\"A dim view of humanity\" -Lee Judge
I recently read John Helyar’s 1994 baseball classic Lords of the Realm. Somehow, I had never heard of it until I spotted it on a baseball top-ten list. If you haven’t read it and want to avoid spoilers, stop here, go buy the book, and return after you’ve finished. That might sound dramatic, but after […]
about 7 hours ago | 0 reads
The Winter Meetings have concluded with the Royals yet to address their glaring outfield needs. The free agent market became thinner when former Royals outfielder Mike Yastrzemski signed a two-year deal with the Braves this week. With Harrison Bader looking for a three-year deal, the free agent market isn’t looking like a promising avenue to […]
about 9 hours ago | 1 read
Despite a quiet Winter Meetings, the Royals remain on the hunt for outfield help: “So much of it comes down to, whoever you’re trying to acquire: What’s the competition for it [and] are you willing to beat the competition? [With] free agents, do you feel like it’s a fair asking pricing right now and does […]
about 11 hours ago | 0 reads
Mike Yastrzemski proved to be a terrific pickup for the Royals last summer. But he won’t be returning in Royals blue. The Braves signed Yastrzemski to a two-year, $23 million deal, according to ESPN reporter Jeff Passan. The contract includes a third-year club option. The Royals acquired Yastrzemski for pitcher Yunior Marte at the July […]
about 22 hours ago | 0 reads
Does it really matter which outfielders the Royals bring in? The answer is certainly yes, but let’s not get bogged down in that. Step back a bit and look at the broader scope here. It makes a huge difference if they for some reason spent 300 to 400 million to get Kyle Tucker, but we […]
1 day ago | 0 reads
The Winter Meetings conclude with the Rule 5 draft, which will be held on Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT. The Rule 5 draft is a way for teams to select players buried in deep organizations to give them a shot at a big league career. Players are eligible if they are not on a […]
1 day ago | 1 read
A lot of different things can happen over the course of a baseball season, and so thinking probabilistically is one of the better ways of predicting what’s going to happen. For instance, it is very likely that Aaron Judge is going to be good next year. It is not very likely that, say, MJ Melendez […]
1 day ago | 0 reads
Lady Luck smiled on the Kansas City Royals in the 2026 MLB Draft lottery on Tuesday, much to the pleasure of the front office. “It’s awesome. It’s exciting,” said Royals general manager J.J. Picollo. “We had less than a one percent chance of getting the first pick, we probably should have been closer to 16, […]
1 day ago | 1 read
Christmas came early for the Royals this year. The MLB draft lottery has hurt the Royals before – in both 2022 and 2023 they were pushed back in the order due to lottery results. But this year, fortune shone upon them, and they were awarded the #6 overall pick in next summer’s draft, despite finishing […]
2 days ago | 0 reads
The Royals continue to be attached to several outfielders during the Winter Meetings as they look to upgrade their outfield. The latest reports indicate they are looking at Astros outfielder Jake Meyers, who enjoyed a career season in 2025. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes the Royals are one of a number of teams interested in […]
2 days ago | 0 reads
In this episode of Royals Rundown, hosts Jacob Milham and Jeremy “Hokius” Greco take a deep dive into a crucial stretch of the Kansas City Royals’ offseason. With the MLB Winter Meetings heating up, the pair explores what’s real and what’s just rumor, breaking down how previous winter meetings laid the groundwork for future blockbuster […]
2 days ago | 0 reads
The Royals have spent the early offseason signaling an appetite for upgrades in the outfield, with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reporting they prefer to add two outfielders – one via free agency and one via trade. The free agency market is thin, leaving the Royals to sort through potential platoon options. But the Royals […]
2 days ago | 0 reads
Anne Rogers writes the Royals aren’t likely to deal Cole Ragans. “It would be really difficult for us to trade Cole,” general manager J.J. Picollo said Monday. “When Cole is right, he’s as good as anybody in the game. It’s rare that you get an opportunity to have somebody like that, and we have him […]
2 days ago | 0 reads
The Royals have made it clear they are looking to upgrade their outfield, but the options are limited in a thin free agent market. That market received an unexpected addition when the Rangers non-tendered two-time All-Star outfielder Adolis García earlier this offseason. Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic reports the Royals may be priced out on […]
3 days ago | 0 reads
The winter meetings have started, and rumors are flying around everywhere. The Pirates are getting perhaps the biggest pop from rumors that they’ve offered a four-year deal to Kyle Schwarber. How much money was in the four-year offer? Well, Dan Szymborski has one idea: The actual rumors have the Pirates offering him something north of […]
3 days ago | 1 read
The Royals have made it known they are pursuing an outfielder at this week’s Winter Meetings. It is a thin free agent market, and a report by Ken Rosenthal suggests they may look to add two outfielders – one via free agency, and one through a trade. Reporter Jon Heyman reports today that the Royals […]
3 days ago | 1 read
The 2014-15 Royals will forever be remembered for their amazing postseason runs. But how many players from those teams will receive induction into the Royals Hall of Fame? Carlos Beltrán, Billy Butler, Lorenzo Cain, Wade Davis, Alcides Escobar, Kelvin Herrera, Greg Holland, Joakim Soria, and Yordano Ventura are the nine candidates on this year’s Royals […]
3 days ago | 0 reads
For the Royals, aside from free agency, the biggest part of the offseason occurs on December 9, which is the penultimate day for the Winter Meetings in blustery Orlando. On that day, the league will hold its draft lottery. Since the Royals missed the playoffs this year, they’re right back in it. Specifically, the Royals, […]
3 days ago | 0 reads
Jaylon Thompson writes about what the Royals could do at the Winter Meetings. The Royals will shop both the free-agent and trade aisles. They are positioned as strong buyers given their surplus of starting pitching. KC has solid trade chips — mainly Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron — who could fetch an impact bat. The […]
3 days ago | 0 reads
Jeff Kent was the lone player selected on the Contemporary Era ballot for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame next summer. Kent is the all-time leader in home runs by a second baseman with 377, and was a five-time All-Star and 2000 National League MVP. He won MVP that year, hitting behind Barry Bonds, […]
4 days ago | 0 reads
Anne Rogers has a Winter Meetings preview. The trade market seems the most likely way for the Royals to find those bats they need. They are willing to part with the biggest area of depth: Pitching. All-Star lefty Kris Bubic is perhaps the likeliest trade candidate, but the Royals might not find what they’re looking […]
5 days ago | 0 reads
I didn’t realize until I went to a Nippon Professional League game in Japan just how much sports fashion is a thing here in the United States. Walking the streets there, you don’t see a whole lot of NPB merch being worn. Sure, you see some ball caps, some stickers, that sort of thing. It […]
6 days ago | 4 reads
The Royals head into the 2025 Winter Meetings in Orlando next week knowing exactly what stands between them and a postseason berth: a more potent offense. An 82–80 season showed progress from key players, but also exposed how often the lineup ran out of firepower when it mattered. The Winter Meetings are typically where executives […]
6 days ago | 2 reads
This week on the Royals Rundown Podcast, hosts Jacob Milham and Jeremy “Hokius” Greco bring listeners up to speed on the latest around the Kansas City Royals. The duo begins with an explainer on the MLB pre-arbitration bonus pool, including how it benefits rising talent and where Royals players fit into the picture. Next, they […]
6 days ago | 0 reads
The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers technically played baseball when they wrestled for the World Series a month ago. Functionally, though, they were playing a game of “the floor is lava” where “floor” meant “relievers.” Both teams relied heavily on their starting pitchers out of the bullpen because their bullpens were vulnerable. Surely, […]
6 days ago | 0 reads