SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Wheels up to … Texas?
The Royals concluded their Cactus League play on Saturday against the Rockies at Surprise Stadium, but they still have two exhibition games against the Rangers at Globe Life Field on Monday and Tuesday before heading to Atlanta for Opening Day on Friday.
Still, there was some excitement buzzing through the clubhouse Sunday morning as players cleared out their lockers and packed their bags.
“We can’t wait for Opening Day,” said catcher Salvador Perez, who just returned a few days ago after winning the World Baseball Classic with Team Venezuela. “I know a bunch of people will be in Atlanta. It’s exciting. And we’re going to continue with the same energy. It’s about turning the page and concentrating on helping the Kansas City Royals get back to the playoffs and World Series. That’s the goal. Everything starts right now.”
The Royals’ roster is mostly set after the pitching staff came into focus with two moves on Friday. We know what the everyday lineup will largely look like, but there are still two bench spots to be decided. The biggest factor for at least one of those spots is whether second baseman/outfielder Michael Massey will be ready to go after suffering a left calf strain a little over two weeks ago.
Massey will stay back in Arizona as the team heads to Texas, allowing him to get more at-bats in Minor League Spring Training games and fully test his running. He played second base on Saturday and is scheduled to play the outfield on Sunday. By Tuesday, the Royals hope to have a better idea of whether they can have him on the roster, which has to be set by Wednesday because of the Yankees and Giants beginning the 2026 season that night.
“If Massey’s ready, he’ll be on the team,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “It may affect which way we go if he’s not on the team. We’ve got Drew Waters, we’ve got Nick Loftin. Trying to figure out how they fit. The good thing is we’re confident in anybody. We’d like to have Michael on the team. But it’s a deeper roster, and that’s a good thing. We’re in a good spot either way.”
If Massey’s not able to go, the Royals will have two spots to fill, which could make it easy with Waters and Loftin. Waters is out of Minor League options, so the Royals could risk losing him to another team if they designate him for assignment. Tyler Tolbert is another name still in the mix, while the Royals have several non-roster players who will travel to Texas as backups. Josh Rojas, Kevin Newman, Abraham Toro, Brandon Drury and Connor Kaiser will all likely be depth in Triple-A Omaha.
On the pitching side, Picollo feels good about the depth the Royals have on the big league roster and in Triple-A. Lefty Bailey Falter, who is out of options, will pitch out of the bullpen to start the year as a long reliever and potential sixth starter if the Royals need one during long stretches of games. In Triple-A, they’ll have pitchers Ryan Bergert, Mason Black, Luinder Avila, Mitch Spence and reliever Steven Cruz who can all step in when needed. Stephen Kolek (left oblique strain) will join them when he’s healthy.
“The depth early in the year is really important,” Picollo said. “It’s not the driving factor in roster decisions. But the depth is important. Because it can change by mid-April -- really quickly. You want to keep as many guys as you can. Whether it’s because of injuries, lack of performance, whatever it is, you want to have it. And usually things work themselves out.
“... We’re in a good spot. There’s depth on the big league team, there’s depth in Triple-A. Hate to say it, but we’re positioned to handle some injuries. Last year, we weren’t as ready. But we were able to secure some things that gave us depth, and we feel a lot better about it.”
Beyond holding their collective breath to make sure everyone is healthy in these last two exhibition games before Opening Day, the only other thing the Royals are monitoring is closer Carlos Estévez’s velocity, which has been down all spring and just ticked up to average 90.2 mph on Friday night. He’ll pitch again on Monday.
The Royals aren’t sounding the alarm, and they fully expect Estévez to be their closer again to begin the year after he led MLB with 42 saves last year.
“Yes [concerning] in the sense that we’d like to see his velo be better,” Picollo said. “But no from the perspective that this is him every year. We’ve seen it for two years. It just seems like it takes him some touches and reps before he really gets going. With those veteran guys, you got to trust them that they know where they need to be at the end of spring.”