3 intriguing KC Royals spring training invitees to watch closely

Spring training begins in a month, and no one should be particularly surprised that the Kansas City Royals have invited Jac Caglianone to their major league camp. He is, after all, their top prospect per MLB Pipeline and although he hasn't yet played a full professional season, at least one major projection system has him making it to the majors for a short time in 2025. But for all the attention he draws, Caglianone isn't the only intriguing player among the almost two dozen non-roster invitees Kansas City is welcoming to big league spring training.

Outfielder Gavin Cross — the Royals' first 2022 draft choice who ought to begin the season at Triple-A Omaha — and top 2023 pick Blake Mitchell will both be in camp, with Mitchell arriving when pitchers and catchers report on February 12 and Cross reporting when the rest of the club arrives five days later.

Here are three more interesting invitees.

Cavan Biggio, UTL

Yes, Biggio is the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. No, his recent signing to a minor league contract won't guarantee a postseason berth for the club, or make one more likely. It's — at best — a low-risk, moderate-reward deal for a team still craving the big mid-lineup bat Biggio simply won't provide.

Bringing Biggio aboard is indeed a curious move. Other than his decent 16-homer 2019 major league debut and his eight-homer, 28-RBI, .250/375/.432 performance in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, versatility is his only claim to fame. But that's a commodity the Royals have plenty of and don't particularly need to supplement with a career .225 hitter who's never again approached that .250 he posted in 2020 and who hit .197 last year while playing for five different clubs.

Biggio also hasn't distinguished himself in the field. Although he's done everything but pitch and catch and has a +1 aggregate outfield OAA, he has a positive career OAA at only one individual position — +1 in right field — and his worst is a -4 at third base. Only his .987 fielding percentage at second base ranks above league average for any position at which he's played more than five games. Simply put, Biggio is not the stellar fielder some may believe him to be.

It is Biggio's invitation to major league camp, then, and what he does with the opportunity, that makes him intriguing.

Tyler Tolbert, INF/OF

The versatile Tolbert — he's played five positions in the field and served as designated hitter during his five minor league seasons — will make his fourth straight major league camp appearance when Kansas City's position players report on February 17. He's hitting .176 (12 for 58) with two home runs and eight RBI in 36 Cactus League games.

But don't be misled by those subpar numbers — they're spring training stats, which typically don't count for much. It's his regular season performances that suggest he deserves to spend another spring with the major leaguers.

Take the 2023 season, for example. In his first shot above High-A ball, Tolbert hit .276 with a .336 OBP, and set career highs in homers (10), RBI (50), hits (143), and doubles (24), and tied his career-best in triples (10). Although he committed nine errors in 281 chances at shortstop, he didn't have a single error in 50 games spread across all three outfield positions — he's erred only twice in the outfield in 172 games, and never in 115 appearances in center field.

Tolbert is also a superb base runner. His 50 steals complemented his fine 2023 campaign, but he stole 60 at High-A Quad Cities the year before. He swiped 48 between Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha last season and is averaging 48.2 per season.

Given the Royals' continuing outfield issues — regulars MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, and Hunter Renfroe left much to be desired offensively last season, and Melendez labors still to improve defensively — Tolbert could make a case for an Opening Day corner outfield slot. More likely, but not a certainty, is that he gives fellow speedster Dairon Blanco a run for a reserve spot.

And KC could conceivably showcase Tolbert as the potential trade chip we suggested he might be last offseason.

Cam Devanney, INF

Like Tolbert, Devanney offers the Royals versatility — something former general manager Dayton Moore and the managers who worked for him seemed to emphasize only slightly less than present GM J.J. Picollo and field manager Matt Quatraro do. Devanney, who came to the club via a trade last winter with the Milwaukee Brewers, can and has played everywhere on the infield and also dabbled in left field.

What Devanney does that Tolbert doesn't, however, is hit a lot of home runs. Only once has Tolbert hit 10 homers, while Devanney, who like Tolbert boasts five pro seasons, hit 19 last season, 11 the year before, and a career-best 23 in 2022. He's also driven in more runs (256 to 187) than Tolbert, despite playing only six more games.

Devanney's versatility suggests he might be a viable candidate to replace current KC third-sacker Maikel Garcia should Garcia disappoint this season. He could, and probably should, also be in line for a big league utility role, which might include spending some time in the outfield. How Devanney performs this spring will have much to do with how the Royals ultimately use him in 2025.