5 notable ex-big leaguers top list of Royals minor league free agents

The major league free agent and trade markets are off to their usual slow starts. Little has happened on either Hot Stove stage since the World Series ended, and their recent low-profile acquisition of infielder Connor Kaiser and subsequent trade for outfielder Kameron Misner remain the only additions the Kansas City Royals have made to the organization.

Things will pick up soon enough, of course — some club is bound to make a big, domino effect-triggering move before long, the annual general managers' meeting is just days away, and the frequently action-packed Winter Meetings take place early next month.

Adding to the offseason intrigue for the Royals is how they'll approach their own free agents. And that includes the 20 players who've joined the ranks of minor league free agents, a list topped by five notable (but not the only) former big leaguers who may or may not return to the organization for the 2026 season. Who are those familiar players?

Former Royals hopeful Nick Pratto hits the market

Pratto's fall from potential star to probable flameout has been hard. Viewed by many as Kansas City's first baseman of the future after clubbing 36 homers and driving in 98 runs with a .385 OBP and 988 OPS during the 2021 minor league season, he failed to beat fellow first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino to the majors the following year and has never come close to his 2021 numbers.

Pratto, in fact, has struggled in the minors and majors. He's homered only 14 times and hit .216 in 145 big league appearances since 2021, and this season was the first he didn't make it to Kansas City since his 2022 major league debut. He's averaging less than 12 homers a year at Triple-A Omaha, and slashed a miserable .196/.289/.331 in 114 games at Triple-A Omaha this season. His big league .216/.295/.364 line and 14 homers in 145 games aren't what KC needs.

With Pasquantino firmly entrenched in KC's lineup and deserving of an early extension, don't look for the Royals to bring Pratto back for 2026.

Royals 2025 signee Bobby Dalbec is a free agent again

Dalbec didn't disappoint after Kansas City brought him aboard on an early August minor league deal. The first baseman and occasional third-sacker who slugged 25 homers for Boston in 2021, his first full big league season, homered eight times and knocked in 25 runs in 32 games at Omaha. Combined with good Triple-A performances for the White Sox and Brewers, ended 2025 with 24 home runs, 82 RBI, and a .269/.349/.525 minor league line.

But Dalbec, who hasn't played regularly in the majors since 2022, didn't get a call-up from Kansas City. Because the Royals are set at first and third bases with Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia, and his sparse big league outfield experience (two games in right) doesn't render him a solution to the club's corner outfield problems, Dalbec may not be a great candidate for a return engagement with the franchise.

Spencer Turnbull is also a Royals minor league free agent

Turnbull quietly joined the long list of former big league pitchers Kansas City signed during the 2025 campaign. And like the others, he didn't pay dividends for the organization — after joining Omaha in late August, he gave up 13 runs and walked 12 in 18.1 innings and lost both of his decisions. That disappointing effort gave him a 0-8, 7.52 ERA record for the five minor league clubs he pitched for during the season.

His major league career, which spans parts of seven seasons, is checkered. Although he threw a no-hitter for Detroit in 2019, he's 6-30 with a 4.31 ERA and led the big leagues with 17 losses back in '19.

If general manager J.J. Picollo searches for another starter this winter, he can do better on the free agent market than Turnbull.

The free agency of John Gant shouldn't lead back to the Royals

Count Gant, who like Turnbull joined Kansas City as a 2025 pitching hopeful, among the club's minor league free agents with little chance of returning to the organization. Signed in May and dispatched to Omaha, he went 5-5 in 19 starts for the Storm Chasers, but opponents punished him for a 6.00 ERA and .286 average.

Gant, primarily a reliever but deployed exclusively as a starter at Omaha, owns a respectable six-season big league 3.89 ERA and 24-26 record, but hasn't pitched in the majors since 2021. Perhaps the Royals will take another chance on him in 2026, although as a right-hander he won't fill the team's need for better lefty relief work.

Will the Royals bring back Sam Long?

That's one of the interesting questions the club will answer this winter. Long struggled to a seven-appearance, 12-inning 12.86 ERA before left elbow inflammation sidelined him from mid-April to late June. But he improved with a 3.78 ERA and 2-1 record in 32 games after returning to action; especially encouraging were the 3.12 and 2.84 ERAs he posted in July and August.

Those post-injury numbers and Long's decent 2024 campaign — he went 3-3 with a 3.16 ERA for the Royals — suggest he could get a long look from Kansas City this winter. And for a club bound to be seeking a southpaw or two for its bullpen, don't be shocked to see him in Kansas City's camp when spring training opens in February.