Royals' Roster Flexibility Key To Postseason Return

Kansas City Royals skipper Matt Quatraro and his staff deserve credit for prioritizing roster flexibility, and they should utilize that strategy to its fullest to avoid major holes in the Royals lineup this year. Left fielder MJ Melendez has the worst OPS - .350 - among all Royals with at least 20 at-bats in this young season. Center fielder Kyle Isbel isn't far behind, with a .450 OPS through 20 AB's. On the bright side, Maikel Garcia, who is typically at third base for the Royals, has played in center field and looked okay defensively, while offensively looking like he should be in the lineup 100% of the time. Garcia has a 1.042 OPS, two homers and six RBI in just nine games and 29 at-bats.

That should be enough in an admittedly small period of time to justify putting Garcia in center, especially when looking at other outfielders' offensive production around the league. Comparing KC's outfielders' offensive output to that of other clubs exposes a huge flaw that leads to a low ceiling for this current Royals roster. Maybe some would say it's too early to make radical change, but the Royals played these guys in these spots last year and saw the same thing. The 2024 regular season OPS for left fielders was .714. It was .697 for center fielders. MJ finished the season with a .674 OPS, and Isbel finished at .654. 

Just as an example, the New York Yankees struggled to get offensive output from the left field position, mainly because Alex Verdugo posted a .647 OPS through 149 games as their primary left fielder. This was completely overshadowed by Aaron Judge's regular season success and a 1.159 OPS over 158 games as New York's primary center fielder. The World Series Champion Dodgers only got average production from center fielders last season, but left fielder Teoscar Hernandez hit 33 homers, racked up 99 RBI and finished the regular season with an .840 OPS. Comparing any lineup to the Dodgers' seems unfair right now, but the two pennant winners aren't the only teams to outshine KC in this area.

Fellow American League Central clubs that reached the postseason also received solid production from at least one of their left and center fielders. Cleveland didn't get much from center fielders Tyler Freeman and Angel Martinez last year, but Steven Kwan was excellent at getting on base and finished with a .368 OBP and .793 OPS. Tigers left fielder Riley Greene led all of Detroit's position players in WAR with a 5.4 while posting a .827 regular season OPS. In second place on the list of WAR by Tigers position players was center fielder Matt Vierling with a 2.9 WAR and a .735 season-long OPS. No Royals outfielder finished last season with an OPS as high as Detroit's second-best outfielder.

That's every AL team that advanced further than KC last postseason, but it doesn't end there. Baltimore left fielder Colton Cowser was awesome in 2024, posting a .768 OPS and 3.1 WAR over 153 games. Center fielder Cedric Mullins posted a .710 OPS over 147 games. Astros center fielder Jake Meyers struggled to produce at a big-league starter's standard last year, posting a .646 OPS. Yordan Alvarez did more than his part, though, and posted a ridiculous .959 OPS over 147 games as Houston's primary left fielder. Jurickson Profar and Jackson Merrill were both awesome in San Diego, posting an .839 and .826 OPS, respectively. Michael Harris was a tick above average in center for Atlanta, Brandon Nimmo was above-average for the Mets and Philly's Brandon Marsh posted a .747 OPS as their primary left fielder.

Every team that reached the postseason in 2024, aside from the Royals, had a center fielder, a left fielder or both who provided their team offensive production that was above the league average for the position. Coach Q and the Royals cannot let these subpar bats stay in the lineup while hotter hitters wait on the bench. Thankfully, stubbornness is a trait rarely exhibited by the KC coaching staff lately, so if changes are necessary this season, I expect them to be made swiftly. I'm predicting more Garcia in the outfield, as well as more outfield starts given to other solid hitters such as newly acquired lead-off man Jonathan India.

3 Royals Spring Training Stats That Will Actually Matter

Opening Day is here, and our Kansas City Royals have real hope this season. Before the meaningful games begin, we should reflect on some spring training foreshadowing. Many stats from spring training will go on to mean next to nothing, but others serve as a hint at what shape a team will take. Here are three stats from spring training that actually matter:

3. Nicky Lopez's .378 OPS

We should get the bad news out of the way first. That means talking about Nicky Lopez, specifically the fact that he's starting at shortstop while Adalberto Mondesi recovers from an oblique injury. I'm probably not the only Royals fan who sat back and envisioned some batting lineups that felt truly formidable once Nicky's spot was taken by a potent pro like Whit Merrifield or a young potential superstar like Bobby Witt Jr. Now, Lopez takes the place of Mondesi, whose 2020 September OPS of 1.075 left countless Royals fans excited about his future. This is a bummer no matter how you slice it, but at least it isn't the only surprising addition to the Opening Day lineup...

2. Kyle Isbel's .968 OPS

No Royal participated in more spring training games this year, and perhaps no Royal surprised KC's decision-makers more than Kyle Isbel. Royals management was already high on Isbel after he exhibited his consistent defense, speed and power through two seasons in KC's farm system. Now that injuries necessitate the addition of a right fielder, it's time for this non-roster spring training invitee to shine. If he can represent another tough out in KC's lineup, fans like me can go back to that previously mentioned daydreaming about a Royals batting order with virtually no "holes" in it. An offense like that is one piece of the puzzle for a playoff contender. Another piece in that puzzle is a capable front half of the starting rotation. Fans in KC haven't seen that happen for their team since they last became champions, and perhaps the time for change is now...

3. Brady Singer's 2.65 ERA

Singer posted this stat while posting a 1.00 WHIP and holding opponents to a .203 average over 17 innings. He represents the wave of young, talented starters that will decide if KC can contend for the next decade. His productivity is important to the Royals and their committed fans to an almost unmatched degree. To garner realistic World Series aspirations should be the goal of every team in the league, and a legit starting rotation is the foundation of any team that gets there. Today is Brad Keller's day, so enjoy watching the more proven guy go to work. However, we should also appreciate that there is much more to look forward to, and the game after this one will also gift Royals fans with the thrill of anticipation. Such is the beauty of baseball.