3 overlooked KC Royals moves that are already paying huge dividends

It's been a bit of a roller coaster of a season for the Kansas City Royals in 2025. They've seen immense highs, such as the stretch from April 20 to May 9 where they won 16 of 18 games. They've also seen some immense lows, like dropping six-straight games from April 14 to 19.

However through the thick and thin of all of it, the Royals will enter Friday's game in a Wild Card position, holding a 28-23 record. And there have been a few overlooked decisions that stand out from the rest as ones that have been crucial in getting Kansas City to where they are as the end of May approaches.

3 overlooked KC Royals moves that are already paying huge dividends

Extending Michael Wacha

Michael Wacha entered his Royals tenure in 2024 coming off of a pair of respectable sub-3.50 ERA seasons with both the Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres. And he would pitch no different with the Royals in his first season at Kauffman Stadium, throwing to a 3.35 ERA.

This resulted in Wacha signing a three-year, $51 million contract, with a club option for a fourth year, early this past winter. This was a deal that flew somewhat under the radar in the grand scheme of the 2024-25 offseason given how early it occurred and how many high profile targets were still on the board, like Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Garrett Crochet.

Now, as good as he was last season, Wacha will turn 34 during the 2025 campaign. Any deal with someone entering their mid-30s will always carry the "age risk factor" to it.

But Wacha has more than managed to reward the Royals for their belief in him this winter, pitching to a 2.86 ERA and 3.10 FIP across his first 10 starts.

And his presence has been felt even more in recent days, as while he's already putting forth one of his best seasons of his career, a one-run outing after both Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo hit the IL was the type of tone-setting performance this team desperately needed in the wake of major adversity.

Adding Daniel Lynch IV to the bullpen

Towards the end of spring training this year, the Royals made some of their final decisions on who would recieve Opening Day roster spots. Among those final spots were Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch IV.

Now Bubic's contributions in 2025 are extremely well-known, as he's lead this rotation with a sub-2.00 ERA.

But between making the team at the same time as Bubic and being a part of the same bullpen as Carlos Estévez and Lucas Erceg, Lynch hasn't always gotten the shine he deserves. And at the end of the day, Lynch's contributions have been outstanding this season.

In 22 2/3 innings of work, Lynch is pitching to a 1.19 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and .210 BAA, doing so in a versatile manner. He's had standard clean innings of work, mid-inning situations where he's tasked with getting out of a jam, high leverage spots (as he holds a save) and most recently as an opener.

He's been one of Matt Quatraro's go to guys for any sort of situation and a staple in how this bullpen has turned a corner in recent weeks and become one of the league's better units.

Promoting Drew Waters (and keeping him in MLB)

Finally we have Drew Waters, who wasn't on the Opening Day roster, but after a strong start to the year in Triple-A Omaha - where he slashed .370/.469/.741 with a 210 wRC+ in seven games - the Royals had no choice to but to give him his shot when the chance presented itself.

Originally being promoted as cover for the injured Mark Canha, Waters performed strong enough to warrant staying on the roster even after Canha returned. And since then, he's done nothing but continue to reward the Royals for their trust in him, which has led to Waters becoming a regular for them this season.

For an outfield unit that's underwhelmed overall this season - with a 73 wRC+ and .627 OPS - Waters has been a welcome spark. Through 121 plate appearances across 35 games, he's slashing .281/.322/.404 with a 101 wRC+.

Waters may not the guy that hits in the heart of the order, but he's come a long way from the organizational depth piece he was to start the season and is a key part of the Royals lineup that they currently cannot live without.