3 Kansas City Royals players who may not survive the team’s 2026 plans

The Kansas City Royals are surging right now in the win-loss column, but that doesn't mean every single player is giving their best individual performances.

The offseason is dangerously close and just as every game could decide the Royals postseason outlook, each appearance could determine of a batter or pitcher remains with the Royals into 2026.

If the season ended today, here are a trio of players on Kansas City's 40-man roster that may not be long in the tooth.

3 Kansas City Royals players who may not survive the team’s 2026 plans

LHP Sam Long

The Royals have long struggled to find consistency from left-handed relievers, at least compared to the rest of the league. Southpaws Ángel Zerpa and Daniel Lynch IV have had their moments, but both profile more as supplementary arms than true high-leverage options.

One pitcher who has spent much of this season as an arm of last resort is Sam Long—a designation that, this late in the year, should put his spot on the Royals’ 2026 Opening Day roster in serious doubt.

Long’s rise from a non-roster spring invitee in 2024 to a reliable bullpen piece that same season was admirable, no doubt. While he faded down the stretch, his good outings outweighed the bad. The same can’t be said of 2025. Before his injury, Long was nearly unplayable, falling out of both high-leverage and mop-up roles.

Since returning to the bullpen on June 21, he’s been better, but still far from reliable. Two of his three recent outings against the Nationals and White Sox were more reminiscent of his early-season struggles, as he allowed multiple hits and failed to record a strikeout in each.

Is there a ready-made replacement for Long in Triple-A Omaha? Not really. The only lefty reliever currently with the Storm Chasers is Chazz Martinez, and he’s still well short of being MLB-ready.

But that doesn’t mean Kansas City should settle for a reunion with Long this offseason. The Royals need to diversify their bullpen, and for a team so focused on matchups under manager Matt Quatraro, finding more reliable late-game southpaws should be a clear priority.

OF MJ Melendez

The patience has run out. Fans have seen the strong Triple-A numbers fail to translate at the MLB level, and the defense remains suspect—certainly not strong enough to justify MJ Melendez holding a 40-man spot much longer. After his latest ineffective stint on the 26-man roster and with arbitration looming, it’s hard to see the Royals carrying Melendez past this coming Thanksgiving.

Kansas City’s outfield woes have been dissected ad nauseam this season. Even after adding veterans Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski at the deadline, the group has remained one of the weakest hitting units in baseball.

Lately, though, the bats have started to heat up—and the Royals’ offense has taken off with them. Notably, that surge has come without Melendez in the mix, as he’s been relegated to Triple-A Omaha rather than part of the solution.

The most frustrating part is Melendez’s steady decline at the plate, dropping from a 97 wRC+ in 2022 to a staggering -15 wRC+ across 23 games this season. Normally, more reps at the MLB level help a player settle in and trend upward, but that hasn’t been the case for the former catcher.

Did the position change irreparably disrupt his development as a hitter? What happened to the slugger who launched 41 homers in the minors back in 2021? The answers are elusive, but the reality is clear—Melendez now profiles as little more than an emergency replacement at best.

Melendez is also set for a raise through arbitration this offseason, and Kansas City has to believe they can find a similar-level player for equal or less cost. The Royals have several potential replacements who could be added to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. At this point, it feels like even a player such as Gavin Cross or Javier Vaz could match what Melendez is providing at the major-league level.

LHP Bailey Falter

Let’s just keep the lefty trend rolling. The Royals traded for pitcher Bailey Falter less than a month ago, but his struggles have been so immediate and consistent that he’s already been pushed into a long-relief role.

Kansas City has some sharp pitching minds in the organization, but if they can’t pinpoint and fix Falter’s issues before season’s end, shouldn’t they consider moving on?

The Royals didn’t part with much prospect capital to acquire the former Pirates starter at the deadline, but they still had to expect more than what Falter has shown in his first two starts—and even in his relief outing since. On top of the rough results, it feels like his pitching plan has been shifting constantly, adding even more uncertainty to his role moving forward.

Falter isn’t without success on his résumé—he put together a career year in 2024 in terms of starts, value, and innings. But his early struggles this season burned through his minor-league options, leaving him as a likely non-tender candidate.

On paper, he’s the type of pitcher an organization would love to keep stretched out in Triple-A as a next-man-up option or someone ready to push his way back into a rotation. Unfortunately for Falter, that’s no longer the case.

Add in the fact that he’s due for a raise in his second year of arbitration, and the current version of Falter doesn’t look like someone Kansas City should keep around much longer.