5 areas the Royals must address this offseason

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KANSAS CITY -- A lot has been made about the two World Series opponents this year, the Rangers and D-backs, and how just two years ago both lost 100-plus games. The American League East champion Orioles were in the same position in 2021, too.

Does that give the Royals, who lost 106 games this year, any hope?

Maybe. But Texas got better by spending and making big trades. Arizona has relied on homegrown talent and some underrated moves. Baltimore is full of young stars it drafted and developed.

So for Kansas City to follow the same track, there is plenty of work to be done. It starts this winter. Here are five questions facing the Royals this offseason:

1. Can they improve their pitching?
One of the main ways the Royals can improve next year is via the pitching. Royals starters had a 5.12 ERA in 2023, fourth worst in baseball. Relievers were second worst in baseball with a 5.23 ERA. Even having a staff closer to average might have given the Royals eight to 10 more wins. Cole Ragans, Brady Singer and Jordan Lyles are three starters they’ll turn to in ‘24, but two spots are up for grabs. Internal candidates can emerge, but targeting one or two starters would help the rotation take a step forward. A few relievers, including a closer, would help stabilize the ‘pen. Both should be high up on the priority list this offseason.

2. How can they help Bobby Witt Jr. in the lineup?
The other priority the Royals have is to lengthen the lineup and score more runs. They scored 676 runs this past season, eighth worst in baseball; their .701 OPS ranked sixth worst, and their 87 wRC+ was third worst. Certainly, the Royals have pieces to build around. They believe Maikel Garcia can be a table-setter, Witt is a superstar and Vinnie Pasquantino will come back and be a middle-of-the-order impact bat. Beyond that? The Royals need to get deeper. They need threats.

The corner outfield is the obvious opening for an acquisition because while Nelson Velázquez offers an interesting skillset, MJ Melendez and Drew Waters didn’t take steps forward this year. But the Royals have enough versatility that they could bring in a third baseman, too, depending on how things shake out.

3. Who can they trade?
Free agency isn’t the only way to acquire new talent, and if the Royals aren’t going to spend big, they need to deal big. That might mean trading a bigger name as part of a package to get a player who can help them win. The Royals don’t have any top 100 prospects on MLB Pipeline’s extensive list, but being open to trading some of their top names like Ben Kudrna or Cayden Wallace could help. At the big league level, players like Melendez, Nick Loftin or Nick Pratto could garner interest.

The biggest name, though, is Salvador Perez, but it’s not clear where the Royals stand on trading their captain. They could pick up conversations they had at the Deadline about their veteran catcher, but they will maintain that trading Perez wouldn’t be a salary dump and insist on a bigger package for the 33-year-old. If the Royals can find the right match and the right package, they’ll have to seriously consider it to bring in the talent needed.

4. What is Zack Greinke’s future?
When we last saw Greinke, he was exiting the last game of the season to a rousing ovation from Royals fans, and he was acknowledging those fans in his possible last appearance as a Royal and maybe of his career.

Greinke, who turned 40 earlier this week and will officially become a free agent after the World Series, did not give any indication of his future plans when asked after that game. In his second year back with the Royals, he posted a 5.06 ERA across 142 1/3 innings, needing two separate stints on the injured list to rest his forearm. It’s possible he decides to retire because of how he feels physically following a 20-year, likely Hall of Fame career. But he’s 21 strikeouts from 3,000. He’s Zack Greinke -- he loves pitching. It’s possible he’s not ready to give it up yet.

If Greinke wants to keep pitching, the Royals will have to decide if -- and how -- he fits into their plans for 2024.

5. Where is that stadium announcement?
The Royals imposed their own deadline to pick a site location for their new ballpark by the end of September and released two renderings and economic data for sites in downtown Kansas City and Clay County. When September came around, though, they said they weren’t going to meet the deadline. Since then, it’s been fairly quiet on the stadium front. They are in negotiations with Jackson County regarding the team’s lease of Kauffman Stadium, which runs out on Jan. 31, 2031. But for this to move forward, the Royals need to answer the big question: Where the new ballpark will be located.