4 bad things the KC Royals can’t afford this season

The 2021 KC Royals weren’t playoff caliber last season, but they did improve. Discounting the 2020 campaign, a measure rendered less than reliable by the pandemic, last year’s 74-88 record proved the team was better than the 100-plus loss 2018 and 2019 clubs.

Despite that improvement, the Royals won’t return to the World Series this season. They simply won’t be good enough. But they should flirt with .500, a mark they haven’t achieved since 2016.

What will it take? Better pitching (especially from the starters), more timely hitting, good health, lineup stability (a regular, reliable right fielder, anyone?) and sidestepping the bad that can befall any team at any time.

Let’s take a closer look at four things Kansas City must avoid.

The KC Royals can’t afford the slew of injuries they had last season.

Adalberto Mondesi, Brad Keller, Brady Singer, Richard Lovelady, Carlos Santana, Andrew Benintendi, Danny Duffy, Ronald Bolaños and Emmanuel Rivera have one unfortunate thing in common—injuries forced them all out of the lineup for long periods last season, something the Royals can’t have in 2022 if they want to win more.

Most infamous of those injuries were, of course, the oblique and hamstring issues that robbed Mondesi of most of his season. Keller’s lat strain caused the Royals to shut him down in August. Lovelady went down with a UCL sprain the same month, had Tommy John Surgery, and will likely miss all of 2022. Shoulder fatigue dogged Singer from late July on.  Duffy spent time on the IL with two flexor strains before the club traded him in July. A forearm strain kept Bolaños out of the majors for most of the campaign.

Rivera missed several weeks with a hamate fracture. And Carlos Santana’s hip problem nagged him throughout the second half.

Kansas City’s hopes for a much-improved 2022 won’t survive such a string of key player injuries.

The KC Royals need a couple of top prospects to come through in 2022.

Kansas City will open spring camp with one infield hole, and may break camp with another.

The existing hole exists at third base, where several Royals took turns last season, including Adalberto Mondesi when he returned from his second oblique injury. Chances are he or MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 KC prospect Bobby Witt Jr. will start there Opening Day; Witt may have the edge, but Manager Mike Matheny will find a spot for him sooner or later if he doesn’t.

First base is the other potential vacancy—although Carlos Santana has one year left on his contract, slugging prospect Nick Pratto may compel the Royals to try trading Santana when the lockout ends, during spring camp, early in the campaign, or at the trade deadline. Regardless of its timing, though, a Santana move is all but a certainty.

So it is that Witt and Pratto, heirs apparent to Kansas City’s infield corners, must succeed when they arrive. They’re too critical to the Royals’ future not to. There are no immediate options to turn to at third unless Mondesi stays injury-free or Hunter Dozier’s bat and glove improve enough to enable his return to the hot corner; Dozier could also play first, but the Royals need more offense from him if he’s to play every day.

Best case is, of course, that Witt and Pratto are as successful as they were last season when they both demolished minor league pitching; certainly acceptable would be consistently good performances from both.

Bad performances will only impede the club’s progress.

Salvador Perez might not have another monster season, but he can’t crater.

By now, the numbers, accomplishments and honors are etched indelibly into memory, unforgettable reminders of the special kind of season Salvador Perez had in 2021. He led the majors with 121 RBIs and tied for the lead with 48 homers. He hit .273, his highest full-season average since 2013.

Perez also broke Johnny Bench’s big league season record for most home runs by a primary catcher and tied the Royals’ single-season best. He won his fourth Silver Slugger, earned his seventh All-Star berth and set the Home Run Derby record for catchers.

Repeating such a season is probably too much to expect from Perez, or anyone else for that matter. Simply approaching what he did in 2021, or coming close to his career 162-game average of 28 home runs, 93 RBIs and .270/.302/.463 line, will be sufficient.

What Kansas City cannot afford, however, is a serious season-long slump from the perennial club backbone. Imagine the hart hit to an already questionable offense a plunge in Perez’s production could work. The 10-year veteran was Matheny’s go-to 2021 bat, the player everyone knew would come through in the clutch—he hit 29 more homers and drove in 47 more runs than any other Royal and posted a career-best 5.3 WAR.

The team simply can’t afford any significant prolonged downturn from Perez.