SURPRISE, Ariz. -- It’s not often that we see position players playing in back-to-back games this early in the spring as they ramp up their workload, but it’s also not every year that the World Baseball Classic interrupts the spring slate and has players leaving camp for a period of time as they play for their country.
Having Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino in the lineup again Saturday after all three played Friday was an effort to get them as many live at-bats as possible before they leave for Team USA, Team Venezuela and Team Italy, respectively, in a week. Pasquantino played first base both days, while Witt was the designated hitter Friday and Perez was the DH on Saturday in a 10-3 loss to the Padres at Surprise Stadium.
“I’ve been joking with them that I’m the only position player tough enough to play first [base], to play in the field two days in a row,” Pasquantino said. “All these guys need to DH.”
He paused, and then laughed as he said, “Me talking about DH -- that’s messed up.”
Getting ready for the WBC is one thing, but there’s actually more to Pasquantino’s early build-up this year.
“I would actually like to start better this year,” Pasquantino said. “I’m not naive.”
Pasquantino is talking about his .177/.242/.347 slash line in March and April last season, a month he mostly made up for with the rest of his 2025, when he hit .264/.323/.475 overall with 32 home runs and 113 RBIs. From May 1 last year, Pasquantino slashed .283/.341/.508 with a 130 wRC+.
While the hamstring strain Pasquantino suffered at the end of Spring Training last year may have had an impact, he was more concerned about the swing decisions he was making during that month.
“It’s not about getting hits or results but more about what it looks like,” Pasquantino said. “That’s what I didn’t like about that month -- why am I swinging on all these backfoot sliders? Why am I swinging at this? Why am I swinging at that? It was more about what I can do to clean up the decision-making earlier in the year. It seems to be that when it gets later in the year and we’ve seen so many pitches, that piece gets a little bit easier.”
The solution may be to see more pitches in Spring Training. He arrived in Surprise, Ariz., at the end of January, partly because of the WBC and partly because he wanted to be ready for live pitching as soon as camp opened.
“How many pitches can I possibly see off a live arm before we start?” Pasquantino said. “But I think some guys are good early in the year and some guys aren’t. It might just be that.”
Whether it helps remains to be seen. Pasquantino was the Royals’ main run producer and slugger in 2025, and the club needs him to be that again in ‘26. Starting off hot would be even better.
The Ferminator returns
A familiar face made an appearance in the Royals' clubhouse Saturday, but he was wearing a brown and yellow shirt and gray road baseball pants. It was Freddy Fermin, the former Royals catcher traded last year to the Padres at the Trade Deadline. He was their starting catcher Saturday in Surprise, and he stopped in when he got to the ballpark to say hello to all his former teammates.
“They said I look like the UPS delivery man,” Fermin said of the ribbing he got from the Royals about his new digs.
There’s lots of love in the organization for Fermin and a sense of pride in watching his opportunity in San Diego. He’ll likely be the Padres’ everyday catcher this year, something he wasn’t going to get to do when he was in Kansas City behind Perez -- who made sure to give Fermin a big hug when Perez stepped to the plate Saturday.
Bergert’s goals
The Royals’ pitching depth and competition are on full display in the first three Cactus League games with Stephen Kolek, Ryan Bergert and Bailey Falter on the bump, respectively.
Bergert needed just 12 pitches (seven strikes) to get through a scoreless first inning Saturday, giving up one hit and one walk. He threw 10-11 more pitches in the bullpen after his outing to get his pitch count up.
Bergert averaged 95.6 mph on the four fastballs he threw, an encouraging sign this early in spring, especially because Bergert ended the season on the injured list with a forearm strain. It didn’t impact his offseason too much, and he’s healthy to begin the spring. He also mixed in three sliders, a pitch he tried to tighten up this offseason to have it look more like a gyro and less like a cutter.
He also is working on adding a curveball for another weapon on his movement plate.
“Just something to get underneath the barrel,” Bergert said. “I was very east-to-west last year, so something that adds a little more depth to it.”