A couple years ago, the Kansas City Royals were in the playoffs as a wild card and won a round. With Bobby Witt Jr. signed to a lengthy contract, their future looked pretty interesting.
Then the Royals slid back in 2025 — but only slightly, to 82 wins. This year’s start is more concerning.
Witt remains an MVP-caliber player. In fact, he’s hit .395 with four homers over his last 10 games. Problem is, Kansas City lost seven of them. With the AL Central looking as winnable as ever, the Royals still can’t get any traction. They’re tied with Detroit for last place. That’s a crisis for the Tigers, with Tarik Skubal due to hit free agency after this season, but Kansas City has its own problems.
It’s mostly the offense, which right now is Witt and a lot of mediocrity. Vinnie Pasquantino is batting .202. Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone have been OK, but neither is having a major breakout and the jury remains out on whether those two — age 22 and 23 — will provide what Kansas City needs alongside Witt over the next several years. Maikel Garcia has only three homers in 200 plate appearances.
Meanwhile, veteran Salvador Perez is batting .205.