The Kansas City Royals are heading into the offseason with a clear agenda: upgrade the outfield and weigh their trade chips carefully-especially when it comes to their most intriguing young arm.
Let’s start with the pitching side, where Cole Ragans is emerging as a name to watch. On paper, he’s exactly the kind of controllable, high-upside starter teams drool over.
He’s under contract through 2027, with a reasonable $4.5 million salary in 2026 and $7.5 million in 2027, and still arbitration-eligible in 2028. That’s cost certainty for a pitcher who, just a year ago, finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting after posting a 3.14 ERA over 186 1/3 innings.
But 2025 didn’t go as planned.
Ragans dealt with groin and rotator cuff injuries that limited him to just 13 starts, and his ERA ballooned to 4.67. That’s not the kind of trajectory you want when your value was sky-high just a season ago.
Trading him now would be a classic sell-low move, and the Royals know it. General Manager J.J.
Picollo didn’t name names, but when asked if any starters were off limits, he said, “There would have to be a really big return for one [starter] in particular.” You don’t need a decoder ring to figure out he’s talking about Ragans.
Bottom line: Kansas City isn’t eager to move him, but if a team comes calling with a blockbuster offer-especially one that includes a controllable outfielder-they’ll listen.
And speaking of outfielders, that’s where the Royals are clearly looking to make some noise. Center field was a black hole in 2025.
Kyle Isbel got the bulk of the at-bats and the position combined for just six home runs, 47 RBIs, and a .645 OPS. That’s not going to cut it, especially for a team trying to build a more complete, competitive roster.
Enter Harrison Bader.
He’s coming off the best offensive season of his career-17 homers, 54 RBIs, and a .796 OPS-and he didn’t just bring the bat. He also ranked in the 92nd percentile in Outs Above Average, which means he wasn’t just good defensively-he was elite. If the Royals are looking for a plug-and-play center fielder who can stabilize the position both offensively and defensively, Bader fits the bill.
But there’s also a more aggressive option on the table: Adolis García.
The former Rangers slugger is one of the most powerful bats on the market, coming off four straight seasons of 25+ home runs from 2021 to 2024. In 2025, he ranked second in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate, and third in barrel rate.
Translation: When he connects, the ball goes. That kind of thump would be a major boost to a Royals lineup that lacked consistent power in the corners.
Defensively, García also held his own in 2025-especially when compared to Kansas City’s current corner outfielders. He outperformed most of them in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), giving him a well-rounded profile that could make him a cornerstone piece if the Royals choose to swing big.
Elsewhere around the league, there are a few notable developments that could indirectly impact Kansas City’s plans.
The Astros are reportedly open to moving outfielder Jake Meyers, which could create more movement in the outfield market. Former Tigers pitcher Matt Manning is heading overseas to pitch in Korea, thinning the starting pitching pool just a bit. The Phillies are seen as the frontrunners to re-sign Kyle Schwarber, which could take another power bat off the board.
Meanwhile, the Rays have brought in former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde as an advisor, and Jay Jaffe is taking a closer look at Félix Hernández’s Hall of Fame case.
On the labor front, the current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in a year, and negotiations are already starting to bubble. One notable wrinkle: ADHD medication exemptions for players have dropped to an all-time low. In the WNBA, owners are offering a $1 million top salary in labor talks-an eye-catching figure that could signal a shift in how leagues approach player compensation moving forward.
But back in Kansas City, the focus is clear. The Royals have a valuable trade chip in Ragans, and they’re exploring both steady and splashy solutions to fix the outfield. Whether they opt for a glove-first guy like Bader or a slugger like García, the next few weeks could shape the direction of their rebuild-or possibly, their return to contention.