coaches let go by the Mariners.
The Twins also moved on from their pitching coach and assistant pitching coach.
Brian Burrows at Kings of Kauffman examined the Royals’ departing free agents, while Jackson Stone at MLB turned his attention to the club’s 2027 outlook. Elsewhere, the broader postseason picture kept moving, with a look at World Series contenders and Luis Arraez left off the Phillies’ Wild Card roster because of injury.
There were plenty of other notes around the baseball world too: the Rays’ return to the Trop helped boost 2026 attendance numbers, Barry Petchesky wrote about Max Scherzer possibly nearing the end, and the Mariners’ coaching shakeup included Seitzer’s exit.
And beyond baseball, Sporting KC filed a countersuit against former coach Zoran Savic in the dispute over youth soccer in Kansas City. The Chiefs are also in a very different place this September than they were a year ago.
The Giants gave up a 2027 fifth-round pick to land J.J. McCarthy from the Vikings.
De’Von Achane tore his ACL against the Chiefs and is out for the season. Mauricio Pochettino is upset about Manchester City’s financial issues, and Atlanta’s NWSL expansion club set to begin in 2028 now has a name: Atlanta City FC.
In Other News...
Royals May Have Their Catcher Of The Future With One Clear Flaw
Carter Jensens rookie season gave the Royals something they have been hunting for behind the plate: a young catcher with real middle-of-the-order impact. In 2026, he set MLB and franchise records for extra-base hits and leadoff home runs by a catcher, then topped Kansas City with 27 home runs and 81 RBIs, production that changes the way the position looks in the lineup and gives the club a potential long-term fixture.
The question now is whether the offensive breakout can be paired with cleaner work defensively, because Jensens blocking was a clear area for improvement. Luke Mailes role in 18 games offered the Royals a veteran layer of depth, but with limited offense coming from that spot, Kansas City has a familiar offseason balancing act ahead: live with the bat, or keep pushing for more stability behind it. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Are Finally Changing A Setup Fans Blamed All Season
After a season in which the offense never found much rhythm and injuries kept adding to the challenge, the Royals are making a notable change to the way things are run on the hitting side. Alec Zumwalt has reportedly been reassigned within the organization and is expected to stay in a directorial role rather than work as an on-field coach next season, a shift that points to at least some willingness to adjust after months of frustration at the plate.
The move has not been officially confirmed by the club, but it fits the broader sense that Kansas City has been searching for answers all year. For fans who spent the season pointing to the hitting setup as part of the problem, the reassignment is the first real sign that the organization is prepared to rethink a structure that never seemed to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Rookie Carter Jensen Just Earned A Huge New Honor
Carter Jensens rookie season already had the look of a breakthrough, and September turned it into something bigger. The Royals catcher closed the year with a blistering month at the plate, hitting .338/.407/.788 with eight home runs in 20 games and leading all of baseball in several offensive categories, a surge that earned him both American League Rookie of the Month and Player of the Month honors.
For Kansas City, it was a loud confirmation that Jensens first full year belonged in a different conversation than most rookies manage. His season line of .239/.323/.467 with 27 home runs and 81 RBIs placed him among the top first-year hitters in the league and near the top of American League catchers, leaving the Royals with a real reason to be encouraged about how quickly his bat translated at this level. [Read more 🡒]