The Royals’ offseason picture is starting to come into focus, and the infield is part of the conversation.
Perla Paredes at MLB.com pointed to Michael Massey’s breakout season and what it could mean for Kansas City moving forward. Nick Loftin also gives the club some real flexibility after seeing time at second base, third base and right field this year. The Royals leaned on him at third when Maikel Garcia was hurt, and Loftin even picked up a Gold Glove finalist nod for his work there.
That said, Kansas City’s biggest winter jobs still sit elsewhere. The club is looking hard at ways to add offense, including another bat to pair with its established core, but the top priorities remain clear: rebuild the bullpen and add starting pitching.
Second base isn’t completely off the table, though, if the right player becomes available.
David Lesky laid out his free agent predictions, and he has the Royals signing Ian Happ. Lesky said, “It’s not what I’d do, but their outfield defense wasn’t great last year, and Happ is a great defensive fit.
I have concerns about his bat and whether he’ll be enough to help the lineup, but he was really good against righties last year, hitting .241/.358/.458. It does not help with their issues against lefties.
He hit .145/.217/.267 in 144 plate appearances against them last season. It wasn’t quite so bad in 2025, so it could’ve been a fluke.
He hit .305/.350/.438 against lefties in 2023, so he has the ability, but that was a long time ago. So no, I don’t love the idea, but I get it.”
There was also another notable Royals development on the prospect front. Jim Callis at MLB Pipeline ranked rookies by long-term value and put Carter Jensen, the Royals catcher, at No.
- Callis noted that Jensen is just the fifth rookie catcher to post at least 27 homers and a 120 OPS+, joining Rudy York (1937), Earl Williams (1971), Matt Nokes (1987) and Mike Piazza (1993).
He also wrote that Jensen is a better defender behind the plate than all of them and younger than all but Williams, who beat him by 11 days.
Elsewhere in the organization, Carson Roccaforte won a minor league Gold Glove.
In Other News...
Royals Just Opened The Door To Losing Familiar Depth Pieces
The Royals offseason roster trimming has already started to reshape the organizations depth chart, with a dozen minor league players now reaching free agency after not being added to the 40-man roster following six seasons in the system. Among the familiar names are reliever Alex Lange, along with Scott Alexander, Christian Chamberlain and Grant Gambrell, a group that has spent enough time in the organization to be part of the teams broader pitching and development picture.
For Kansas City, the move is less about one headline departure than the cumulative effect of losing players who have filled out the upper levels of the system and provided insurance when the big-league club needed it. Across baseball, 504 players became minor league free agents this offseason, and the Royals now have to decide which of those familiar pieces are worth trying to keep in the fold and which ones will be moving on to their next opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Rotation Need Could Make This Rays Arm Too Good To Ignore
The Royals are expected to spend much of their offseason trying to sharpen a pitching staff that needs to be better if they want to get back to October. That naturally puts them in the market for arms with real upside, and Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen has surfaced as a name worth watching because of his looming salary option and the possibility that the Rays could prefer to move on rather than pay up.
For Kansas City, Rasmussen fits the kind of swing that could change the shape of a rotation without requiring a total overhaul. He would not come cheap in trade talks, and nothing is settled yet, but the fit is obvious enough to keep him on the radar as the Royals weigh how aggressively to attack the pitching market and how much they want to push for a more complete staff next season. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Have A Cheap Rotation Decision Worth Watching
Randy Dobnak gave the Royals a useful lift in the second half of the season, working his way into the rotation picture with a career-high 74.1 innings and a 3.51 ERA. For a club that always has to balance upside with cost, his appeal is easy to understand: he keeps the ball on the ground, avoids the big mistake ball and leans on a sinker-heavy mix that fits the way Kansas City likes to pitch.
The next question is less about whether Dobnak helped than how the Royals value that help heading into 2027. Projections put his arbitration salary in a range that makes him a relatively cheap arm to keep around, and that kind of price tag usually gives a team room to be patient with a depth starter. Kansas City appears likely to do just that, even if the larger decision on his role is still waiting to be sorted out. [Read more 🡒]