3 KC Royals offseason decisions that already look genius, 2 that look awful

While the Kansas City Royals may not have been the most active team this winter, there were plenty of decisions made that have had rendered varied returns, as a mediocre 8-12 record would indicate.

Some of the decisions from the Royals front office have looked like a stroke of genius and integral to the fact they're still somewhat within range of the top of the AL Central in the early going. However, other decisions have proved awful in the early going and have held them back from taking that next step as one of the American League's premier ball clubs.

3 KC Royals offseason decisions that already look genius

Moving Kris Bubic back to the rotation

After undergoing Tommy John surgery during the 2023 season, Bubic made a summer return to the bullpen last season and thrived in that role. In 30.1 innings across 27 outings in relief, the southpaw threw to a 2.67 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 11.57 K/9.

No one would blame the Royals if they decided to keep Bubic in the bullpen and continue to build of the success he found as a reliever. After all, his last full season as a starter came in 2022 where he threw to a 5.58 ERA in 129.0 innings across 27 starts (28 outings in total).

But the Royals were committed to the decision they made early in the offseason to give Bubic a shot in the rotation and the 27-year-old has not disappointed.

Bubic currently sports a shimmering 1.88 ERA with 27 strikeouts through 24 innings of work on the mound. And he answered the call right off the bat, starting the season with back-to-back 6.0+ inning outings surrendering only one earned run and striking out 16 across both starts.

Extending Cole Ragans

Extending Cole Ragans and buying out some arbitration years was an obvious move for J.J. Picollo and the Royals' front office to make this winter, given how Ragans' tenure in Kansas City has gone to this point.

After being traded to the Royals halfway through the 2023 season, Ragans went on to throw to a 2.64 ERA, 2.49 FIP and 1.07 WHIP in 12 starts. Then in 2024, he pitched to the tune of a 3.14 ERA, 2.99 FIP and 1.14 WHIP on route to his first All-Star appearance and a fourth place finish in AL Cy Young voting.

Now, the 27-year-old lefty looks in peak form through his first four starts of 2025, with a 2.28 ERA, 1.32 FIP, 0.93 WHIP and a league-leading 34 strikeouts. He's shaping up into the ace that the Royals hope he will be for year's to come.

Awarding Daniel Lynch IV the final bullpen spot

A lot can be said about the Royals' bullpen this season, as they've faced their fair share of struggles to start the year. However Daniel Lynch IV has not been one of the problems.

Since being informed that he'd be breaking camp with the team, Lynch has done nothing but prove his worth as a big leaguer.

He's followed up his respectable 3.32 ERA season in 2024, with nine innings of scoreless baseball across eight appearances, with a 0.67 WHIP and .077 BAA as well. He's positioned himself into one of Matt Quatraro's more trusted names out of the 'pen.

2 KC Royals offseason decisions that already look awful

Not splurging in the outfield

The Royals opted to forgo making a big-time splash for a top outfielder this winter, instead opting to largely run it back with the crew they sported last season.

Looking in hindsight now, perhaps it would've been wise to push harder than their initial offer to Anthony Santander to try an reel in a bigger fish on the open market, because the outfield is in a pitiful state at the moment.

Their outfield unit currently holds the second lowest wRC+ in MLB at 47. They also sit within the bottom five in AVG (28th), OBP (29th), SLG (29th) and RBI (28th). A large part of this has to do with two of their three regulars having terrible starts to the year in both MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe. Melendez is slashing just .085/.173/.170 with a -1 wRC+, while Renfroe owns a .116/.224/.140 slash line with a 10 wRC+.

We'll never know for sure whether or not the Royals had a legitimate shot to land a Santander or a Teoscar Hernández this past winter, but what we do know for a fact is that choosing to remain with the status quo has not reaped any sort of rewards so far.

Keeping Chris Stratton on the roster

It's no state secret to say that Chris Stratton entered the 2025 season of the back of terrible campaign the year prior. In 58 1/3 innings across 57 outings, the veteran right-hander threw to a 5.55 ERA and 1.47 WHIP.

The Royals opted to give him the benefit of the doubt though, considering he was a relatively productive arm in the four seasons prior (2020-2023), posting sub-4.00 ERAs in three of those four campaigns.

That decision though has backfired immensely, as Stratton has looked dreadful to start the season. He's sporting an astronomically high 9.00 ERA along with a 6.77 FIP, 2.44 WHIP and .372 BAA. At this point the question needs to be asked, how much longer will the Royals put up with performances like this from him?