Royals looking for pitching help in offseason

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Despite finishing 69-93 and missing the postseason for the second consecutive year, Kansas City remains confident in its current group of players and believes it has the pieces in place to compete in 2027.

On Tuesday at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, general manager J.J. Picollo pointed to the Royals’ slow start and the injuries that followed as factors in the team’s disappointing season.

Kansas City also entered the season with 14 players from their organization named to World Baseball Classic rosters, tied for the fourth most in the Majors.

“We didn’t play well early, and then the injury bug hit us,” Picollo said. “We’ve got to be realistic in our evaluation. … [And] we didn’t feel like this is a situation where we’re going to try to start over.”

That belief was part of the reason the Royals held on to veteran starters Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo at the Trade Deadline rather than moving them for prospects.

“Some of that is just forecasting what our rotation is going to look like in ’27, ’28. There is potential [that] both of those guys are here through ‘28,” Picollo said. “A lot of that’s just based around the core that we have in position players.”

Led by Bobby Witt Jr., that group includes Salvador Perez, Maikel Garcia, Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. Rather than breaking up that core for prospects, Kansas City is looking to build around it.

But while the Royals aren’t planning major changes to their position-player group, Picollo said that improvements are necessary, particularly on the pitching side.

“We don’t feel like we have to add a whole lot, but we’ve got to make some improvements on the margins for sure,” Picollo said.

Addressing the pitching staff remains Kansas City’s biggest offseason priority.

The Royals’ bullpen finished 2026 with a 5.07 ERA, the second highest in the Majors, while their starting rotation posted a 4.58 ERA, ranking 25th.

Injuries further depleted the club’s starting pitching depth, with Cole Ragans, Ryan Bergert, Luinder Avila and Stephen Kolek all undergoing elbow surgery during the season.

Ragans and Bergert are expected to return around midseason in 2027, while Avila and Kolek could return later in the year. That leaves Kansas City needing to add pitching depth to bridge the gap until those arms return.

The Royals have already made some decisions regarding their pitching staff, declining closer Carlos Estévez’s $13 million club option while exercising a $2.5 million option on right-hander Tony Gonsolin for 2027.

Gonsolin, who joined the Royals in August while recovering from right elbow surgery, made one Major League appearance in 2026, allowing five runs over 2 2/3 innings against the White Sox on Sept. 22 and striking out five.

Despite the results, Picollo was encouraged by what he saw from the 32-year-old.

“For his own sake, it was good to compete at the Major League level and feel good going into the offseason,” Picollo said. “We saw signs of swing and miss, which was great. He’s kind of got like a split-change that really works well. His slider looked good. His velocity was good. It was encouraging.”

Picollo acknowledged that Gonsolin showed signs of fatigue as he progressed into the second and third innings in the Minors, but viewed that as part of his recovery.

“He’s putting himself in a really good spot,” Picollo said. “Hopefully, we recapture a little bit of what he was in the past.”

Beyond Gonsolin, the Royals still have decisions to make about how to allocate their resources between the rotation and bullpen.

“We have to figure out creative ways with financing and how we’re going to handle this,” Picollo said. “Whether or not we put more money in the starting pitching or bullpen remains to be seen. Logically thinking, you can put a bullpen together less expensive than a starting rotation.”

As Kansas City looks to improve its bullpen, Picollo also emphasized the importance of being more willing to make changes throughout the season if certain options aren’t producing.

“We have to be more transactional in that perspective, and not be afraid to move on with the next guy,” Picollo said.

The organization will continue exploring the free-agent market, which Picollo expects to pick up in the coming weeks. It will involve targeting relievers based on handedness, favorite matchup splits and power.

“There is no shortage of talent on the free-agent market,” Picollo said. “I think we’re probably going to see it speed up here in [the] next couple of weeks. … We’re potentially working with a shorter window, so we’re hopeful that things do start moving this month.”

Anthony Castrovince contributed to this report from Las Vegas.