3 dream offseason moves the Royals can make to begin a dynasty in Kansas City
The 2024 Kansas City Royals massively overachieved. Bobby Witt spoke to how he felt he let the team and the city down by not having more postseason success, but the Royals exceeded expectations by quite a bit this season.
After losing over 100 games in 2023, the team turned around and threatened for the AL Central division title this year. Their rebuild took off in the best way possible until they ultimately lost to the star-studded New York Yankees in the ALDS.
While this might sting for a while, this team will absolutely be back. If they can make these three dream offseason moves, they could be set to become a true dynasty over the next few years.
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3. Elevating top prospects to the MLB would be a solid choice going forward
The Royals can begin their dynasty in the most obvious way. This team likely isn't going to go out and spend hundreds of millions of dollars in free agency this Winter. That's just not how they typically operate. Instead, they could elevate some of their top prospects who have shown that they are ready to compete in the big leagues.
A few names that come to mind when I say this are Noah Cameron, Steven Zobac and potentially number two prospect Ben Kudrna.
Kudrna is the big wild card here. He's the club's second-highest-rated prospect, but he's only pitched to the Double-A level, and he wasn't particularly great there. But, he should be taking a huge leap in development this offseason, so there's a chance that he shines in Spring Training and makes the big league club for Opening Day.
Cameron and Zobac are more realistic options for the Royals to promote. Cameron posted a 2.32 ERA in nine starts at the Triple-A level last season. Zobac looked great at the Double-A level last year and given his plus command, he should translate very well up to the big league level in the near future.
Elevating some prospects would be a cheap way to fill out their roster.
2. Adding a closer would be the best decision for the Royals this Winter
The Royals may not want to spend a ton of money this offseason, but they're going to spend a little bit. What they spend that money on is going to be the most important aspect of the offseason. One of their biggest needs is in the bullpen, specifically looking for a player to be their set closer rather than putting that spot up for chance.
There will be a ton of high-leverage relievers available in free agency this offseason. Pitchers like Kenley Jansen, Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez are all notable names to think about for the Royals.
In a dream world, the Royals would land three high leverage relievers this offseason. Adding that much talent in free agency would be the perfect, utopian world for the Royals. The crowned jewel would be Tanner Scott, the excellent closer that spent half the season with the Marlins before being traded to the Padres for a king's ransom at the deadline.
The most important thing for the Royals is to upgrade the backend of the bullpen. Trading for solid bullpen arms is extremely expensive, as the Royals learned during the 2024 season. They can get ahead of this by opening their checkbook for top bullpen arms this Winter.
1. Adding a middle infielder to pair with Bobby Witt would be perfect for Kansas City
Bobby Witt Jr. is the Royals franchise shortstop and he's one of the best middle infielders, both offensively and defensively, in the entire league. You could make an argument that Witt is the best defensive infielder in the game after the incredible season that he put together this year. But the Royals need to add another infielder to play next to Witt up the middle.
There really aren't too many options for the Royals to go after. Somebody like Gleyber Torres certainly comes to mind. The Yankees may not be eager to bring Torres back after some struggles this year, but Torres has turned it around in the postseason. It's still in question as to whether the Yankees will aggressively try to re-sign him this Winter.
If they don't, Torres would be the perfect option for the Royals to add. He's not a great defender, but he wouldn't need to be with Witt next to him. Torres has a top-tier bat for the position, though he didn't play to his full potential this season.
The Royals need to find any way possible to add a second baseman beside Witt, if it's at all possible.