The Kansas City Royals probably won’t contend in 2024.
That being said, they are making all the right moves to guarantee they are at least competitive; and who knows, maybe the stars align, they bring even more people and improve and optimize baseball operations to compete for a postseason berth sometime in 2024 or 2025.
The important thing is that they are finally making win-now moves.
After years of disappointing records, the Royals were awful in 2023, at 56-106.
Perhaps they feel they hit rock bottom, so they decided to bring in Seth Lugo, Will Smith, Chris Stratton, Nick Anderson, Matt Sauer, and Garrett Hampson.
That’s a nice haul for the offseason, but general manager and president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo says the team wants more.
“J.J. Picollo says the #Royals still have work to do this offseason: ‘We’ve made some nice moves, but we don’t feel like we’re done just yet,'” Bally Sports Kansas City tweeted.
J.J. Picollo says the #Royals still have work to do this offseason: "We've made some nice moves, but we don't feel like we're done just yet." pic.twitter.com/RaCSnnmCi6
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) December 14, 2023
Lugo could be the ace of the staff after posting a 3.57 ERA for the San Diego Padres last year.
He might be a veteran, but he remains in his prime and can also serve as a mentor for Brady Singer, Cole Ragans, Daniel Lynch, and other Royals pitching prospects who have failed to impress over the last couple of years.
Only Ragans and Singer have shown they can be legitimate major leaguers, so adding Lugo is a nice move for the staff.
The bullpen looks revamped with Anderson, Smith, and Stratton, all with closing experience, and Sauer had a good season for the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate and was brought in via the Rule 5 Draft.
He could prove to be a nice addition.
The Royals are far from a contender, but are finally moving their pieces forward and not rebuilding.
NEXT: Royals Add Yet Another Experienced Arm On Tuesday