3 Kansas City Royals players who could follow Dairon Blanco out the door

It is a good feeling knowing we are in the back half of spring training. There is always this push, this rush, when baseball is back every day, but the lack of Kansas City Royals television broadcasts and so many regulars being away at the World Baseball Classic have taken some luster out of camp.

The eyes were always set on Opening Day in Atlanta, but that Friday matchup cannot come soon enough.

For the first time in three years, the Royals’ Opening Day roster will not feature speedster Dairon Blanco. The Cuban outfielder carved out a super pinch-runner role in 2023 and 2024, but injuries and limited playing time in 2025 foreshadowed his eventual designation for assignment this offseason. Blanco did land with the Texas Rangers this past week, only needing to move his spring training gear from one locker to another at Surprise Stadium.

Blanco will not be the last player Kansas City designates for assignment this season, nor should he be the last one before Opening Day.

The Royals still have DFA candidates on their 40-man roster.

The Royals’ offseason moves point to them being active buyers, acquiring players to help them win in 2026 at the right price. The pool of players available on waivers will only grow as Opening Day gets closer, and the right player could absolutely carve out a role in Kansas City.

But that means opening a spot on the 40-man roster, just like the Royals did for Starling Marte. Here are a few players trending toward sharing the same fate as Blanco.

Drew Waters - Outfielder

When I was recording a podcast days before the Royals made the Marte move official, my co-host and I both had a not-so-subtle prediction about who would be gone to make room for the veteran. Outfielder Drew Waters has seen extended action in a Royals uniform, but after failing to provide much MLB impact for three straight seasons, the writing feels like it is on the wall.

Waters is the final remaining player from the Royals trading the 35th overall pick in 2022 to the Atlanta Braves, and his departure would seal a suboptimal outlook on that return.

Waters can play all three outfield spots and is a competent baserunner, but the glove and speed are not so exceptional that they guarantee him a place on the 40-man roster.

The Royals gave Waters an extended chance this spring to make a case for himself, especially because he is out of minor-league options. But his performance in Arizona so far has not done enough to change what feels like an inevitable outcome.

Eric Cerantola - Right-handed pitcher

The Royals added Eric Cerantola to the 40-man roster last offseason, protecting the Canadian right-hander from the Rule 5 Draft. He was coming off a 2024 season in which he struck out more than 30 percent of the batters he faced as a reliever and posted a 2.97 ERA.

The vicious slider gave him a clear big-league caliber weapon, and another team could have talked itself into giving him a look. But after regressing toward his predictive stats in 2025 and posting fewer than 50 innings for the first time since 2022, Cerantola’s stock has taken a hit.

The slider is special, but the fastball and overall control still hold back the ceiling. Cerantola did not do much to help himself this spring either, becoming the first player the Royals optioned from big-league camp. He allowed four runs on four hits and three walks in just 2.1 innings, mostly against Triple-A quality hitters.

He struggled to keep his pitches working together, which did little to ease the command concerns. If Kansas City finds a veteran reliever worth adding, Cerantola feels like one of the clearest candidates to lose his spot.

John Rave - Outfielder

For all of the Royals’ outfield concerns, they sure do have plenty of players on the 40-man roster who can stand out there. Eleven of the 17 position players on Kansas City’s 40-man roster played in the outfield last season and figure to see innings there again in 2026. Quantity is not quality, though, and there are a few different ways this can go.

Waters’ departure feels like the obvious one, but what about an optionable outfielder? Kameron Misner and John Rave feel like the two names in that conversation. Considering the Royals just acquired Misner this offseason, they may not be eager to move on from him simply to open a roster spot. That leaves Rave more exposed.

Rave is exactly the kind of player a team wants as outfield depth, but it also feels like Kansas City already has several versions of that player.

He brings value on the bases and in the field, and he had some hot stretches at the plate in 2025. But the overall first impression was not strong, and he has done little this spring to change the broader outlook.

Rave feels like a player the Royals could try to pass through waivers and keep in Triple-A Omaha more easily than Misner, who has a slightly higher ceiling while bringing some of the same traits. No offense to Rave, because he is a solid player, but his stay on the 40-man roster may not last much longer.