Give me your off-season plan for the Royals
You’re the GM!
After tying a club record with 106 losses, their third 100+ loss season in six years, the Royals desperately need to improve to avoid further alienating their fanbase. J.J. Picollo has had a year in the decision-making seat, but has yet to really make his stamp on the club.
What if he turned to your as a special adviser? What would you do to get this team competitive again?
The Royals have three players under contract for 2024 that will make just under $30 million.
- Salvador Perez, $20 million
- Jordan Lyles, $8.5 million
- Jake Brentz, $1.05 million
They also have eight players eligible for arbitration. According to projections at MLB Trade Rumors, here are the salaries they would get if tendered a contract.
- Kris Bubic, $2.4 million
- Taylor Clarke $2.2 million
- Carlos Hernández, $1.3 million
- Edward Olivares, $1.8 million
- Brady Singer, $5.1 million
- Josh Staumont, $1.2 million
- Josh Taylor, $1.3 million
Plus you’ll have to fill out your roster with players making near the league minimum of $700,000. Zack Greinke, Brad Keller, and Matt Duffy are now free agents. You can see a complete list of free agents here. J.J. Picollo hasn’t indicated how much payroll will be next year, but it sounds like it will be something around the $90-95 million in payroll they began with this season.
The Royals also may be more active on the trade front, as there are some positional redundancies. You can use the Trade Simulator at Baseball Trade Values to get an idea of what would be a fair trade.
What kind of moves would you make? Who would you non-tender? Would you look for bargains in free agency or make a trade that hurts?