The Royals have a center-field decision looming, and Kyle Isbel’s grip on the job looks a lot looser than it used to.
Isbel has been the team’s primary option in center since 2021, and for a while the formula made sense: steady defense, enough offense to live with, and a profile that fit the role. But after 2026, the question is no longer whether he can help the Royals. It’s whether he still belongs in the lineup every day in 2027.
The numbers tell the story plainly. Last season, Isbel hit .224/.268/.323 with an OPS of .591 and a wRC+ of 61.
That wRC+ was a career low, and so was his slugging percentage. It also marked his worst fWAR season at 0.1, ending a run of 1-plus fWAR years.
It wasn’t a total collapse from start to finish, but the overall shape of the season was not encouraging.
There was a brief flash early on. In the first month, Isbel turned in one of the better stretches of his career by his standards, batting .292/.354/.458 with an .813 OPS.
After that, the production cratered in May. Then came the torn plantar fascia in June, which sent him to the IL for two months.
He finished the year on a brutal note, posting a -4 wRC+ in the final month.
That injury mattered beyond the missed time. Isbel has always lived on the value of his glove, but even that part of his game showed signs of slipping in 2026.
He remained a good defender, yet his numbers in the major defensive metrics all hit career lows. His OAA, FRV, and DRS were all down, and his -4 DRS was the first negative mark of his career.
He finished with 7 OAA and 4 FRV.
That puts the Royals in a spot where they may be ready to move on from him as the everyday center fielder, even if they are not moving on from him entirely. With Carson Roccaforte, Gavin Cross, and possibly a free-agent addition in the mix, Isbel could be pushed into a fourth-outfielder role. Spring Training should be busy in the outfield, with Tyler Tolbert and John Rave also in the hunt for roster spots alongside the prospects.
There is still a place for Isbel on the roster. He remains under team control through 2028, he still defends well, and his career wRC+ of 81 against right-handed pitchers at least gives him some utility at the plate. But the evidence from 2026 points in one direction: he probably is not the answer as a starter anymore.
At this point, the more realistic outcome is a bench role in 2027, with limited plate appearances and regular use as a defensive replacement in center field. The Royals appear to be at the stage where they need to find the next man up, and Isbel may simply be the bridge to whoever that ends up being.
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Now the question is how much patience Kansas City wants to show with a reliever who is still arbitration-eligible and projected to make $2.3 million. The cost is manageable, but the role is less certain, and that leaves the Royals weighing whether Erceg still fits as part of their bullpen plans or whether an early decision on him could come back to haunt them later. [Read more 🡒]