As is often the way, what had expected to be a quiet offseason exploded in late December and it’s a different Royals we find ready to end Spring Training ahead of the 2030 season. Here’s how it went.
Development Lab
The second set of player development enrolees provides something of a spoiler for the moves the Royals made.
The first round of development was very positive, especially for the young prospects, while the second round was more challenging with little glove improvement.
Round 1
Jimmy Goodman was successful in improving his Plate Discipline, with his current and potential Eye improving by 5 to 65 and 75 respectively.
Jeremy Rogerson had outstanding results improving his quality of contact, + for his current and potential (55/65)
Marco Paz improved his slider as part of a successful improve secondary pitch development, as was the case for both
Isaac Morton and
Cade Townsend, who also saw his potential stuff improve by 5 (60).
Unfortunately,
Bobby Witt Jr. saw no improvement in his defensive ability at shortstop, and
Sheng-En Lin failed to improve his injury proneness.
Second Round
The defensive set of lab work was not successful with only
Isaac Paredes (3B) having a successful outcome, improving all aspects of his Infield Defense, most notably his ability to Turn DP by 5 (50).
Awards
The Royals avoided the hat-trick of Awards Season snubs, with
Jorge Ruiz (2026 Trade Acquisition) winning the American League Great Glove in Right Field. In addition, Stoppers
John McMillon and
Josiah Gray both received votes in the AL Reliever of the Year Award.
AL Great Gloves RF
Jorge Ruiz KC
NL Great Gloves
AL Platinum Sticks
NL Platinum Sticks
AL Manager of the Year David Kelton CWS
NL Manager of the Year Ed Easley ARI
AL Reliever of the Year Josh Walker BAL
NL Reliever of the Year Carmen Mlodzinski ATL
AL Rookie of the Year Tim Nicosia SEA
NL Rookie of the Year Drew Burress SF
AL Cy Young Gavin Williams CLE
NL Cy Young Cade Horton CHC
AL MVP Coby Mayo BAL
NL MVP James Wood WAS
Pre-Arbitration Extensions & Trades
CF/RP
- Signed RP Angel Perdomo to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $5,100,000.
- Signed RP DJ Herz to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $4,400,000.
- Signed 2B Nick Loftin to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $9,500,000.
- Signed RP Josiah Gray to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $3,440,000.
- Signed LF Jacob Jenkins-Cowart to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,250,000.
- Signed RP Raimon Gomez to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,650,000.
Traded 35-year old minor league RHP
Manonobu Iwamoto to the Philadelphia Phillies, getting 27-year old RHP
Wen-Hui Pan, 23-year old minor league RHP
Jonathan Fleri, and $1,000,000 in cash in return.
Iwamoto was an International Free Agent signing in 2027 who had spent two seasons in AAA without ever making the jump to the big leagues. When the Phillies came calling, the chance to pick up Pan, a 70-50-45 55-stamina pitcher with a plus-plus fastball and splitter, and a plus slider, the decision was a no brainer. Fleri, an average reliever who will start in A+, and some cash, sweetened the deal.
All Arbitration and Qualifying Offer decisions were made prior to arbitration day so there was nothing to action ahead of Free Agency.
International Free Agents
Takashi Toguchi [65(70)-45(50)-65(70)-55] was the star of the International Free Agent class and the Royals took a run at signing the left-fielder. They lost out in a bidding way to the Cardinals, with the 28-year-old signing a $31.5m AAV, 8-year contract.
Rule 5 Draft
Ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, the usual roster review took place for the Royals; as the depth improves, a squeeze becomes inevitable, with 40-man additions and trades taking place the week before Christmas 2029.
Two bats –
Henry Bolte and
Kiyotake Takenara – were added, both players who had excelled in AA in 2029 and will start 2030 in AAA.
Jackson had been claimed in the Rule 5 draft last year before being returned to the Royals ahead of opening day. Rather than risk losing him again, KC traded him and Minor League organisations depth Flores to the Dodgers, getting a trio of potential contributors back. Nicholson and Stevens were LA’s 10th and 11th round picks in 2028, both commanding signing bonuses coming out of High School. They will both start 2030 in Rookie Ball, while 2027 14th round pick, Catcher Suter will start at AA with his plus framing and after a 3.9 WAR season in A+.
Christian Cairo has spent time in the Big Leagues and a strong AAA season made him a prime candidate to be taken in the draft. Instead, the Royals added organisational depth player David Pedroza and received AAA infielder Baro, who lacks in power but can get on base through hits (above average contact) and walks (potential plus eye), and potentially elite reliever Holtz whose potential 80 cutter pairs with a potential plus circle change in a best case 70-50-65 profile. Holz will start in Rookie Ball with a more managed workload (after pitching in 48 games in 2029) while Baro will join Spring Training after being added to the 40-man roster.
International Amateurs
The Royals 2030 class was headlined by 3B
Juan Moreno out of Venezuela ($4,000,000). His high Work Ethic will give him the chance to reach his potential all round hitting profile of 60-65-70-60 but at 16 that is a long way in the future.
Two Dominican relief pitchers rounded out the class, with owner Sherman capping the International Amateur Signing Pool to $4,420,000.
Offseason Trades & Free Agents
Sunday, December 30th , 2029
Made had shown some improvement in his third year of Major League play but when the Blue Jays put Schneider on the Trading Block the chance to pick up a plus power, plus-plus eye Third Baseman (with 8.8 WAR and 59 HRs over the last two years) was too good to turn down. It took adding in 2028 trade acquisition Gelof (who was never really given a chance in the Royals system) and organisational piece Torres but the Royals have a new 3B for 2030. His contract runs for two years at $21.4m, which is steep but short.
Monday, December 31st , 2029
Signed free agent 3B
Isaac Paredes to a 2-year contract worth a total of $39,000,000.
The second trade as the 2029 clock ticked down was a surprise after the acquisition of Schneider the previous day. However, the chance to add a reigning Great Glove to the Infield was too tempting for the Royals as they secured Paredes on a 2-year contract. The contract is severely front loaded ($25m, $14m) and while another 5.9 WAR season is unlikely, plus power and an above average eye should combine for a more than acceptable OPS from a position that has been at best league average over Stewart’s tenure.
Departures
The fans had it clear they were unhappy with the departure of three Royals over the offseason with a decrease in fan interest accompanying the loss of
JT Brubaker,
Nick Margevicius, and
Braxton Garrett.
Garrett’s contract was the only one that hurt, with San Francisco securing a more than manageable 2-year, $13.9m deal with Garrett.
Financial Situation
Having gone all in on two big bat signings, in mid-January owner Sherman made the decision to slash the budget by $4,000,000. As part of this move, he capped both the scouting and the development budgets, at $14,001,177 and $33,245, 423 respectively.
Preseason & Spring Training
As has become the norm, the Royals had an up and down Spring, going 10-14 but giving plenty of outings to fringe players as well as getting their main roster up to speed. There was one long term casualty in Spring Training, though, and it hurt.
Thursday, February 28th , 2030- 2B Nick Loftin was injured in a collision at a base. The diagnosis is not yet known.
Friday, March 1st , 2030- 2B Nick Loftin diagnosed with a torn back muscle, will miss 4 months.
In his final year of arbitration, Nick Loftin will miss the first half of the season. The Royals’ 2B everyday player for the last four years, he is a big bat to lose for half a season and posed a serious question to Stewart for the start of the season.
Around the League
Retirements
- C Willson Contreras retired from professional baseball.
- 1B Ryan O'Hearn retired from professional baseball.
- SS Edwin Arroyo retired from professional baseball.
- SS Ray-Patrick Didder retired from professional baseball.
- LF Vadim Lophanov retired from professional baseball.
- RF Aaron Judge retired from professional baseball.
- SP Eduardo Rodriguez retired from professional baseball.
- SP Tony Gonsolin retired from professional baseball.
- SP Tyler Mahle retired from professional baseball.
- RP John Schreiber retired from professional baseball.
- RP Jonathan Loáisiga retired from professional baseball.
- RP Jose Cuas retired from professional baseball.
- RP Kevin Ginkel retired from professional baseball.
- RP Paul Blackburn retired from professional baseball.
- CL Jordan Romano retired from professional baseball.
Contract Extensions
- Atlanta Braves: SP AJ Smith-Shawver 4-years $80,800,000.
- Baltimore Orioles: 3B Coby Mayo 4-years $197,000,000.
- Baltimore Orioles: SS Jackson Holliday 8-years $427,500,000.
- Boston Red Sox: LF Roman Anthony 8 years $145,700,000.
- Cleveland Guardians: SP Daniel Espino 5-years $133,200,000.
- Cleveland Guardians: SP Gavin Williams 6-years $207,000,000.
- Colorado Rockies: C Drew Romo 6-years $75,600,000.
- Detroit Tigers: 3B Blaze Alexander 5-years $31,220,000.
- Milwaukee Brewers: C Jeferson Quero 8-years $319,600,000.
- Pittsburgh Pirates: SP Paul Skenes 1 year $23,400,000.
- San Diego Padres: C Ethan Salas 1 year $22,200,000.
- Seattle Mariners: 1B Cole Young 5-years $34,380,000.
- St. Louis Cardinals: SS Masyn Winn 1 year $31,000,000.
- Tampa Bay Rays: 1B Curtis Mead 1 year $21,800,000.
- Toronto Blue Jays: SP Ricky Tiedemann 4-years $192,000,000.
- Washington Nationals: 3B Brady House 5-years $71,520,000.
Free Agent Signings
- Atlanta Braves: RP Devin Williams 2-years $40,800,000.
- Cincinnati Reds: LF Juan Soto 6-years $204,000,000.
- Philadelphia Phillies: 1B Matt Olson 3-years $81,600,000.
- Philadelphia Phillies: 2B Andres Gimenez 6-years $158,600,000.
- Seattle Mariners: SP Connor Phillips 6-years $129,600,000.
- St. Louis Cardinals: LF Takashi Toguchi 8-years $252,000,000.
Major Injuries
In addition to Loftin’s injury, two major stories came out of the injury report from the off season. The first was ex-Royal
Carlos Hernandez’s second season-ending right elbow injury in the last three years. Hernandez will return at the end of the year a which point he will still have 4 years left at $22.8m. Hernandez was one of five Houston pitchers to suffer serious injury between November and March with only Reliever
Keynan Middleton expected back in 2030.
The second story came from the NL West, where the Dodger’s
Justin Steele suffered a setback ruling him out of the entirety of the 2030 season while the Giants’
Shane McClanahan suffered a second season ending injury to his pitching arm. 5 Cy Young Awards and almost $400m of contract showing the risk associated with long-term pitching contracts.
Pitchers
- Carlos Hernandez HOU diagnosed with a damaged elbow ligament, will miss 9-10 months.
- Hudson Barrett HOU diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, will miss 8 months.
- Justin Steele LAD has suffered a setback in his recovery. He is not expected to recover for another 6 months.
- Shane McClanahan SF diagnosed with a damaged elbow ligament, will miss 14 months.
- Thomas Szapucki WAS diagnosed with a stretched elbow ligament, will miss 8-9 months.
- Trevor Stephan BOS diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, will miss 5-6 months.
- Jake Woodford HOU diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, will miss 10 months.
- Keynan Middleton HOU diagnosed with a torn triceps, will miss 3-4 months.
- Kodai Senga HOU diagnosed with a torn labrum, will miss 8-9 months.
- Bryce Montes LAA De Oca diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, will miss 10 months.
- Nick Snyder LAA has suffered a setback in his recovery. He is not expected to recover for another 3-4 months.
- Jason Bahr MIN diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, will miss 8-9 months.
- Frank Caraballo NYM diagnosed with a damaged elbow ligament, will miss 13 months.
- Josh Evans SD diagnosed with an elbow strain, will miss 3 months.
- Cole Ragans TEX diagnosed with a ruptured finger tendon, will miss 3 months.
- Josh Stephan WAS diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, will miss 7 months.
Hitters
- SS Trey Sweeney ATL diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, will miss 9 months.
- LF J.J. Wetherholt COL diagnosed with a herniated disc, will miss 3 months.
- 3B Josh Jung TEX diagnosed with a broken kneecap, will miss 6 months.
Hall of Fame
It was a quieter stage this year as two players were inducted into the Hall of Fame on January 16. Both first time ballot pitchers,
Justin Verlander {link to news story} and
Max Scherzer {link to news story} were runaway elections. Verlander was a unanimous choice amongst voters while Scherzer secured 98.8%.
No other nominee cracked 50% of ballots.
