Royals eye 2027 rebound behind young core, offseason pitching upgrades

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals entered 2026 with real expectations to compete for an AL Central title after back-to-back winning seasons and a returning core led by superstar Bobby Witt Jr.

But from the first game of the season to the last, little went Kansas City’s way in a disappointing 69-93 campaign that will require the organization to determine what steps and changes are needed in the offseason to get back toward contention in 2027.

“We have to execute better. I have to lead better,” manager Matt Quatraro said before the Royals’ 3-2 win over the Guardians on Sunday in Game 162 at Kaufmann Stadium. “I think we all have to look at [ourselves] and see what that means to us individually, and how we put that together as a team. But there will be a lot of conversations through the offseason to figure out the best way to go about it.”

The most obvious area of improvement will be the bullpen, which finished 29th in the Major Leagues with a 5.07 ERA.

The issues in the 'pen started when Carlos Estévez, who led MLB in saves in 2025, was injured during the second game of the season and never returned after multiple setbacks. That left the Royals scrambling in high-leverage situations after Matt Strahm (7.32 ERA) put together the worst season of his career, leading to his release in August, while Lucas Erceg (5.70 ERA) struggled mightily to overcome command issues, resulting in a midseason demotion.

The pitching problems extended to the starting rotation as well, though, with Opening Day starter Cole Ragans (left elbow surgery) giving Kansas City just eight starts. Stephen Kolek, Ryan Bergert, Luinder Avila and Kris Bubic (who was on the IL before his trade to the Dodgers) also sustained long-term injuries, hampering a rotation that had a 4.58 ERA (25th in MLB). The Royals used 37 pitchers this season, a franchise record.

It’s not expected that Ragans, Kolek, Bergert or Avila will be ready to return by the end of Spring Training, either, meaning Kansas City will not only be looking to add multiple relievers this offseason but multiple starters as well in a free-agent market that could be very active in November.

Additions to the lineup, particularly in the form of a middle-of-the-order outfield bat, are also a priority, but the Royals will roll into 2027 with largely the same group -- Witt, Carter Jensen, Jac Caglianone, Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, Salvador Perez and Michael Massey.

“It was a failure. We’ve got to face that. It just sucks,” Pasquantino said about the season.

“I just think we were playing bad baseball. We weren’t doing the little things right. … There were things in there we did well, we just didn’t do them well enough. We gotta live with that. We got to look in the mirror and get ready to go next year.”

Both Pasquantino and Perez, the Royals’ No. 3 and No. 4 hitters to begin the season, failed to come through as run producers in the first half and were moved down the lineup. Witt’s 18 homers and 54 RBIs were career lows. Garcia played in only 82 games due to injuries and was moved out of the leadoff spot. The Royals will be counting on all four to rebound next season.

Where things did go right was with Jensen and Caglianone, who broke out as two of the better young players in the big leagues. Jensen solidified his role as the everyday catcher and leadoff man, while Caglianone displayed massive improvements at the plate (.289 batting average, 23 homers) and took over the No. 3 spot.

“I think that’s probably the biggest success from the season is you look at those two guys,” Pasquantino said. “What Carter did, I hope he’s in the Rookie of the Year talk.”

The Royals have been here before. A large part of this team was here when they turned 106 losses in 2023 into a postseason run in 2024. There will most likely be a few changes to the coaching staff and free-agent signings to bolster the bullpen and rotation -- but the core is here to stay, including starters Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo.

It’s up to that group to get back to the winning baseball of years prior.

“From my end, I feel like we have the pieces to be able to do it and we didn’t do it this year,” Pasquantino said. “Like I said, that’s a failure. That doesn’t mean I have any less confidence going into next year. … I’m walking into next season expecting us to be in a playoff push the whole year. Those are just words; they don’t mean anything right now, but those are my expectations. We just gotta go do it.”