2 options Royals shouldn't pick up this offseason, 1 they should

Even for as clear as Kansas City's offseason needs appear, the sheer number of questions will keep fans guessing and planning all winter long.

From the front office to the farm, there are several different ways the Royals can choose to attack this offseason. But there is a notable air around the team, which took a step back from 2024 and fell short of the playoffs in 2025.

No longer will the 30-win improvement from 2023 to 2024 be enough to save a player's job. There is room to improve this Royals 26-man roster, but that is done best by handling the internal business first.

Options are usually one of the first things handled on the transactions wire with their tight schedule. Teams must make a decision on exercising a player's option within five days of the World Series' final pitch, gelling right into when the free agency window opens.

The Royals only have three such options to decide on this offseason, after the players had all of the power in last season, with pitcher Chris Stratton and outfielder Hunter Renfroe both picking up their respective options.

So, with one club option and two mutual options, Kansas City holds all the option cards this offseason. If the season were to end today, how should Kansas City approach these three personnel decisions?

Pass on: OF Randal Grichuk
(Mutual option for $5 million with buyout for $3 million)

This feels like the closet of all the decisions. Outfielder Randal Grichuk came to Kansas City ahead of the trade deadline after previously being targeted by the club on numerous occasions. He arrived with a seemingly clear goal: hitting left-handed pitching. After all, that is what he has been doing most of his career and is quietly one of the league's better hitters against southpaws.

Manager Matt Quatraro loves shuffling the lineup around based on matchups, so having such a player waiting on the bench seemed prudent. But after more than 40 games of seeing how having that chess piece has worked out, fans have to think Kansas City can do better on the open market.

Grichuk has a .198/.260/.292 through 42 games with the Royals, good for a 52 wRC+ in 104 plate appearances. It feels par for the course and even a step towards bogey after Grichuk struggled in Arizona to start off this season.

His .634 OPS and 71 wRC+ against lefties don't give Grichuk any salvation for what he brings to Kansas City's outfield picture. But Kansas City may see his 11.7% barrel rate and 92.4 MPH average exit velocity, both well above league average, and think Grichuk is just having a down year.

However, Grichuk hasn't been consistently above 1.0 fWAR in years, and his lagging bat and so-so glove are giving him his first negative fWAR season in his 12-year MLB career.

At the end of the day, Kansas City would only save $2 million if they did not exercise their end of the option. It is a penny pinching move from that angle, considering what the going rate for a free agent bat is.

But Kansas City was content with running their outfield back from 2024 to 2025, and fans saw how badly that approach ended. Learning from their mistakes would be to cut ties with Grichuk following his abbreviated time in Kansas City and search for another option.

Pick up: C Salvador Perez
(Club option for $13.5 million with a $2 million buyout)

This shouldn't even be a discussion. The idea of catcher Salvador Perez playing elsewhere should make Royals diehards want to toss their brisket nachos.

The team captain hasn't been his best in 2025, but is still chugging along and climbing up franchise leaderboards and making his Hall of Fame case stronger and stronger by the game.

The recent case study against retaining a franchise star after his prime has to be Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera. But that deal and situation were so bad and, in the end, so pitiful because the two-time AL MVP was a replacement-level player or worse for his final seven years.

Perez hasn't been as good in 2025 as he was in 2024, but at least one more year for the Venezuelan in Kansas City doesn't feel that egregious. That only applies doubly after how Perez bounced back from a career-worst year in 2023 to having a renaissance of sorts in 2024. Let's see if he can do it again in 2026, on a reasonable salary.

Pass on: RHP Michael Lorenzen
(Mutual option for $12 million with a $1.5 million buyout)

The first movies in a franchise or seasons in a show are usually the best. They get people interested, hoping for a buildup in the next go-around. That is what pitcher Michael Lorenzen's return to Kansas City felt like somewhat, after posting a stellar half-season in Kansas City to close out 2024.

But the veteran hasn't been nearly as effective in this season, and considering the Royals' projected pitching picture, there is little to no room for this year's version of Lorenzen.

All this isn't to say Lorenzen has been awful or dreadful in 2025. He has been consistent across his 25 starts, looking every part of a rotation's fifth man. He will have some stellar outings, like his Sept. 19 start against the Toronto Blue Jays, and then some downright stinkers like his June 3 outing against the St. Louis Cardinals. All pitchers have good and bad days, but the chance of a bad day feels greater with Lorenzen.

And the season-long stats show that picture. After his final start of the season on Thursday, he's sporting a 4.64 ERA, the worst in his career as a starter since his rookie season back in 2015.

His expected numbers are not much better, with a xERA of 4.76 and xFIP of 4.23. The entire campaign points to a player that has value, but is it enough to pay him $12 million in 2025? The going price of dollars per projected WAR would say maybe.

It seems that Kansas City can get that level of production, if not better, from cheaper options with better roster flexibility. The emergence of Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek, and Noah Cameron really gives this franchise some tough rotational choices in 2026.

While injuries did decimate this rotation at times in 2025, picking up Lorenzen's option and hoping he rights the ship in 2026 would not be the wisest move.