How we got through the offseason: Building the 2026 Kansas City Royals

We are just days away from the start of the 2026 season. It's an exciting week and I'll be hitting your inboxes with the usual prep for the upcoming year.

To start, I thought it would be useful to recap what was a busy, but generally uneventful winter for general manager J.J. Picollo and the Kansas City Royals. At the top of Picollo's off-season wish list was help for the outfield and solidifying the bullpen, while taking care of the contracts of several key players. He accomplished the latter while potentially improving the situation with the former. The bullpen feels as though there's a solid foundation with some nice organizational depth. The outfield feels...better. Although it was going to be difficult for that position to be worse.

While the focus of my previous roster projections and the moves that will ultimately be made this week concern the active, 26-man roster, modern baseball demands an organizational 40-man roster that is used to its fullest. Last season, 49 different players suited up for the Royals.

This is a month-by-month look at how the current Royals 40-man roster was built.

November

November is an interesting month in the baseball calendar. The season is over, but front offices are active to the point of overdrive as they prepare for the next season. Those eligible for free agency are off the roster days after the World Series. Then, teams have to make decisions on who to offer contracts to for the next season. The result is a flurry of departures from the 40-man roster.

Departures

Free Agents
Adam Frazier
Randal Grichuk - Player declined his part of mutual option
Hunter Harvey
Sam Long
Michael Lorenzen - Club declined their part of mutual option.
Luke Maile
Mike Yastrzemski

Designated for assignment
Kyle Wright

Non-tendered
Taylor Clarke
MJ Melendez

A large part that preparation for the upcoming season is hastened by the departure of a quarter of the Royals 40-man roster.

Looking at the names above, it’s difficult to think the organization lost much, if anything in the early stages of the offseason. Of the 10 names listed above, only five received major league deals for the upcoming season, although Randall Grichuk will reportedly break camp with the Yankees and the Angels are likely to have Adam Frazier on their Opening Day roster. Hunter Harvey signed a one-year contract with the Cubs. Michael Lorenzen got a year from the Rockies. Mike Yastrzemski got two-years from Atlanta. MJ Melendez got a one-year major league contract with the Mets, but he's already been optioned to their Triple-A affiliate. Taylor Clarke is back with his original team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, on a one-year deal.

Kyle Wright signed a minor league deal with the Cubs, although he did not appear in a spring training game. Luke Maile re-signed with the Royals late this offseason on a minor league deal, but was unable to attend spring training due to what the team said was a personal issue. Sam Long is off to Japan and the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Arrivals

Free Agency
Alex Lange

Trade
Mason Black
Kameron Misner

With spots open on the 40-man roster, the Royals made a couple of early moves this offseason, swinging minor deals for a pitcher in Mason Black from San Francisco and Kameron Misner, an outfielder from Tampa. They also quickly moved on Alex Lange after he was designated for assignment by division rival Detroit Tigers as they were setting their own 40-man roster. Lange will open the year in the bullpen for the Royals while Black and Misner have been optioned to Triple-A. I expect Black to get some innings with the major league club this summer. This trade could be a good pickup for the club.

Family Business

Contracts
Jonathan India
James McArthur
Salvador Perez

Entering the offseason, the Royals had a number of players eligible for arbitration. McArthur and India were two who settled early, quickly signing deals for 2026.

The big story in November was the Royals agreeing to a two-year contract extension for the captain, Salvador Perez. The Royals held a club option for 2026 at 13.5 million, but replaced that with a deal valued at $25 million over the next two years. It’s a complicated contract with a $7 million signing bonus paid out starting in 2030 and $5 million in salary deferrals. I’m just a humble baseball writer, but I feel as though an MBA is required to cypher some of these deals. Basically, Perez gets less money up front but more cash overall. And the Royals get his services for at least the next two years.

December

The holidays charge fast, but not before the teams gather for their annual Winter Meetings confab. This is the month when the plan for the winter starts to come together as the Hot Stove burns bright.

Departures

Trade
Jonathan Bowlan
Angel Zerpa

Arrivals

Trade
Isaac Collins
Nick Mears
Matt Strahm

In two December trades, the Royals addressed their outfield problem and solidified their bullpen. The first deal was reached on December 11 when the Royals sent lefty reliever Angel Zerpa to Milwaukee for Isaac Collins and Nick Mears. That was followed a week later with the deal that brought Matt Strahm from Philadelphia back to Kansas City in exchange for Jonathan Bowlan. In two moves, general manager JJ Picollo got an outfielder with the ability to get on base, a reliever who misses bats and potentially upgraded a key southpaw bullpen arm. Picollo has shown to be a crafty dealer on the trade market.

Free Agent
Lane Thomas

In a departure from what we've seen the last few off-seasons, no team spent less on the free agent market this winter than Kansas City. Their big splash was a one-year, $5.25 million signing of Lane Thomas. He was a productive bat for the Washington Nationals, but cratered and then dealt with injuries after a deadline deal trade to Cleveland in 2023. The Royals are betting on a bounce-back.

Family Business

Contract Extension
Maikel Garcia

Like in November, the big player transaction news in December was the Royals taking care of one of their own. In this case, it was a five-year, $57.5 million contract extension for 2025 breakout player and future World Baseball Classic MVP, Maikel Garcia. The deal buys out all four years where Garcia would be eligible for salary arbitration, plus at least his first season of free agency. That carries the deal through 2030. There is a club option for the 2031 season.

He hasn’t even played a game under this new deal and it already feels very team friendly.

January

If you began the new year with the expectation that the Royals would be active in adding players to an evolving roster, waiting for a big acquisition, sorry for the disappointment. This month was about taking care of what I call family business.

Family Business

Contracts
Bailey Falter
Kyle Isbel
Daniel Lynch IV
Michael Massey
Nick Mears
John Schreiber

These were players who were eligible for arbitration and were tendered contracts back in November. They reached their deals just ahead of an early January deadline that, had they not, would’ve meant the player and team would exchange numbers in anticipation of appearing before an arbiter.

Falter was eligible for arbitration for the second time and signed for $3.6 million. Likewise for Isbel who will receive $2.7 million. Lynch gets $1.025 million. Massey is due $1.57 million. Newcomer Mears signed for $1.9 million. Schreiber, eligible for his third and final time, will net $3.715 million.

Contract Extension
Vinnie Pasquantino

For the third month in a row, the biggest news on the Royals transaction front came in the form of a contract extension. This time, it was a two-year, $11.1 million deal for Vinnie Pasquantino. The first baseman was eligible for arbitration for the first time, so the deal buys out his first two years of the process giving some cost certainty for the team and some financial security to the player. It’s a good deal for both. There are a number of contract escalators for 2027 if he has a season where he receives MVP votes. There are also playing time bonuses as he can also make an extra $600,000 in 2027 if he reaches 550 plate appearances this year.

February

The offseason business is mostly complete as spring training camps open.

Arrivals

Trade
Mitch Spence

Business may mostly be complete, but the search for pitching depth never ceases as Spence was acquired from the Sacramento Athletics in exchange for A.J. Causey. The right-hander was a Rule 5 selection from the Yankees ahead of the 2024 season. Through parts of two major league seasons, Spence has a 4.77 ERA with a 7.3 SO/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 236 innings while pitching as both a part of the rotation and out of the bullpen.

Family Business

Arbitration Hearing
Kris Bubic

The Royals reached agreements with all of their players eligible for arbitration, save Kris Bubic, who went to a hearing. The lefty asked for $6.15 million while the Royals countered at $5.15 million. Bubic, who has been nothing short of fantastic since his recovery from Tommy John surgery a couple of years ago, won his argument and will make $6.15 million in 2026. He is eligible for free agency at the end of the season.

March

Arrival

Free Agency
Starling Marte

Departure

Designated for assignment
Dairon Blanco

Despite their parsimonious ways in free agency the Royals made a late move, signing outfielder…ummm, designated hitter…Starling Marte. Since the Royals 40-man roster was full, they needed to remove a player to make room for Marte; they designated Dairon Blanco for assignment. Blanco was subsequently signed by the Texas Rangers.

Despite the late arrival to camp, Marte has appeared in six Cactus League games and amassed 20 plate appearances where he’s hit .294/.400/.353.

The Royals were barely active in free agency this offseason, instead opting to make a bit of ruckus on the trade market. With the core members of their lineup already present and their starting rotation set, their biggest moves came in the form of contract extensions for key players. The Royals also extended manager Matt Quatraro in January. His contract now runs through the 2029 season with a club option for 2030.

After all of that, here is how the Royals have assembled their current (as of March 22) 40-man roster:

From what I understand, with the season officially getting underway with one game scheduled on Wednesday evening, Opening Day rosters are due at that time. Every team has decisions to make and several players who are out of options figure to become free agents, so the Royals 40-man roster is by no means set in stone. Among the Royals who are out of options (meaning they cannot be sent to the minors, they must be exposed to waivers) are pitchers Falter, Lange and Mears, all of whom will make the 26-man roster. Also out of options is outfielder Drew Waters. Not that spring stats mean much, but Waters hit .200/.265/.300 in 30 plate appearances. It would be a surprise if he made the big league club.