The Royals had a great 2024, how can they have an even better 2025?
It’s that time of year again when people, businesses, and pro sports teams decide on what (if any) changes they will make to improve their lots in the coming year. Personally, I don’t like waiting for the end of the year to evaluate where I’m at and where I want to be. But when you’re running something like a baseball team with a clear stopping and starting point for your missions, the end of the calendar can be a great time for reflection.
Here are five things the Royals should focus on in 2025
One of the biggest trials a New Year’s Resolver deals with is the inevitable first failure. None of us are perfect, but once we fail to meet our ideal even a little, it can be very easy to let that snowball. For example, if you set a goal to quit smoking but find yourself enjoying another cigarette, it’s very easy to say to yourself, “Well, you’ve already screwed up. Might as well smoke the whole pack!”
One of the reasons the 2024 Royals were so successful was because they didn’t allow themselves to have a losing streak of more than three games until June 12, and none of more than four games until September 1. If they want to have an even better season in 2025, they could try never having a losing streak of more than four games. How impressive would that be?
Physical activity is a key aspect of any healthy life - and no, we aren’t going to discuss how healthy my life is! So it isn’t surprising to find that vowing to exercise more is one of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions, and one of the most popular methods of exercise is running. It’s simple, effective, and requires no equipment.
In baseball there’s an old saying, “Speed never slumps.” While that isn’t necessarily true, what is true is that the Royals found themselves the sixth-best team in MLB last year according to Net Bases Gained with 22 and were the only team in all of MLB to have three runners with 30 stolen bases or more. Still, they could stand to be a bit more aggressive as the gap between them and first place (Brewers, 68) was the same as between them and 24th place (Tigers, -25.) The Brewers made more outs on the bases, but they also gained a lot more bases. There is certainly a tipping point where a team or player can be so aggressive that the extra bases gained are canceled by the outs, but the Royals should be looking to push those boundaries in 2025.
There is no player this is more true for than Bobby Witt Jr. who is still the absolute fastest man in the sport. He should be capable of stealing more bases than he did in 2024 and hopefully we see that happen more in 2025.
The CDC recommends every household create an emergency kit in case of natural disaster that prevents help arriving for some time. They recommend supplies that will allow you to hold out for three days trapped in your home with no outside contact or power. There are plenty of reasons not to have a kit that lasts longer than that from storage space to the reality that most emergencies won’t last even that long.
Right now, the Royals are sitting pretty - even after trading Brady Singer - with a rotation that’s expected to be one of the best in the league and a bullpen, fortified by the midseason additions of Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey, that should be able to hold up to the challenges presented to them. What the Royals don’t have is a backup plan if any of their expected leaders get hurt, even for a short time. The Royals have to add some pitching depth, both for their rotation and their bullpen. That might take the form of a swingman such as Michael Lorenzen, but for the same reason the CDC recommends your kits last three days the Royals need more than one additional depth pitcher. They could definitely run into a scenario where they need two or even three more than are currently on the roster.
Some people choose exercise as a New Year’s Resolution because they want to slim down. But others want to bulk up, instead. Gaining weight via muscle mass can be expensive, painful, and time-consuming, but many people think it is worth it.
Would you believe that the last time the Royals spent big on a proven hitter was in 2007 when they gave Jose Guillen $36 million over three years to anchor the middle of their lineup? Obviously, that deal did not work out for the Royals at all but in the same way you shouldn’t let your dusty ThighMaster prevent you from trying to improve your life more than a decade later, the Royals can’t let an unfortunate fad purchase preclude them from trying to beef up this offseason.
If the Royals do all of these things, they should be able to aspire to the World Series in 2025. They won’t, of course, immediately become World Series favorites but the front office, coaching staff, and players managed to turn a 106-loss team into a playoff team in 2024. If they can’t at least aim to go from an ALDS losing team to an ALCS-appearing team in 2025 then people probably need to lose their jobs.
So that’s it for the Royals’ resolutions. Here’s hoping they - and all of you - achieve their goals in 2025. Happy New Year!
