3 worst front office decisions that doomed KC Royals' chances this season

KC Royals Misstep #2: Not acquiring more outfield help at the trade deadline

MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, and Hunter Renfroe comprised Kansas City's Opening Day outfield and served as the primary outfielders throughout the season. All three played in at least 109 games, making them the team's only outfielders to reach that milestone. Kansas City invested in Renfroe the previous offseason, while expecting further improvement from Melendez and steady glove-first play from Isbel, and although it was an uninspiring group, the reasoning behind those three selections made sense.

That was the case until patience should have run out.

That Kansas City trio, along with a few others, tied for the lowest wRC+ (77) among outfielders before the trade deadline. While Isbel continued to play solid defense and Renfroe and Melendez had their moments, their lackluster batting as a position group overshadowed their defensive contributions.

The Royals front office clearly had enough of the bullpen's ineptitude, as their two headline moves specifically addressed that position. However, Kansas City did not make any additions to the outfield and only bolstered the batting lineup by adding infielder Paul DeJong.

There weren’t many difference-making outfielders moved at the trade deadline, but an attempt to bring in new blood could have been beneficial. Jesse Winker and Lane Thomas are not only still playing baseball, but they could have been the fresh faces Kansas City needed in the outfield. The position group ended the season with just 0.9 fWAR, the lowest of any playoff team and ranked 27th out of 30 teams in MLB.

KC Royals Misstep #3: Giving James McArthur a walkout song

Remember this?

Admittedly, baseball teams typically don’t have a designated walkout sound designer on their front office staff, but still, someone had to approve giving reliever James McArthur the premiere closer treatment with this walkout sequence. I’m all for incorporating more contemporary aspects into the game, but this specific instance spelled trouble for McArthur.

The righty blew a save immediately after the walkout and was never the same pitcher following that moment. Here’s how McArthur performed before and after the "White Horse" incident.

Correlation doesn’t equal causation, but this is quite the correlation, isn’t it? Who knew that the flashing lights, pumped-up bass, and simulated pressure could lead to such a downturn in performance?