3 KC Royals players who should have a reduced role in 2025, if not traded first

The Kansas City Royals — the organization and fans alike — have given plenty of players second chances over the years.

Those second chances paid off more often than not in 2024. It's quite safe to say the team's comeback season wouldn't have happened if the Royals had cut bait with team captain Salvador Pérez after the first negative fWAR season, or if they'd listened to the noise (and some analytics) to move future Gold Glove-winning shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to third base. Pitcher Cole Ragans was widely regarded as a forgettable return for Aroldis Chapman in 2023, and now he is one of the league's top young pitchers.

Whether it be trusting the process or having grace, MLB teams largely give their players and executives a second chance, but these third and fourth chances are rare, provided there is a replacement available. There are so many moving parts in a MLB organization, and that human element is a volatile metric that no Baseball Savant slider or FanGraphs leaderboard can measure.

However, from this perspective, there are a few players in Kansas City who merit a second chance — but that needs to be in a smaller role with an opportunity to recapture the Royals' trust if they succeed. It can be as simple as moving to the bench, being a platoon option, or coming in lower-leverage spots. So who are some of the players that Kansas City should keep in smaller roles in 2025?

Chris Stratton, RHP

Chris Stratton’s 2024 performance was one of the clear blemishes on general manager J.J. Picollo’s free-agent class from last offseason. Coming off a World Series championship with the Texas Rangers, Stratton signed a two-year deal with the Royals, and the move made sense at the time, given Kansas City’s bullpen needs and Stratton’s long track record of MLB success.

Unfortunately, that track record came to a screeching halt in his first year with the Royals.

Stratton appeared in 57 games, primarily in single-inning relief, and his 5.55 ERA stands out for all the wrong reasons. Walks became an unexpected issue for the veteran, with his 5.09 BB/9 far exceeding his career mark of 3.71 BB/9. His strikeout rate also fell to a career-worst 6.79 K/9, and his inability to generate swings and misses left many of his outings on the verge of unraveling. This past campaign marked Stratton’s first negative fWAR in a full MLB season, a disappointing outcome for both player and team.

Stratton smartly exercised his $4.5 million player option for the 2025 season, keeping him under contract and on Kansas City's payroll. Few, if any, Royals fans celebrated the development.

Still, there are reasons to give Stratton a second chance rather than cut bait this winter. Stratton has been a positive contributor every full MLB season since 2017, outside of his 2024 showing. Kansas City's bullpen is far from a sure thing, and there will be plenty of opportunities for players to step in and make a name for themselves in middle-inning relief. Stratton has done best in that role across his career, and that continued in 2024. However, his work with the game on the line was so poor, it weighed down his overall Royals debut season.

Someone will need to face the right-handed batters in 2025. Someone will need to pitch in the fifth or sixth inning if a start goes short. He could find a way to help the team while rehabbing his MLB career. However, the leash shouldn’t be endless, and fans shouldn’t expect to see Stratton in save situations anytime soon.

MJ Melendez, OF

Few players on the Royals’ 40-man roster are as polarizing as outfielder MJ Melendez. Fans remain divided — some see his potential, while others are frustrated by what he hasn’t delivered at the MLB level. While there were some positive takeaways from Melendez’s 2024 season, the message for 2025 is clear: Kansas City must lessen its reliance on the hope that Melendez will turn a corner he’s had three years to round.

Now 412 games into his Royals career, Melendez has faced plenty of roadblocks. Originally a catcher, he struggled mightily behind the plate during his 2022 debut season, though his career-high 18 home runs and 97 wRC+ provided promise offensively. With Pérez entrenched behind the plate, Melendez transitioned to the outfield in 2023, relying on his athleticism and work ethic to adapt. While he made strides defensively, his declining productivity at the plate frustrated fans. Entering 2024, Melendez’s season was pivotal for shaping how Royals fans — and the organization — viewed his MLB future.

Unfortunately, 2024 only worsened the situation.

Melendez posted career-worst numbers both offensively and defensively, ultimately hurting the Royals more than helping them. He recorded his second negative-fWAR season in three years, with a career-low 85 wRC+, .206 batting average, and .273 on-base percentage highlighting his struggles at the plate. While he initially showed defensive improvement in the outfield, costly errors and misreads down the stretch erased much of that goodwill. He ended the season as a below-average outfielder, once again.

If the Royals had a viable outfield prospect ready for MLB action or the resources to add one or two clear upgrades, Melendez’s future with the organization might already be in question. However, Kansas City has invested significant time, energy, and resources into his development and still hopes to make it work. That said, if the Royals aim to be viewed as legitimate playoff contenders in 2025, Melendez cannot be their Opening Day left fielder.

There are still reasons to keep Melendez around as a platoon bat or depth piece. For one, he was significantly better — though still average — against left-handed pitching in 2024. Manager Matt Quatraro’s penchant for leveraging matchups and utilizing pinch hitters could give Melendez a chance to thrive in a more specialized role, as he did with a clutch pinch-hit go-ahead home run against the Detroit Tigers this past season. Additionally, Melendez has a knack for extra-base hits. In fact, 50.6% of his hits in 2024 went for extra bases, the third-best rate in MLB behind AL MVP Aaron Judge (52.8%). While somewhat unsustainable, that stat underscores Melendez’s ability to deliver a jolt of power when he connects.

Melendez still has value to offer, but it must come in a more limited role. The Royals can no longer afford to hinge their outfield success on the hope of him becoming the everyday player they once envisioned.

Maikel Garcia, 3B

At first glance, infielder Maikel Garcia’s 2024 season doesn’t seem too concerning. The 24-year-old Venezuelan followed up his first full MLB campaign with a solid 1.1 fWAR, holding down third base while spending much of the year leading off for Kansas City. Batting in front of one of baseball’s best players, Bobby Witt Jr., is an enviable position. Yet, it’s equally intriguing — and frustrating — to consider how much better the Royals could have been in 2024 if Garcia had merely been an average hitter.

Garcia entered 2024 with high hopes following a promising 2023 season, where he emerged as a valuable everyday third baseman. That year, while the Royals suffered through a 106-loss season, Garcia brought stability to a position that had previously been a revolving door of underperforming players. A natural shortstop, Garcia seamlessly transitioned to third base, surprising many with his defensive prowess. Offensively, he wasn’t stellar but managed a respectable on-base rate, swiped 23 bases, and posted an 83 wRC+. Not All-Star material, but his glove and speed were enough to spark optimism among Royals fans.

That optimism carried into the early months of 2024, bolstered by a power surge in April and a strong on-base approach as the team’s leadoff man in May. Garcia’s combination of speed, defense, and flashes of offensive potential hinted at a player on the verge of breaking out — if only he could sustain those adjustments over a full season.

Those shifts happened; they just didn't favor Garcia.

June was particularly brutal, with Garcia batting just .142 across 27 games, producing a mere 9 wRC+. While he continued to make solid contact, his groundball rate spiked as he attempted to hit more to the opposite field. This approach shift, while admirable in its intent to make him a more well-rounded hitter, backfired. Garcia’s struggles disrupted the top of Kansas City’s lineup, and he never regained his footing at the plate. Though he nearly doubled his home run total from 2023 and recorded a career-high 58 RBIs, his .231/.281/.332 slash line marked a significant step back offensively.

Steamer projections suggest a potential rebound for Garcia at the plate in 2025, but Kansas City can’t afford to bank on that improvement. While his elite defense alongside Witt Jr. makes his bat tolerable lower in the lineup, the Royals already have an abundance of glove-first players who fit that profile.

As the Royals actively pursue middle-of-the-order bats through trades or free agency, targeting third base as an upgrade spot makes sense. While adding a bat-first player to the outfield is logical, improving production at the hot corner could have an equally significant impact. For now, Garcia profiles best as a platoon or late-inning defensive substitution player — a role many teams would value off the bench. Until he proves he can contribute consistently as an everyday player, Kansas City would be wise to pair him with a more reliable, offense-focused option at third base.