9 good candidates for an expanded KC Royals roster

If reports and rumors swirling through the baseball media world are correct, and there’s no reason to believe they’re not, the KC Royals will begin this season with extra players. Expected soon is final approval to expand active rosters from 26 to 28 players, a logical and necessary consequence of the 99-day lockout that shortened spring training and spawned legitimate concerns about player readiness for the 162-game season.

Who should the Royals consider for their 27th and 28th slots? Candidates abound; here are nine.

The KC Royals can fill an extra slot with an up-and-coming young catcher.

MJ Melendez is a catcher many big league teams wouldn’t think twice about putting on their rosters. But because the Royals have Salvador Perez behind the plate and the rest of their starting lineup appears set, Melendez won’t be easy to squeeze onto the Royals’ Opening Day roster. He won’t displace Perez and he’s too talented to just sit on the bench and spell KC’s All-Star backstop once a week.

A roster pinch, though, isn’t sufficient reason for the Royals to simply write Melendez off to the minors again, not after the explosive 2021 season he had at Double-A and Triple-A (41 homers, 103 RBIs, .288 and a 1.011 OPS). But spring training is the closest he’s come to The Show, so the club needs to see him in real major league action before it finally considers how and where he might fit long term.

The trick for Manager Mike Matheny, then, is to find a suitable way to gauge Melendez’s readiness for the big leagues. He’ll get to Kansas City sometime this season, but the immediate question is when.

How about now, at least for a trial run when extra roster spots are available? Matheny can deploy him several ways—he can spell Perez, DH, play a bit of third base where he has some experience, and perhaps even take a few turns at first or in right field.

Then, as May nears, the club can decide if he’s ready for a longer big league stint.

The KC Royals should start the 2022 campaign with some extra pitchers.

With the plan to limit pitching staffs to 13 members delayed until May, Kansas City can help offset the effects of the truncated spring training schedule by carrying extra hurlers through April.

Currently in camp are several pitchers the Royals can choose from to supplement their baker’s dozen of apparent locks—rotation pieces Brad Keller, Brady Singer, Carlos Hernandez, Kris Bubic and, of course, recently reacquired Zack Greinke, rotation candidate and potential swingman Daniel Lynch, and seemingly secure relievers Scott Barlow, Josh Staumont, Dylan Coleman, Domingo Tapia, Jake Brentz, and newcomers Amir Garrett and Taylor Clarke.

Despite his rough introduction to the majors last season—0-6 with an 11.27 ERA and a troublesome 5.99 BB9 over nine games—the Royals should think about Jackson Kowar for an extra spot. His excellent 9-4, 3.46 effort at Triple-A Omaha alone warrants another shot at the big leagues. He’s pitched twice this spring, striking out four in two inning his first time out and throwing a clean inning Friday before Texas tagged him for three runs in his second frame.

The Royals should take Kowar with them when they break camp. He needs another taste of the majors and more time with the major league staff, and can return to the minors if he struggles again.

Jon Heasley, currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as Kansas City’s 10th best prospect and, like Kowar a member of Kansas City’s vaunted pitching-rich 2018 amateur draft class who made his big league debut in 2021, should also make the club’s expanded roster. He was 1-1, 4.91 in three late season appearances.

Collin Snider, who hasn’t allowed a run in three outings this spring and was 5-3 with three saves in 48 games between Double-A and Triple-A last year, and Jose Cuas, impressive in the minors last season and in the Cactus League so far this spring, is also worthy of consideration, but spots in Triple-A might be more likely.