Michael Massey’s 2026 season gave the Royals something they’ve been waiting for: a full year of production from a player whose career has bounced from promising to interrupted and back again.
This one stood apart because he stayed on the field. Massey opened the year on the injured list with a calf strain, then missed another week in September because of a concussion, but otherwise held up well enough to play in a career-high 131 games.
For a guy whose 2025 was chopped up by a left ankle sprain, a right wrist fracture and back problems, that alone mattered. It was a much cleaner season, and it showed in the numbers.
He hit .272/.303/.428 with 13 home runs, the best overall line of his big league career. Among American League second basemen, he ranked sixth in fWAR with 2.3, also a career high. On the defensive side, he put himself in Gold Glove territory for the first time, finishing as a finalist after placing second among AL second basemen in Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved.
The contact profile remained a calling card. Massey has never really carried obvious platoon issues, and this season he actually handled lefties better than righties.
He kept showing the kind of bat-to-ball ability that makes him useful, with an 82.3 percent contact rate. His 16.6 percent strikeout rate was third-lowest on the Royals among semi-regulars, trailing only Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino.
The tradeoff is that he is always on the attack. Massey swung at 52.9 percent of pitches, which put him 25th among hitters with at least 450 plate appearances.
Two other Royals, Salvador Perez and Jac Caglianone, were also in that top-25 group. His walk rate ticked up, but only to 4.6 percent, which tied for seventh-lowest in the league.
He did set a personal best in on-base percentage, but he still ended up making outs nearly 70 percent of the time.
After four and a half seasons and 489 major league games, Massey’s profile is pretty clear. By the time next Opening Day rolls around, he’ll be 29, and the Royals can reasonably project him as a steady second baseman with real pop for the position, a solid left-handed bat, and above-average defense. They also know the other side of the player: the injuries, the low walk totals, the high swing rate.
He is entering arbitration for the second time this winter and is expected to make more than $3 million next season. That puts Kansas City in a spot where it has to weigh value, fit, and upside.
There is a case for moving him while he still has appeal, even if the return would not be huge. The Royals could “ replace him in the aggregate ” with some mix of Nick Loftin, Tyler Tolbert and Isaac Collins, or they could choose a bigger upgrade at second base.
The safer bet is that Massey is back as the starter, likely batting sixth or seventh. There’s value in that kind of player, and the 2024 Royals showed it. He gives them a productive bat, a strong glove, and cost control.
Still, the offense may need more than that if Kansas City wants another step forward. Massey’s season was a clear move in the right direction, but the next leap has to be bigger if he wants to do more than hold the spot down.
In Other News...
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Royals Face A Painful 40-Man Crunch Before Everything Freezes
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That makes the 40-man roster a real pressure point, especially for a club trying to balance present value against longer-term flexibility. One hypothetical path even includes a trade centered on Kyle Isbel and Bradley Hanner, underscoring how many different levers the Royals may need to pull just to get through the winter without exposing themselves elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Bullpen Woes Could Force A Pricey 2027 Free Agency Gamble
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Among the names already drawing attention is Padres left-hander Adrian Morejon, whose recent run has put him on the radar as a possible fit in Kansas City. The appeal is obvious for a club trying to shorten games, but so is the problem: a reliever with his profile figures to come with a steep price tag and plenty of competition, making the Royals search as much about timing and resources as it is about need. [Read more 🡒]