Royals mailbag: Plans for pitching, hitting, Salvy and more

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals’ season ended a month ago, but the intriguing part of the offseason is about to get started as soon as the World Series concludes.

While we wait for that, let’s dig into a few Royals questions from fans on social media (with some edited for length or clarity).

Should the Royals hold on to their surplus of starters and create a high-end bullpen, since there are so many injury questions with their core starters? Or should they make a trade? -- BlueInMo via X

I doubt anyone needs reminding, but the Royals targeted starting pitching at the Trade Deadline because they had almost zero depth at the time due to injuries.

Now they have all those injured guys slated to return in 2026. So what do they do with all the depth? As the roster stands now, Kansas City could have 10 pitchers come to Spring Training as starters. That number and the names will change, of course, with roster trimming this offseason, non-roster invites and health as we get closer to the spring. And it's a good thing, given what could happen throughout the season. I can understand your thought of holding onto all the starters out of the injury concern.

But here’s the reality: The Royals need a bat. Probably two. And they’re not going to be swimming in the highest tier of free agency to get one, so it’s likely going to come via trade. Pitching is now a strength for Kansas City as an organization, and other teams will target that in trade talks.

You’ll probably see the Royals trade from their starting surplus this offseason. Then it will be on the front office to resupply that depth ahead of Spring Training.

I'm wondering if you have any info you can share about the search for new lieutenants on the hitting development side of things. If not names, any context you can give about what the team's looking for specifically? -- sneak king via X

The Royals have some positions to fill after letting assistant hitting coaches Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon go, as well as Minor League director of hitting performance Drew Saylor. It’s all connected as they rethink their hitting department under senior director of hitting performance/hitting coach Alec Zumwalt.

Right now, the club is in the information-gathering phase for its long list of candidates. Interviews will begin soon, if they haven’t already. The Royals will look for someone who can dive deep into analytics and work well with the performance science department to apply data to the physical assessments of a hitter. They’ll also be looking for someone who understands swings and approaches to help with game planning.

Whether those traits translate to one, two or even three people remains to be seen. The interview process will help Kansas City figure that out. The team believes in Zumwalt’s offensive vision, so any new coach will have to fit into that.

Among Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino, Kris Bubic, Salvador Perez, or others, who is most likely to receive a contract extension this offseason? -- Malcolm via X

Perez is the easy answer, as the Royals are likely to renegotiate a contract with him if they don’t simply pick up Perez's $13.5 million club option for 2026.

Garcia and Pasquantino are both arbitration-eligible for the first time, and it would make a lot of sense for Kansas City to buy out those years and see if it can tack on a few free-agent years -- if each player is willing. I would think Pasquantino would make more sense here -- and he’s probably my answer to your question -- as he’ll be 31 years old by the time he hits free agency. Guaranteed money and cost certainty help both sides here.

The Royals explored an extension of sorts with Bubic last offseason, but he wanted to see what his role was before they went any further. Now we know he can start, but there are a few more injury concerns. As he heads into his final year of arbitration, I could see Kansas City broaching those talks again -- or seeing what his value is on the trade market.

Do the Royals understand Perez is a much better hitter following a rest or DH day? If so, do they plan to implement a 50/50 platoon at catcher in 2026 with Salvy and Carter Jensen? And if so, who is telling Salvy he can only catch 80-ish games next season? -- kc-saluki via BlueSky

Lots of questions about catching workload, and this will be a very interesting part of Spring Training. First, Jensen has to make the team. He had a great September, but he’ll have to prove again that he belongs on the roster, that he deserves playing time and that he can handle the playing time behind the plate, not just at DH.

I think everyone can acknowledge that catching less has helped Perez’s offense late in his career. But I doubt the Royals will put an exact number of games he’ll catch in 2026; rather, they’ll see how things play out in Spring Training and throughout the season.

Your last question is a big one, broadly speaking. Whatever the plan is, it hinges on Perez’s buy-in. And all he wants is to win again with Kansas City.