Kansas City Royals: Offseason primer, everything you need to know

The Royals will have some financial flexibility this offseason

As it currently stands, Alex Gordon‘s contract is the only one coming off the books this offseason which will bring the Kansas City Royals end of season payroll from approximately $100 million down to a projected $80 million going into next year. If they decline Gordon’s option they can save an additional $20 million.

A closer look at the year-end payroll indicates the Royals have approximately $20 million in retained salaries from players they released or took on some of a contract in a trade. Billy Hamilton and Chris Owings have the highest retained contracts valued at $3.3 million and $3 million, respectively. Both of those will come off the books this season.

Not including arbitration-eligible or pre-arbitration eligible players, the Royals have approximately $55.7 million dedicated to contracts in Ian Kennedy, Danny Duffy, Salvador Perez, Whit Merrifield, and Jorge Soler. As previously noted, several of their players will see a jump from their 2019 salary in arbitration or pre-arbitration but there is no doubt that the front office will have the option to spend some money this offseason.

The Royals cannot make the same mistakes of allowing over $19 million in retained salaries to build up again next season. That figure alone is higher than any one player’s contract currently on this roster.