On Monday, Kansas City Royals general manager J.J. Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro met with local media members to reflect on the 2024 season and look ahead to 2025, with improving the team’s ailing offense at the forefront.
Picollo deemed the Royals’ 2024 performance “acceptable,” but still admitted that he wasn’t satisfied.
The Royals ranked among the top half of MLB clubs in batting average (.248/10th) and slugging percentage (.403/12th), mainly because their superstar trio — shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., catcher Salvador Perez and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino — had an outstanding year. However, the Royals were in the bottom half of teams in on-base percentage (.306/19th).
Witt Jr., Perez, and Pasquantino accounted for 78 of the Royals’ 170 home runs during the regular season, with a combined slugging percentage of .501. The rest of the team slugged a mere .357 between them.
“The offense from the outfield positions has to get better,” Picollo told reporters on Monday. “Generally speaking, when you’re looking at left field, right field, that’s where you’re thinking about power guys. And we know this ballpark doesn’t lend itself to homers, but it does lend itself to slug. So we’ve got to be more productive there.”
Another area that Picollo knows needs to improve is the production from the leadoff spot. More runners need to be on base in front of Witt Jr., who drove in a team-high 109 runs in 2024.
“That leadoff spot, we were circulating guys all year long, trying to find the right person,” Picollo said. “But that’s one [spot] that stands out when you evaluate our lineup. Every lineup, and the better lineups that we faced, they’re deep. The more you can push guys down, the better our lineup will be. You start with a leadoff man, and then you try to find somebody in the middle of the lineup, as well. The deeper you get, the more explosive you can be as an offense.”
According to statmuse.com, Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia had the lowest on-base percentage (.280) of any lead-off hitter in MLB with at least 300 plate appearances.
“It starts with getting guys on base,” Picollo said. “That’s going to be an area that we’re not only going to address in looking at players we can acquire but how can we be better offensively, how can we develop hitters better at the Major League level and get them to meet expectations.”
Although Picollo hasn’t given up on Garcia at third base or M.J. Melendez in the outfield, he acknowledged that he would look outside the organization for players with a higher OPS at those positions.
Here are three players that the Royals should be eyeing to fill those roles, plus one they should avoid.
Player To Target: Tyler O’Neill, OF
The Royals were interested in acquiring O’Neill last offseason but couldn’t strike a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, who ultimately traded the outfielder to the Boston Red Sox. Set to become a free agent at the end of the season, O’Neill is an ideal everyday left fielder and could be a great fit for Kansas City in 2025.
In addition to his stellar defensive abilities, O’Neill has a career slash line of .241/.336/.511 with a .360 wOBA and 131 wRC+. Despite battling injuries and illness in 2024, the two-time Gold Glove winner still hit 31 home runs and drove in 61 in 113 games.
O’Neill, who played both corner outfield positions for the Red Sox this past season, will not turn 30 until June.
Player To Target: Jurickson Profar, OF
Profar will be one of the top free agents on the market in 2025 after recording the best season of his career at age 31, and it’s easy to see how he would slot nicely into the leadoff spot in front of Witt Jr. as a switch hitter.
In 2024 with the San Diego Padres, Profar recorded a slash line of .280/.380/.459 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI, and registered a 4.3 fWAR. The All-Star struck out in just 15.1% of his at-bats with an 11.1% walk rate, posting a .365 wBOA and 139 wRC+. As if that’s not enough, Profar’s OBP saw him ranked seventh in MLB — just .001 behind Witt Jr.
According to RosterResource, Profar made $1 million last season, so coming off a stellar year in San Diego, he can be expected to demand more on the open market this offseason.
Player To Target: Jose Iglesias, 3B
Since being called up from Triple-A at the end of May, Iglesias has lit a fire underneath the New York Mets, helping to lead them into the National League Championship Series. Now entering free agency for the first time in his career, the 34-year-old would fit perfectly into the Royals’ offensive philosophy of putting the ball in play to take advantage of their spacious home ballpark.
Iglesias’ career BABIP stands at .315. He doesn’t walk a lot, amassing just a 5.3% walk rate this season, and he doesn’t strike out a lot either — only 13.4% in the regular season. An above-average defender with a career fielding percentage of .982, Iglesias has played nearly 1100 games on the left side of the infield (1019 SS, 73 3B).
The former All-Star was under contract for $800,000 this past season, and while he will likely command a higher salary as he begins his age-35 season in 2025, he’d likely be open to a team-friendly deal that would add another veteran presence to the Royals’ clubhouse.
Player To Avoid: Alex Bregman, 3B
The Royals’ need for a power-hitting third baseman is strong, but the cost to get the best one available is too great. Bregman is far and away the top third baseman in this class and arguably the second-best free agent available behind Juan Soto.
During his eight seasons in Houston, Bregman hit .272 with 191 home runs and 663 RBI and a .849 OPS, and there’s no denying that the 30-year-old would stretch Kansas City’s lineup and give the Royals a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman alongside Witt Jr.
However, Bregman is seeking a long-term deal, exceeding the five-year, $100 million contract he signed before the 2019 campaign. The Royals secured their franchise centerpiece — Witt Jr. — last offseason to the tune of $228.7 million. Another contract like that would limit the club’s payroll flexibility and ability to field a contender consistently.
