3 non-tender deadline decisions that could define Royals' entire offseason

There are several dates that the Kansas City Royals have or will have circled in their calendar this winter, but none of them may carry as much weight as the non-tender deadline could.

On Friday evening, teams will need to make crucial roster decisions on determining whether or not they should take the arbitraton route with certain players or simply cut ties with them and let them walk on the free agent market.

For the Royals, they entered the offseason with no shortage of names that were all but no-brainers to be on the chopping block Nov. 21.

And they've already gotten the ball rolling prematurely in the past few weeks and ripped the band-aid off on a few of those names that didn't seem to serve a purpose in their 2026 plans.

However, there's still decisions that need to be made. And these aren't simply roster-cutting decisions. These are decisions that could define how the course of the winter goes for Kansas City.

3 non-tender deadline decisions that could define Royals' entire offseason

Will Kansas City end the Jonathan India experiment?

The Royals need for an upgrade at second base is well documented after the year India and his position partner Michael Massey had.

However, amid wondering who could play the role of starting second baseman for the Royals in 2026, there doesn't seem to nearly be as much attention on the fact that India may not be in the mix whatsoever.

MLB Trade Rumors released their list non-tender candidates that they describe as having "at least a 10-20% chance of being cut" and among them was India.

And it makes sense given the season he had. In 567 plate appearances across 136 games, India slashed .233/.323/.346 with nine homers, 45 RBI and a career low 89 wRC+.

It also was year that really had no bright spots to build off of, as he was a below average wRC+ bat in every month of the season.

Then there's the defense. They tried him in left field and he posted a -2 DRS and -3 OAA. They tried him at third and he posted a -2 DRS and -4 OAA. Then, they cut their losses and put him back to his second base position where he still continued to be the below average defender there that he'd been in Cincinnati, with a - 2 DRS and -6 OAA.

He carries a projected $7.4 million price tag for the 2026 season, which isn't an astronomical salary in today's MLB, but for a small market team with as many needs as the Royals have in their hunt for contention again, that value could go a long way.

Not to mention, India seems as "positionless" as any, meaning another down year like this could just make him more of a handcuff than any sort of asset.

Will the Royals accept defeat on the Bailey Falter deadline deal?

Speaking of handcuffs, Bailey Falter might be the Jonathan India of the mound after a nightmare showing with the Royals after they acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.

He was given the opportunity to start, which did not go well, as he surrendered nine earned runs across 8.0 innings. Then he was shifted to the bullpen, where he surrendered six earned runs across 4.0 innings. And then he found himself on the IL for the rest of the year with left bicep contusion.

Overall, Falter entered the offseason coming off an 11.25 ERA as a Royal. After a 3.73 ERA with the Pirates before the trade, Falter showed why he's a risky arm to begin with - every one of his notable advanced metrics sits in in the 20th percentile or lower apart from barrel rate and walk rate, which still both sit under the 40th percentile.

He's certainly not among the top contenders for a rotation spot in Kansas City's crowded field of starters. And while the Royals have need for more left-handed impact in their bullpen, Falter hasn't exactly dazzled to think he can be remotely that type of arm in 2026.

While you never want to bail out on a deal in a matter of months, Falter's projected $3.3 million salary could be used a lot more wisely, perhaps for a better southpaw in the 'pen.

Will the Royals start the offseason with a blank slate in the outfield?

Then, there's the outfield, which is pound-for-pound the biggest issue facing the Royals this winter after their group posted a pitiful, league worst 73 wRC+ in 2025.

Going off what J.J. Picollo said last week, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Royals will explore acquiring a starting left fielder and a right-handed platoon partner for Jac Caglianone in right.

But the question is, will they give themsleves a competely clean slate to work with to rebuild their outfield?

This applies to both the financial perspective as well as in terms of available roster spots.

Who can they cut ties with in the outfield to free up some money and some places in the depth chart to start anew in the corner outfield?

The obvious candidate is MJ Melendez, who proved in multiple stints in 2025 that he's simply not at the standard a major league hitter needs to be at whatsoever.

After an underwhelming 86 wRC+ year in 2024, Melendez took things to a whole new level in 2025, getting demoted twice thanks to a .083/.154/167 slash line and -14 wRC+ in 65 pate appearances across 23 MLB games.

At this point the Royals have enough of a sample size to go off of to reasonably say that Melendez shouldn't be part of their big league plans in 2026.

So, it would make a lot of sense to not prolong the inevitable and just cut ties with Melendez and recoup that projected $2.65 million in salary.

Otherwise, that money is all but likely just sitting in Omaha next season, because it's hard to fathom anybody taking a flyer on him via trade.