5 Kansas City Royals players who won’t be on the big-league roster next season

The Kansas City Royals rebuild has not gone according to plan. While they have young talent like Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, MJ Melendez, and Vinnie Pasquantino on the team, they have not investing in veterans who could mentor them. While Salvador Perez and Zack Greinke have been the father figures in the clubhouse, they have wasted the talent of many of their top prospects.

When rebuilding a team, you should promote younger talent. While they have done that to some extent, they have also kept players like Matt Duffy and Dairon Blanco on the roster, which took playing time away from up-and-coming prospects like Samad Taylor and Nelson Velázquez, among many others.

The Royals did make some good calls by removing Franmil Reyes, Hunter Dozier, and Jackie Bradley Jr., among others. But overall, this team is wasting the likes of Bobby Witt Jr. and Cole Ragans, young talent which deserves to play for a contender.

Kansas City Royals who won't be back next season: Josh Taylor

Josh Taylor was one of the pieces acquired in the Adalberto Mondesí trade to the Boston Red Sox. Since joining the Kansas City Royals, the 30-year-old relief pitcher has done little but disappoint and cost the Royals' games.

In his small sample size of 17 2/3 innings before suffering injuries, he holds an ERA of 8.15 with a record of 1-3. The Royals could remove him from the team once he returns from the injured list due to having younger talent that is more developed. It depends on what Kansas City wants to do since they seem to be stuck in a rut.

Taylor's history suggests he can be hit or miss. With the Boston Red Sox in 2019, he emerged as one of their best relievers, throwing 47 1/3 innings and holding a 3.04 ERA, which was good for 1.3 bWAR. In his next season, he pitched in seven and one-third innings and gave up eight runs, earning a 9.82 ERA. But in 2021, he pitched well again, throwing 47 2/3 innings and finishing with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.2 bWAR. In that postseason, he pitched in six games and gave up one run over four innings, finishing with a 2.25 ERA.

As you can see, he's unpredictable, and the Royals don't have time for that.