5 former Royals who could haunt KC in the American League Central this season

The Kansas City Royals begin their long, 162-game quest for a return to postseason play when they open the 2026 season in Atlanta late next month. They'll face the Braves three times before launching the home half of the schedule with a trio of games against Minnesota.

That three-game set with the Twins will also mark the first of Kansas City's 52 contests against its American League Central rivals — KC's schedule includes 13 games apiece with the Twins, White Sox, Guardians, and Tigers. And because its members arguably could each be better this season than last, the Central race stands to be more interesting in 2026.

Adding to that potentially increased allure of Central Division play for Kansas City is the handful of former Royals currently working in other Central clubs' spring training camps, and who they could face in Cactus League and regular season play. Just who are those ex-Royals who might haunt them this year?

5 former Royals who could haunt KC in the American League Central this season

White Sox — former Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi

It's been five years since Kansas City landed Benintendi via a big mid-February trade that gives Royals fans some hope that there's still time for the club to land the impact bat it needs.

After stepping into the left field job Alex Gordon's retirement left open, Benintendi won a Gold Glove and slashed .294/.351/.424 with 20 homers and 112 RBI in 227 games before a 2022 trade deadline deal took him to the Yankees.

Benintendi now plays for the White Sox, with whom he's entering the next-to-last season of the five-year, $75 million free agent contract he signed early in 2023. He's homered 20 times in each of the past two seasons and, although he's hit only .234 with a .298 OBP in that time, his .291/.354/.429 career line against the Royals suggests he could cause them pain in 2026.

Guardians — former Royals reliever Carlos Hernández

Before 2025, Hernández hadn't pitched for any big league team but Kansas City. But after going 7-19 with a 4.95 ERA in five seasons with the Royals, he moved to the Phillies on a waiver claim last March, and became a Tiger the same way in June before another waiver claim took him to Cleveland a few weeks later. He finished his three-team campaign with one win, no saves, and a troubling 6.23 ERA in 43.1 innings.

Cleveland brought Hernández back on a minor league deal and invited him to spring training. He's never pitched against the Royals, but could cause his old team trouble if he makes the Guardians' roster and regains the form that fueled his 6-2, 3.68 ERA 2021 season and gave him a 3.30 ERA two seasons ago.

Twins — former Royals relievers Liam Hendriks and Dan Altavilla

Right-handers Hendriks and Altavilla, both of whom had only brief stints in Kansas City, are in Minnesota's spring camp as non-roster invitees. Will they pose problems for KC if they land spots on the Twins' Opening Day roster?

Perhaps. Hendriks, who went 0-2 and gave up 12 runs (10 earned) in 19.1 late-season innings for the Royals in 2014, posted excellent ERAs for four straight seasons — 1.80 and 1.78 for the A's (2019 and 2020), and 2.54 and 2.81 for the White Sox (2021 and 2022).

But a bout with cancer and an elbow injury limited him to five big league appearances in 2023, he missed the 2024 campaign after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, and injuries allowed him to pitch only six times for Boston last year.

How Hendriks, now 37 and a three-time All-Star, performs after recently rejoining the Twins (he debuted with Minnesota in 2011 and spent parts of three seasons there) remains to be seen. He could haunt the Royals if he's back in form and faces them this season.

And eight-year major league veteran Altavilla? He gave up six runs in only 3.2 innings for the Royals in 2024 before joining the White Sox and posting a nice 2.48 ERA in 28 games last season.

His career 4.00 ERA suggests he probably won't get much high-leverage work if he makes Minnesota's roster — and that he might not pose much of a threat to the Royals.

Tigers — former Royals pitcher Burch Smith

Smith's one-season stay in Kansas City was, in a word, forgettable. Working out of the bullpen for all but six of his 38 appearances in 2018, he lost six of seven decisions and the 60 runs he surrendered in 78 innings yielded an undesirable 6.92 ERA. The August 10 start he lost to St. Louis — the Cardinals hammered him for five runs and two homers in just 1.2 innings — was Smith's last big league starting assignment.

Since then, he's gone 7-3 with a 4.94 ERA in 104 games and 133 innings split between the Brewers, Giants, A's, Marlins, and Orioles. He also pitched in Japan in 2022 and Korea in 2023, and spent last season in the minors.

The Royals may not face Smith, a non-roster invitee to the Tigers' spring camp, at all this season. He's probably a long shot at best to make Detroit's much-improved club, which now represents a serious obstacle to Kansas City's hopes to claim its first Central Division title since 2015.