The Sunday Ramble

We’ll open this edition of the Ramble with a little Royals info…

While we’ve been told that the Royals were not done in their quest to add another bat to the lineup, Ken Rosenthal reported on Friday that the Royals are closing up shop:

The Kansas City Royals are increasingly unlikely to land either of the two hitters they pursued in trades: the St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Duran.

Barring further moves, the Royals expect to rely heavily on offseason acquisitions Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas in their outfield, as well as rookie Jac Caglianone and holdover Kyle Isbel.

It’s not the first paragraph that’s disappointing. It’s the second.

While the work General Manager JJ Picollo has done to upgrade his outfield has been more inspiring this offseason than last, it still feels as if the additions are falling a bit short of expectations, especially on a team with a better than average starting rotation and one of the elite superstars in the game on the roster in Bobby Witt Jr. People may not like to talk about windows of competitiveness, but when Witt is anchoring your ballclub and you’ve assembled a quality pitching staff on the back of fantastic coaching, that window is open and needs to be taken advantage of.

Last year, I gave Picollo the benefit of the doubt when given the explanation as to why the Royals weren’t able to find suitable outfield upgrades. The free agent class wasn’t the greatest and if there aren’t willing trade partners, then there’s not much he can do.

But to strike out two years in a row, if that is indeed what happens, isn’t a good look.

I like the addition of Collins. There’s some upside in Thomas who will be trying to bounce back from a 2025 that was a wash due to injuries. I still believe in Caglianone and look forward to what he will do with the shorter dimensions. I think this outfield will be improved over last year, but damn that’s a low bar to clear. There is still plenty of time between now and Opening Day where maybe an unexpected opening presents itself and Picollo makes a move. However the offseason is winding down. As teams prep for spring, the hot stove will dim to a flicker.

Time will tell if Picollo’s offseason has been good enough.

The baseball world lost its collective mind at the end of the week. Wait…I should amend that. The upper class of the baseball world lost it’s collective mind at the end of last week.

It was kicked off, as these things are wont to do, by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers aren’t just a 1% club. They are the 1% of the 1%. Their spending is so far ahead of the rest of the league, they’re on the verge of funding the entire bottom half of the financial spectrum through the luxury tax penalties that the owe. And, as the Dodgers tend to do in late winter, they just lurk. Then they pick up the phone. I imagine the conversation goes something like this:

“Say, Agent of Player X, it looks like the market isn’t really coming together for your player. Would you be interested in a short-term deal with Scrooge McDuck style wheelbarrows of moneybags deferred for the next half-century while the AAV of the contract sets a record?”

Who can resist that kind of sexy overture?

The details of the Kyle Tucker deal make my brain hurt. I’m no financial wizard. (I mean, I give away my work at no charge.) There’s no way I can make sense of a four-year, $240 million deal that includes a $64 million signing bonus and $30 million in deferred salary and a couple of opt outs thrown in for good measure. Smart people say the present value of the deal is at $57.1 million per year. Dumb people like me ask, who the hell would ever opt out of that?

After that deal went down on Thursday, Friday turned into a true race for insanity. The Mets, losers in the race to sign Tucker, swooped first, the surprising winners of the Bo Bichette Sweepstakes. I remain high on Bichette (and held out the slimmest glimmer of hope that he could somehow find his way to Kansas City), but fail to see the fit on a Mets roster that is beginning to feel all parts and no sum.

They sent their left fielder, Brandon Nimmo, to Texas for second baseman Marcus Semien. They signed a free agent second baseman, Jorge Polanco, to play first base to replace the departed Pete Alonso. Now they signed shortstop—and likely future full-time second baseman—Bo Bichette to play…where exactly?

If second base is the new market inefficiency the Mets have cracked the 2026 Moneyball code. Good luck with that.

Bichette reportedly signed a three-year deal at $126 million with an opt out after the 2027 season and a full no-trade clause. There is no deferred money.

For every action, there is a reaction. The Mets were bidders for Tucker at four years and $220 million. That’s not chump change, but it wasn’t enough to beat LA. So the Mets went to plan B in Bichette.

The Phillies weren’t in on Tucker, but they were heavily in on Bichette, so when he opted for New York, Philadelphia returned to a familiar face, bringing back catcher JT Realmuto on a three-year, $45 million deal. You read that correctly, three years for a 35 year old catcher who has seen his offensive and defensive performance decline over the last three seasons. As you would expect. Insanity.

The Los Angeles Dodgers finished the 2025 regular season with the fourth-best record in the majors. For most of the year, manager Dave Roberts penciled in Michael Conforto as his starting left fielder. They have upgraded their outfield. They just happened to use their competitive advantage to sign the marquee free agent player in this class.

This doesn’t bother me. Baseball needs a team like the Dodgers: A unifying symbol of villainy. There’s always a team like that. It’s historically been the Yankees. Most recently, it was the Astros. The team with the second-largest payroll last year was the Mets. They did not qualify for the postseason.

Certainly, it would be nice if the Royals were able to snag a player like Bichette, who would instantly improve the club and make them front-runners in the AL Central. Yet there is still a path to October for teams like the Royals. They’re spending—sometimes wisely, sometimes not—and doing the little things right as they’re building their team and trying to set it up for sustained success. Having said that, I believe they could definitely be spending beyond what they’re allocating for the 2026 season. If the trend in the game is shorter contracts to the marquee free agents, the Royals should be getting into that mix. Within reason, of course.

I would probably be singing a different tune if the Royals shared a division with the Dodgers, although the expansion of playoffs and the addition of Wild Cards has mitigated that a bit. Yes, the Dodgers are virtually guaranteed a postseason spot every season. They still have to navigate a few short series to get to the finish line. Both Central Divisions provide a bit of a respite from the fiscal arms race that seems to grip costal baseball teams, although with the Cubs finally deciding to flex their fiscal might, that’s not necessarily the case. Maybe the path forward for this game is where there’s a continual realignment based on a formula that marries payroll, income and market size. Just spitballing here.

The 2026 inductees for the Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced on Tuesday. I fully expect Carlos Beltrán to be elected. I am less certain about Andruw Jones, but if he doesn’t sneak across the 75 percent threshold this year, he definitely will in the next voting cycle.

I’ve long hoped that when Beltrán gets inducted, that he would go into the Hall as a Royal. It’s insane that the Royals have been in existance for over 55 years and have a grand total of one Hall of Famer. (I’m not counting guys like Harmon Killebrew and Gaylord Perry.)

Fellow expansion class of 1969 members Montreal Expos (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tim Raines), San Diego Padres (Tony Gwynn, Trevor Hoffman and Dave Winfield) and Milwaukee Brewers nee Seattle Pilots (Paul Molitor and Robin Yount) all have more than the Royals. Although the Royals have the lead among this class with two World Series titles. That’s an acceptable tradeoff.

Back to Beltrán…I’m sure he will go into the Hall as a Met. He played more games for the Mets and had his best seasons in New York. The next best candidate to wear a Royals hat on their plaque will be Zack Greinke who will be eligible for induction in 2029.