4 KC Royals players most likely to be traded at this year’s Winter Meetings

From free agent signings to trade deals, the Winter Meetings are a very busy time in the MLB offseason — and the Kansas City Royals are going in with work to do. The Royals have already been relatively active this winter, notably re-signing Michael Wacha and trading Brady Singer to the Cincinnati Reds for Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer, but the team is still in the market to fill a number of roster holes before the 2025 season.

With a leadoff hitter secured and the starting rotation now locked in with one of the best 1-2-3 punches in MLB, Royals general manager J.J. Picollo can turn his attention to the team's next big need — a middle-of-the-lineup bat.

According to The Athletic's Will Sammon, Katie Woo, and Ken Rosenthal on December 2, "the Royals plan to pursue a middle-of-the-order bat and are more likely to acquire that bat through a trade than free agency. This will not rule out the possibility of acquiring another pitcher or bench player, but the priority remains to add a slugger."

So with the Royals still looking to add to their roster this offseason, which current players are most likely to be traded away in return — either by themselves or as part of a trade package — at the upcoming Winter Meetings?

Chris Stratton, RHP

The Royals' bullpen was a well-documented mess this season, ranking 20th in MLB with a combined ERA of 4.13. Unfortunately, reliever Chris Stratton was no exception.

With the team looking to bolster their pitching after a 106-loss season, Kansas City signed Stratton to a one-year, $3.5 million contract before 2024. The deal included a $4.5 million player option for the 2025 season or a $500K buyout, and after an underwhelming performance this year, Stratton predictably triggered said option to stay on the Royals' payroll for another season.

In 2024, Stratton posted a disappointing 5.55 ERA out of the bullpen, with a 1.47 WHIP and 44 strikeouts in 58.1 innings. He didn't make any appearances during the playoffs, with the Royals leaving him off their 26-man rosters for both the Wild Card Series and AL Division Series.

Going into the Winter Meetings, the Royals will almost certainly be looking to trade Stratton. While they may get lucky with a team looking for a reclamation project, it's more likely Kansas City will end up including Stratton as part of a bigger trade package. Either way, the 34-year-old reliever is likely to have a new home by the end of next week.

Hunter Renfroe, OF

Last winter, the Royals signed Hunter Renfroe to a one-year, $5.5 million deal with a player option for 2025, hoping the outfielder would help to bolster their roster for a comeback season. It's now one year later, and while the Royals did indeed get their comeback season, Renfroe certainly wasn't much help.

In 135 at-bats this season, Renfroe slashed .229/.297/.392 with 15 home runs and a career-low 52 RBI. His average exit velocity of 88.5 mph and 6.6% barrel rate both placed him firmly below average among MLB batters, as did his 39.4% hard-hit rate.

Renfroe's lack of power — including a career-worst slugging percentage — was a major problem for him this season, and he certainly didn't make up for it on defense. Along with a disappointing Fielding Run Value (FRV) of -4 in the outfield, the 32-year-old posted an abysmal -7 Outs Above Average (OAA) to rank in just the 6th percentile of all qualified fielders.

All in all, Renfroe certainly didn't shine in 2024, so it wasn't a surprise when he exercised his $7.5 million player option on October 31, locking himself onto Kansas City's payroll for another season.

If the Royals can trade Renfroe at the Winter Meetings, they almost definitely will — but after the outfielder's performance in 2024, they're unlikely to get much in return. The most Kansas City can reasonably hope for is being able to use Renfroe as an extra player to throw into a larger trade package, and even then, the team may end up having to eat some of his salary.

Alec Marsh, RHP

Having earned a spot during spring training, Alec Marsh started the 2024 season as the Royals' fifth starter behind Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Brady Singer. Unfortunately, his first season with a rotation spot didn't go as planned.

After starting the season relatively well, Marsh fell apart through June and July, posting a disappointing 6.14 ERA in 11 appearances before being optioned to the minors on July 31. Veteran Michael Lorenzen — who the Royals acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers on July 29 — took over the role as the team's fifth starter, but when he landed on the 15-day IL just a month later, Marsh was recalled from Triple-A to have another shot at filling out the rotation.

Despite supposedly working on his control issues during his month back in the minors, Marsh's second stint in MLB this year only produced marginally better results than his first. He finished the 2024 season with a 9-9 record, 4.53 ERA, and 1.26 WHIP in 129 innings — as well as no guarantee that he'd get another shot at starting in 2025.

Even after trading away Singer to the Reds, the Royals have the starting depth to lose Marsh if they need to. Picollo has said he believes both Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch IV are starters, Kyle Wright is now back from his season off after Tommy John surgery, and top prospect Noah Cameron is slated to debut in 2025, so there are a number of strong options to round out the Royals' rotation, even if they lose Marsh.

Despite his shaky stats in 2024, Marsh has a lot of potential with the right development. The Royals will almost definitely be listening to offers on the 26-year-old at the upcoming Winter Meetings, either by himself or as part of a large trade package.

Michael Massey, 2B

The Royals' recent acquisition of India from the Reds has thrown Massey's role on the roster into question. Since India is slated to be the team's leadoff hitter, he's almost certain to take preference to play second base — so where does that leave Massey?

In 2024, Massey slashed a respectable .259/.294/.449 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI in 332 regular-season at-bats. He posted career-best numbers in runs (45), batting, slugging, and OPS (.743), and appeared in all six of the Royals' postseason games, batting .304 with 7 hits, including 1 RBI.

Massey also put up above-average numbers on defense this season, despite some shaky moments. His 4 OAA ranked him in the 86th percentile of all qualified fielders, while his FRV of 2 put him in the 65th percentile.

Still, Massey's unfortunate injury history mean he may be better suited as a platoon player than an everyday second baseman — if he stays with the Royals. The 26-year-old started the 2024 season on the Injured List with with back tightness, and after being activated on April 19, he only managed to stay in the lineup for four weeks before he was back on the IL with a low back ligament strain. Massey wasn't reactivated again until June 24, so in total, he only appeared in 100 games during the 2024 season, and just 82 of them were at second base since he was the team's designated hitter while he recovered.

The 2024 season wasn't the first year he's been limited by injuries, either. He only managed 129 games in 2023 due to left hand laceration that kept him out of the lineup over two weeks, as well as a brief stint on the IL with an ankle contusion.

If the Royals keep Massey on their roster, they'll almost certainly move him to a utility role in 2025 — but with the acquisition of India, they don't really need to keep him. Of the players the team would be open to trading, Massey would definitely garner the biggest return on the market. The second baseman put up strong numbers this season — when he was healthy — so the Royals likely won't have trouble finding a team interested in Massey's services, making him arguably the best trade chip they have going into this year's Winter Meetings.