4 big questions for final Royals series of the 2025 season

The 2025 season that began for the Kansas City Royals with a late March loss to Cleveland at Kauffman Stadium will end Sunday afternoon at West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park, the temporary home of the Athletics as they await completion of their new Las Vegas ballpark. The teams have nothing monumental to play for — neither qualified for October baseball and both will head home after Sunday's final out.

That doesn't mean, though, that Kansas City fans should ignore the last weekend of Royals baseball until spring training camp opens in February. The club can achieve a key season accomplishment, their final appearances of the season could be big for at least two layers, and another Royal may be playing his last KC game. Here are four big questions for the three-game series with the A's that begins tonight.

Can the Royals finish the season above .500?

Completing an otherwise disappointing season with a winning record is certainly within Kansas City's reach. After beating the Angels Thursday night, the Royals arrive in West Sacramento for this year's only road action against the Athletics at 80-79, meaning they have to beat their hosts twice to finish 82-80.

And that may not be easy. The A's, who've bettered last season's 69 wins by six and will finish in fourth place in the American League West, swept a three-game Kauffman Stadium series in June. And they're hot after winning nine of their last 13 games.

Will Cole Ragans put a good cap on his strong late-season return to the Royals?

For Cole Ragans, often lauded as the ace of Kansas City's starting rotation, 2025 will go into the books as a season lost almost entirely to injuries. A May groin strain cost him almost three weeks, and a subsequent rotator cuff issue robbed him of another three months.

Fortunately, he's back in action after the Royals cleared him for big league play last week. His 3.2-inning, four-strikeout Sept. 17 return against Seattle was marred only by the two-run homer for which Eugenio Suárez nicked him; his next and most recent effort, a five-frame, 10-strikeout Tuesday night victory over the Angels, was even better and evened his record at 3-3.

Now, he's on track to start Sunday's season finale. The Royals won't take any chances with his health, but they and their fans will be eager to see if Ragans can put a good finishing touch on his so-far-so-good return.

Will Jonathan India see his last action with the Royals?

Don't be surprised if that's the case for India. Playing his fifth major league season and first with the Royals, he's done his part to prove Cincinnati has won the November trade that sent Brady Singer to the Reds and brought India and Joey Wiemer to Kansas City. While Singer has won a career-high and team-leading 14 games for his new club, the Royals DFA'd Wiemer and his poor .182/.291/.312 Triple-A line last month and lost him to Miami's waiver claim.

And India hasn't given Kansas City much reason to keep him. Brought in to hit leadoff, he's slashed only .236/.322/.337 in the 103 games he's served in that role. He'll begin the A's series hitting just .233, and his eight homers are disappointingly fewer than the almost 16 he was averaging over his four seasons in Cincinnati. Also concerning are his 88 wRC+ and -0.3 fWAR, and his defense at all three positions he's played — second base, third base, and left field — is below league average.

All that clouds India's prospects with the Royals, who aren't contractually obligated to him for 2026. He's arbitration eligible for the last time this winter and, baseball arbitration being what it is, he'll get a raise from the $5 million he earned this season. That's money the Royals could, and should, spend on someone else.

Will Royals closer Carlos Estévez finish with more saves than anyone?

It will be close. The big right-hander enters tonight's series opener with the most saves in the majors, but his lead is perilously thin — his 41 saves are only one better than San Diego closer Robert Suarez's total, and Seattle's Andrés Muñoz has 38.

But Estévez can only do so much. Although he's always a good bet to convert any save opportunity he's given, it's up to Kansas City's frustrating offense to create the kind of inherited lead for him that makes him eligible for a save. (He obviously won't object if the offense create a lead so big that it isn't save-eligible).

So, Estévez's chance for the saves crown depends on his teammates' bats. And what Suarez and Muñoz do is entirely out of his control.

We shall see.