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

It’s safe to say that the Kansas City Royals front office made more good decisions than bad this season. While some calls were contentious at the time, general manager J.J. Picollo and his team generally achieved favorable outcomes from those transactions.

Adding pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo was not universally praised, yet they ended the season as two of Kansas City's most valuable players. Extending Bobby Witt Jr. on his massive contract initially faced skepticism, but his 2024 season demonstrated that he's very much worth it. Even the trade deadline acquisition of Michael Lorenzen wasn’t well-received after the Royals gave up minor-league standout Walter Pennington.

Yet those decisions, among others, all helped fuel Kansas City's playoff run and a Wild Card series win.

Picollo deserves recognition for his achievements. The team's transactional success rate was widely praised during the postseason, especially following the roster additions in August. However, there are a few outliers — some blemishes that prevent Kansas City's front office from having a perfect season. Here are two serious missteps and one not-so-serious error from the Royals' leadership.

KC Royals Misstep #1: Having Will Smith, Chris Stratton as headline bullpen additions

Hindsight is 20/20, but Royals fans always had to squint a bit to fully trust veterans Will Smith and Chris Stratton leading the bullpen.

Both players were coming off stellar 2023 seasons — including in a World Series win with the Texas Rangers — and Kansas City paid a championship premium for the two, signing Smith for $5 million in 2024 and giving Stratton a two-year deal worth $4 million annually. However, both players turned out to be more of a burden than a boost.

Smith was Kansas City's de facto closer at the start of the season, but that experiment ended quickly due to his obvious struggles. Meanwhile, Stratton saw plenty of action but posted his worst ERA since 2019. Overall, both players were undeniable disappointments throughout the entire season.

Kansas City eventually addressed this year's and next year's bullpen by acquiring Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey, but the early-season struggles might have been avoidable. Only two relievers from the Opening Day roster made the playoff roster, with four of the eight being out of the organization entirely. While the bullpen finished on a strong note, relying heavily on Smith and Stratton did not age well.

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.