Michael Wacha is a proven winner. How the Royals plan to utilize him next season

There is an old saying in sports: “Numbers don’t matter, winning does.”

The Kansas City Royals, who lost a franchise-worst 106 games last season, desired to build a winning culture this offseason. So Royals general manager J.J. Picollo secured one of the winningest pitchers on the free-agent market.

Picollo signed veteran starter Michael Wacha to a one-year deal. The contract includes a player option for the 2025 season.

Wacha, 32, owns an 88-54 record (.620 winning percentage) in his MLB career. Last season, he won 14 games and posted an 3.24 ERA in 134 1/3 innings.

By comparison, the Royals primary starters — Cole Ragans, Brady Singer, Jordan Lyles and Zack Greinke — combined for 21 victories.

“This is really what I found fascinating, the teams he played on are a combined 162 games over .500,” Picollo said. So when we talk about adding to our clubhouse, winners and people that have been there, Michael certainly represents that.”

Winning has eluded the Royals in recent years. KC hasn’t produced a winning season since the 2015 World Series campaign. The Royals haven’t finished third or better in the American League Central since the 2018 season.

The Royals needed a reset.

Picollo admitted it was time to make a significant move. He stayed true to his word by adding proven veterans in Wacha, Seth Lugo, Nick Anderson, Kyle Wright, Will Smith, Garett Hampson and Hunter Renfroe this offseason.

“(It’s) just a lot of excitement,” Wacha said. “And, you know, seeing his vision, I immediately bought into it and was really excited to be able to get a deal done here.”

The veterans are expected to help the Royals’ young core. The Royals remain hopeful that impact players Bobby Witt Jr., Cole Ragans, Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino continue to step forward next season.

Wacha brings valuable leadership as well. He is familiar with Royals manager Matt Quatraro and bench coach Paul Hoover after playing for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021.

Wacha and Lugo were also teammates with the San Diego Padres last season.

“He was one of those guys that we pitched around the same time in the rotation,” Wacha said. “We would sit in the dugout and talk scouting reports and different sequences. … Just one of those guys that really engaged into the game and cerebral out there.”

The Royals are expected to line up Wacha alongside Ragans, Lugo, Singer and Lyles in the starting rotation. Wacha is not your typical hard-throwing pitcher, as he relies on his off-speed arsenal to generate weak contact.

Wacha throws five different pitches. He primarily utilizes his changeup to put away opposing hitters. The changeup registered a 25.9% hard-hit rate last season, per Baseball Savant. He also features a four-seam fastball, cutter, sinker and curveball.

It’s a pitch mix he continues to fine tune to get the most out of his outings.

“I would say limiting that cutter and throwing it at certain times and at certain hitters was a good change for me,” Wacha said. “You know, it’s continuing to mix speeds and learn how to pitch with that repertoire.”

KC saw his improved arsenal last season. Wacha pitched seven no-hit innings against the Royals on May 15. He earned National League Player of the Month honors after posting an ERA of 0.84 during the stretch.

“I think to have the guys that are taking the ball consistently throughout the year knowing that they can win in the big leagues is a big deal,” Quatraro said.

KC has committed over $100 million in free-agent spending, which is the most in franchise history. The Royals will continue monitoring the active free-agent market. However, Picollo is content with the offseason deals at this juncture.

“We got to a point last week where we felt very comfortable with some of the acquisitions, but we still felt like we were a starting pitcher short,” Picollo said. “(We) went to John Sherman, in particular Brook Sherman, and talked to them about our needs and our possibilities and how we could acquire another starting pitcher.

“And they were very open to how we can complete this team. So I do want to thank them for working with us throughout this whole thing. We started off this offseason saying starting pitching was our goal. I think we’ve achieved that in the last two signings, from the starting pitching standpoint. The bullpen has been addressed. So that’s mission accomplished in that respect.”

Royals trade Jonathan Heasley to Baltimore Orioles

The Royals made a minor move to accommodate Wacha on the 40-man roster. KC traded reliever Jonathan Heasley to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor-league pitcher Cesar Espinal.

Espinal, 18, appeared in nine games for the DSL Orioles Orange in the Dominican Summer League. He posted a 3.18 ERA in 34 innings pitched.

Heasley went 5-11 with a 5.45 ERA in three seasons with the Royals.