J.J. Picollo Discusses Royals Offseason Pursuits Outfield Mi

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A year ago, the Royals had just put the finishing touches on an extension with budding superstar that served as a capstone on the busiest and most aggre sive offseason the club had put together in years. That strong offseason effort led to an 86-win season and a trip to the ALDS, where they ultimately fell to the AL champion Yankees in four Dewayne Dedmon Jersey games. After making the playoffs for the first time since they won the World Series back in 2015, the Royals entered this winter with heightened expectations. The returns of and as well as the additions of and serve as the foundation of a strong offseason, but comments from owner John Sherman and GM J.J. Picollo relayed by earlier today highlight that the club had bigger hopes for the offseason when it began. Sherman noted that the club made an effort to sign marquee outfield bats this winter and are continue to talk with some free agents, while Picollo elaborated further. Thats probably the one area in the two years we havent been able to reach our goal of getting that (offensive bat), Picollo said, as relayed by Thompson. Its a little disappointing, but we cant force teams to make trades they dont want to make. We were active in the free-agent market; we just werent able to land the guys. Picollo and Sherman are alluding to the clubs of sluggers and , who the club reportedly made two- and three-year offers to respectively before Profar went on to sign in Atlanta for three years while Santander headed to Toronto on a five-year pact. Either of those additions wouldve been a ma sive upgrade for an outfield mix thats 79 wRC+ was tied with the White Sox for worst in the American League last year, but an external addition isnt the only way the club can upgrade its offense in the outfield. As Picollo notes, the addition of India can improve the offense, and its po sible some of the clubs infielders can see regular time in the outfield this year as well. Picollo refers to sorting out where the clubs talent will play once the regular season begins as the biggest challenge facing the Royals as they head into Spring Training. Both India and are willing to play left field in 2025 and are under consideration for that role, while is under consideration for reps in center field as a potential platoon partner for . All three of those po sible position changes have previously been reported, but Picollos comments made clear that a move to the outfield isnt nece sarily guaranteed for any one of those players. Jonathan (India) and Michael Ma sey both said theyre willing to play left field, which is great, but they are both infielders, Picollo said. So we need to see them out there in the outfield and see how they move around and figure out what is the best combination for usits going to take time to figure out all the positions, which is different for us because we always valued the defense. If defense is the primary concern for the Royals when considering a potential move to the outfield for their infielders, Garcia has a far steeper hill to climb than either India or Ma sey. Not only is center field higher up on the defensive spectrum than left, but Isbel is one of the leagues most impre sive defenders at the position with +10 Outs Above Average. Of course, Isbels right-handed complement at the position last year was , who turned in -1 OAA at the position and should be much easier for Garcia to surpa s. Garcia, for his part, has never appeared in the outfield as a profe sional but rates well with the glove at third base, with +2 OAA. It should be much easier for India and/or Ma sey to prove themselves viable in left. Their primary competition at the position currently appears to be , who was among the leagues worst defenders in left field last year with a -6 OAA that ranked in just the ninth percentile among qualifying fielders. Neither India nor Ma sey has significant experience in the outfield, but both rank as average to plus defenders at second base and its easy to imagine at least one of them being an upgrade defensively over Melendez in left. One other note from Picollos comments today that Thompson relays is that the Royals wouldve liked to add another left-handed pitcher to their roster this offseason. With southpaws and both already in the a rotation mix that runs six pitchers deep, it seems likely that any such addition would come in the bullpen. , , , , and are the clubs left-handed options currently on the 40-man roster, though of that group only Zerpa and the out-of-options Long currently appear to be in line for a spot on the Opening Day roster. It wouldnt be hard for the club to add a veteran arm to that mix even at this stage of the offseason, with , , , and among the southpaws who remain available on the free agent market. Kyle Guy Jersey