3 undecided future Royals roles KC should use the homestretch to start answering

Alright, let's get the usual out of the way. The Kansas City Royals have individual players to watch, but the team's season is lost and all eyes should be on 2027. Any positives will be viewed through the lens of whether they can translate to next season. With that in mind, the team should lean all the way into evaluating the players they already have under control before prioritizing outside acquisitions. Sound about right? Such is the life of watching a team looking to avoid a 100-loss season rather than chasing a Wild Card spot.

Royals fans should already know the pitching situation, with plenty of holes to fill in the rotation and bullpen come 2027. Whether it be pending free agents, underperformance, or injuries, that staff is riddled with 2027 issues already. The Royals have some specific roles on the position player side of the house that they need to address this offseason, but with deserving internal options ready for a late-season role change. Let's look at those three in their current spot and who could factor in next month.

The Royals could use any right-handed outfielders right now

Anyone at all? Jac Caglianone has been stupendous in his second season on the MLB roster, splitting time between right field and first base. Royals owner John Sherman said the outfield was in a more productive spot this season than it was in previous campaigns, but that is a fairly easy bar to clear. The Royals' outfield still has a 96 wRC+ this season, led by Caglianone, Lane Thomas, and Isaac Collins. But look at the context. Caglianone is a lefty. Collins is a lefty. Keep going down the list, and the Royals have a similar problem to many teams: the left-handed options outnumber the right-handed ones.

Thomas was a revelation once he got rolling for Kansas City, and that turned him into a desirable trade asset. But since his trade, right-handed Royals outfielders have a 79 wRC+, a clear step down from the season numbers Thomas helped carry this summer. The situation is not nearly as dire as the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Angels, but finding some more right-handed options in the corners is necessary.

Looking beyond the Royals' current 26-man roster, the options are sparse. That fit and clubhouse presence certainly helped extend veteran Starling Marte's time with the Royals, before he was ultimately cut loose. But reclamation project Matthew Lugo is already on the 40-man roster, posting a solid .271/.320/.531 slash line with a 109 wRC+ in his 53 Omaha appearances.

Kansas City claimed him off waivers more than two months ago, yet despite his fit and performance, he has not been on the forefront of fans' minds. Jacob Berry is a switch-hitter but produces best from the left side. The options are hardly surefire improvements, but promoting either Lugo or Berry would inject new blood into Kansas City's roster, perhaps when rosters expand, and give the club a closer look at both players ahead of the offseason.

The Royals shortstop depth behind Bobby Witt Jr. remains scarce

Stop the ticker, this is not a call for superstar Bobby Witt Jr.'s job. It is still amazing what a "down year" looks like for the Texas native, speaking to the high bar he has set for himself in his young career. The Royals did lose Witt for a lengthy period this season thanks to assorted pains and twinges, and that thrust some different faces into his shortstop role in a pinch.

Tolbert, journeymen Josh Rojas and Andrew Velazquez, Maikel Garcia, and Loftin all saw action there. The Royals' season was largely lost when Witt went down, minimizing the impact it had on the standings. But what if the Royals were in the playoff hunt, or worse, the postseason? Kansas City needs to nail down that next man up if needed.

I feel comfortable saying the Royals could go into the offseason and sign a few glove-first veterans with shortstop experience and roll the dice on who could start. The Royals made a tepid approach on this front, with names like Kevin Newman and Connor Kaiser, yet neither emerged as even a passable option at Triple-A.

But what about existing, controllable options? Maybe that is what Kansas City was doing with Tolbert, and to his credit, he was so-so over his body of work at short. But if Tolbert is the primary pinch runner, next man up at center field, next man up at second base, and the list goes on, that is too many hats for Tolbert to wear at once.

For players within the organization, the best option for a late-season test run seems to be Jack Pineda. The 27-year-old Baylor alum had an off 2025 season in Double-A Northwest Arkansas but has found his stroke again at both that level and Triple-A.

While he is vastly outperforming his expected numbers, Pineda's .305/.341/.500 slash line and 111 wRC+ in Omaha is eye-catching in a farm lacking ready help for the big league roster. Considering Pineda can play all over the infield, him solely playing shortstop for Omaha seems premeditated. He is not an inspiring option, but if there is a farmhand to reward, Pineda seems like the guy.

Is it time for the Royals to explore center field options beyond Kyle Isbel?

The Royals are nearing an important juncture when it comes to the center field picture. Veteran Lane Thomas delayed the reality from coming into view for a moment in 2026, but Kansas City needs to start really seeing who they have in center beyond fielding savant Kyle Isbel.

Isbel plays into this as well, as he currently leads the team in appearances roaming center field. He deserves that role, even if it is begrudging to Royals fans. He started the season promising at the plate, slashing .273/.340/.420 in his first 30 games. Then the regression happened, and now Isbel is on pace for a career-worst season, headlined by a 68 wRC+ and only 0.3 fWAR in 70 games.

The traditional nine-hole hitter for Kansas City missed nearly two months on the IL, a span that was largely bridged by Thomas shifting over in the outfield. Isbel did have a nice moment in his home state of California with a laser home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but if the Royals want more than moments and more winning across 162 games, an upgrade in center field seems necessary.

But again, reality. Finding impact outfielders in free agency is no perfect science, and Kansas City needs to evaluate their depth first before taking a gamble on the primary guy. Isbel is entering his last season of arbitration, and extending a player who has accumulated 3.0 fWAR over the past three seasons does not seem like good baseball business. Kansas City needs to envision a roster without Isbel or Thomas. There have not been many other centerfielders this season, with the since-traded Kameron Misner's nine appearances in center trailing Isbel and Thomas.

Tolbert will certainly factor in as a center field depth option, but who else? Kansas City has a slew of unproven options there. John Rave would be appealing, but he has primarily been in right field and his batting numbers are only marginally better than Isbel's and still well below league average. Could newly acquired Berry be an option? Could Matthew Lugo redeem himself at the MLB level? These are just a few of the questions Kansas City needs to answer in center field, and the only way to build a body of work is making moves from Omaha to Kansas City and vice versa.

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