The Royals settle some business

You’ll get a sense of déjà vu in today’s edition with some stadium and TV talk below. That’s what you get these days in early January. Apologies in advance.

Thursday was the day for teams and arbitration-eligible players to either reach a deal for a 2026 contract, or submit numbers for an arbiter to decide. The Royals whittled down their list of players earlier this offseason when they did not tender contracts or released Taylor Clarke, Kyle Wright, Sam Long and MJ Melendez. They had previously reached deals with James McArthur ($810,000) and Jonathan India ($8 million), while agreeing to a contract extension with Maikel Garcia.

The Royals to-do list was fairly pedestrian with the exceptions of lefty Kris Bubic (estimated to earn $6 million from Major League Trade Rumors) and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (estimated at $5.4 million). The Royals failed to reach an agreement with either.

Pasquantino asked for $4.5 million, with the Royals countering at $4 million. Bubic filed at $6.15 million with the Royals offering $5.15 million.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the Royals will head to arbitration with Pasquantino and Bubic. A deal can still be reached. Yet many teams have opted for a file-and-trial approach, meaning that once numbers are exchanged, negotiations are cut off and a hearing will be held. For years under Dayton Moore, the Royals did not go to an arbitration hearing. At some point, the Royals supposedly became one of those file-and-trial teams. I have no idea where they stand these days, but it seems as though this front office is a bit less rigid. Their last arbitration hearing was in 2023 with Brady Singer.

I wonder if the failure to reach an agreement with Pasquantino is a prelude to an extension. Both sides were also some distance off from the MLB Trade Rumors estimate, which has me wondering if something is afoot. I’m not thinking it’s anything like the Garcia deal that buys out a year (or potentially two) of free agency. You don’t do that with first basemen like the Pasquatch. However, they could do something like where they reach a two-year deal. That locks in some payroll certainty for the team and gives Pasquantino an opportunity to snag a large raise in his third and final season of arbitration eligibility before he hits the free agent market. That can be something of a win for both sides.

This isn’t a straight comp, but the Royals did something like this with another first baseman: Eric Hosmer. As a Super Two player, he was three years from free agency (like Pasquantino), but was going through the process for a second time (unlike Pasquantino). Just ahead of Hosmer’s hearing date in 2015, the two sides reached a deal for two years and $13.9 million. The breakdown was that Hosmer would make $5.65 million in ‘15 and $8.25 million in 2016. Even though that deal was over 10 years ago, the numbers still feel right for something to get done for Pasquantino. I could see a deal for $4.25 million in Year One and then $8 million or so in Year Two. Pasquantino seems to have a good feel for his market. If the Royals are willing, I’m sure the two sides could hash out some sort of short-term deal.

As for Bubic, I’m about 50-50 as to whether he’s even on the roster come opening day. A year from hitting the free agent market, there’s no chance he’s extended. That’s just not smart business given his injury history. I’m trying to think of a guy who was traded while he was waiting for an arbitration hearing, but I’m coming up blank. That would be kind of weird where the new team would be forced to argue why they think he’s worth less. Should it reach a hearing Bubic will cite his dominance as a starter. The Royals will probably counter with something about having to look to move him full-time to a reliever role to protect him from injury. Arbitration is a strange—and potentially nasty—process.

As for the contracts that were settled…

Michael Massey will earn $1.57 million. As you know, I’ve wondered why the Royals would keep both Massey and Jonathan India around, but given the safety net Massey provides—even if I’m not sold on him as a true backup in case India falters—the cost is minimal. And Matt Quatraro never has issues getting the end of his bench playing time so they can stay relatively sharp.

Daniel Lynch IV will collect $1.025 million. I don’t have much to add here other than to inform you Lynch IV made $782,500 last year and pitched to a 3.06 ERA but a 4.57 xERA while striking out just 45 batters in 65.2 innings. That was good for a -0.2 fWAR. I am aware I have him pencilled in on my first roster projection of the year as the Royals like to be well-stocked with left-handed relief help. They should probably be looking to upgrade here.

Bailey Falter will earn $3.6 million in 2026, a bit more than his MLB Trade Rumor estimate of $3.3 million. The lesson, as always, is it pays to be left-handed. Reliever John Schreiber will earn $3.715 million, which was very much in line with his $3.8 million estimate. Newcomer Nick Mears pockets $1.9 million to pitch out of the bullpen in 2026.

The Royals estimated payroll for Opening Day looks to be about $140 million according to Cots. That would be the second-highest payroll in franchise history, behind only the 2017 team.

More stadium news! You’re thrilled.

Earlier this week, Cody Holyoke at KMBC posted an interview with Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins where he said Kansas is “moving on” from the Royals.

Hawkins: “The Royals and the Chiefs both had plenty of time. They had 18 months to come up with a good plan. The Chiefs did that. The Royals did not”

Holyoke: “So you’ve closed the book on the Royals?”

Hawkins: “As far as I’m concerned, that’s a done deal.”

Holyoke: “Did they reach out after New Year’s Eve?”

Hawkins: “They had their lobbyist reach out and ask if there was any wiggle room and I re-emphasized December 31 was the date, you didn’t make it, so we’re moving on.”

While I remain skeptical that the state of Kansas has truly “moved on” from the Royals just because in politics there’s never a done deal, this seems pretty damn airtight. And given how the Royals have pretty much bungled this process every step of the way, even a government looking to give away tax revenue can run out of patience.

How embarrassing is this for the Royals, who continue to find new ways to look unprepared and disorganized. They had 18 months (longer, really, because how long has this whole debacle been underway?) and reached out after a deadline?

Just world-class incompetence.

Meanwhile, let’s check in if any progress has been made in Clay County.

Clay County Commissioner Jason Withington said negotiations with the Kansas City Royals are over, citing repeated delays by the team and shifting ballot timelines.

In a social media post Tuesday, Withington said county leaders worked in good faith last summer after being told the Royals wanted a stadium-related measure on the November 2025 ballot.

“Like Kansas, I’m done negotiating with the Kansas City Royals,” he said. “Last year, we were told the team wanted to be on the November 2025 ballot. We worked in good faith all summer to make that happen. As the August deadline approached, we were then told they wanted to move to the April 2026 ballot at the earliest.”

This makes for great copy, but to be clear, Withington is just one member of a seven person body. He represents the Western District as an At-Large member. He’s frustrated, but he’s not speaking for the commission as a whole. If what Withington says about the Royals moving to the April 2026 ballot are accurate, that means they are probably approaching another deadline.

To be fair, I don’t believe that any location is completely off the table. Still, at this point, the incompetence is so absolute and complete, anything I write about the Royals in this situation is just punching down.

And TV news! On Thursday, the Royals—along with eight other Major League teams—terminated their broadcast agreements with Main Street Sports, the parent company of FanDuel.

This feels like a procedural move to give the teams some flexibility as Main Street careens toward another bankruptcy filing. Teams could return to the carrier (if it continues to exist), but on renegotiated contracts. Apparently, Main Street has missed making scheduled payments to several teams recently.

As I wrote last month, for the fans this is just another wrench of uncertainty thrown in the mixer. The games will be broadcast somewhere. It’s just anyone’s guess as to where. For the teams, this can put a bit of their financial plans in limbo as they put together the final pieces of their 2026 roster. The Royals have budgeted X amount of dollars for their payroll this season. That budget was formulated thinking they would have a specific amount of money paid to them by Main Street. That’s obviously not happening now.