Kansas City Royals enter MLB Winter Meetings still looking to make roster additions

Major League Baseball went without one of the preeminent events on its annual calendar for the previous two years due to a global pandemic in 2020 followed by the owners locking out the members of the MLB Players Association in 2021.

However, league and club officials from all 30 teams, as well as player agents and media, will gather this week in San Diego, California, with free agency in full swing and both the inaugural MLB Draft Lottery and the Rule 5 Draft set to take place.

The Kansas City Royals have taken several steps to reshape their organization in recent months, including a change of leadership at the top of the baseball operations department — longtime chief Dayton Moore is out and his right-hand man J.J. Picollo is now in the control seat — as well as an overhaul of the major-league coaching staff with former Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro having replaced Mike Matheny as manager.

Quatraro will also address reporters in San Diego on Tuesday.

But the Royals’ roster hasn’t seen many significant changes since the end of the season. That could change this week.

Free agency

Starting pitching candidates should be the Royals’ biggest area of need this winter along with bullpen depth and a veteran hitter.

Of course, proven starting pitching almost always comes at significant cost. Meanwhile, Picollo has indicated that the club isn’t likely to spend big this winter.

The Royals weren’t ever going to be realistic bidders for elite starters such as Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander or Carlos Rodon.

But non-top tier starters have also begun to come off the board in recent weeks, and some of those price tags have also been relatively steep. Contracts signed by Zach Eflin (three years, $40 million), Mike Clevinger (one year, $12 million) and Matthew Boyd (one year, $10 million) indicate the high demand for starters, even those not among the elite level.

Royals starter Zack Greinke, who made $13 million last season, is also a free agent. The 39-year-old was one of the club’s two best starters, along with Brady Singer, this season.

Several non-closer relief pitchers have also signed multi-year contracts this offseason, including Robert Suarez (five years, $46 million), Rafael Montero (three years, $34.5 million) and Chris Martin (two years, $17.5 million).

So it may take time for the type of low-risk, high-upside deals the Royals have looked for in recent years to materialize.

One free-agent hitter that Royals have reportedly shown interest in is former first-round pick Dominic Smith. The New York Mets did not tender a contract to the 27-year-old left-handed-hitting first baseman/outfielder.

A former Baseball America top 100 prospect (2014, 2016, 2017), Smith flashed intriguing offensive potential in 139 games between 2019 and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he slashed .299/.366/.571 with 21 home runs, 31 doubles and 67 RBIs.

Draft Lottery

The Draft Lottery takes place on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. CT. MLB Network will broadcast the lottery live.

The Royals have a 10% chance of getting the top pick in next year’s draft, the fifth-best odds of any club behind the Nationals, Athletics and Pirates (16.5% apiece) and the Reds (13.2%).

Each of the 18 teams that did not make the playoffs will be part of the lottery, which will decide the first six selections of the draft.

The lottery has been implemented as a result of the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement between the MLBPA and the owners.

Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft will take place on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT. The Royals enter the week with no empty spots on their 40-man roster. A team must have available roster spots in order to select players in the Rule 5 Draft.

Players who signed at age 18 or younger at least five years ago (before the end of the 2018 minor-league season) and who aren’t on their club’s 40-man roster are eligible to be selected, as well as players who signed at age 19 or older at least four years ago (before the end of the 2019 minor-league season) and aren’t on their club’s 40-man roster.

Royals prospects who were left unprotected and thus eligible to be selected by other organizations include left-handed pitcher T.J. Sikkema, who the Royals acquired this summer in the trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to the New York Yankees, and Royals Triple-A Player of the Year and outfielder Brewer Hicklen.