The Cleveland Guardians won the AL Central handily with a 92-69 record, but were one of three teams from what is usually one of MLB's weakest divisions to make the MLB postseason. The Kansas City Royals were one of those teams, getting in as a Wild Card team with an 86-76 record.
Kansas City's season ended earlier than they had hoped, but the Royals showed flashes of a team that could be a tough out in the years to come. Bobby Witt Jr. established himself as a legitimate superstar, and the Royals have solid contributors like Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, and the newly acquired Jonathan India around him. Their rotation is headlined by one of the more underrated dynamic duos in the league, Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans, and their bullpen just got an upgrade as well.
The Royals have signed Carlos Estevez to a deal, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The bullpen was a weakness at the beginning of last season, but the Royals have added Lucas Erceg, Hunter Harvey and now Estevez since last year's trade deadline to pair with guys like John Schreiber and Angel Zerpa. All of a sudden, Kansas City's bullpen looks legit.
Closer Carlos Estévez and the Kansas City Royals are in agreement on a free agent contract, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 29, 2025
With how the offseason has gone for the rest of their division rivals, the Royals look like a team that should be considered the favorite to win the AL Central in 2025. Estevez only adds to that belief.
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Royals look like AL Central favorites after Carlos Estevez signing
Estevez is coming off his best season, which saw him post a 2.45 ERA in 54 appearances and 55 innings of work for the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies. He recorded 26 saves in 31 tries for those two clubs.
His 3.24 FIP suggests he might have been a bit lucky, but Estevez has been a solid late-game arm in each of the last three seasons. Estevez adds even more depth to a Royals bullpen that is suddenly looking like a strength. It'd be nice if Estevez was left-handed, but even as a right-hander, he held left-handed hitters to a .585 OPS in 2024. There's a reason Estevez was drawing a ton of interest on the open market.
The Royals haven't added any superstars this winter, but they traded for Jonathan India to hit in front of Witt, and they re-signed Michael Wacha, who was a lynchpin in the team's rotation last season. Adding Estevez into the mix should only help as well.
It might not seem like much, but compared to their rivals, the Royals have been very active. The Guardians are likely worse on paper than they were in 2024, especially after they replaced Josh Naylor with Carlos Santana. The Tigers have been anything but aggressive in an offseason that seemed perfect for them to finally spend some money. The Minnesota Twins have been as inactive as any team in the league and have yet to sign a single free agent to an MLB deal. The Chicago White Sox are, well, the White Sox.
This division could easily be Kansas City's to lose. Getting Estevez for a couple of years, per Joel Sherman of the NY Post should prove to be a worthwhile investment.