Big dates and offseason deadlines loom for the KC Royals

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Even after their historic turnaround and a long-awaited return to postseason play, the Kansas City Royals need to improve their roster this winter. General manager J.J. Picollo makes no secret of his desire to shore up the club's offense, and keeping starter Michael Wacha must be a prime focus of his attention.

What specific designs Picollo has on particular players remain secreted within the Royals' key offices, but the time when Kansas City can begin making big moves is fast approaching. Dates and deadlines loom for the Royals and the other 29 major league teams — here's a look at some important dates coming up over the next few months.

The big markets open the day after the World Series ends

The offseason excitement that free agency and the trading period bring begins the day after the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees wind up this season's World Series. That could come as early as Wednesday, October 29 — the Dodgers leads the Series 2-0, so can therefore clinch their latest championship if they beat the Yankees in games scheduled for Monday and Tuesday nights.

However, the first few days after the free agent and trade markets open aren't without some complications. Teams can immediately swap players without restriction, but the collectively-bargained agreement between the clubs and players' union only allows teams to negotiate with and sign their own free agents for the first few days. They are able to have general discussions with other clubs' free agents during this time, but can't sign them until 5 p.m. ET five days after the Series concludes.

Seven Royals are eligible for free agency this offseason — pitchers Will Smith and Michael Lorenzen, infielders Yuli Gurriel and Paul DeJong, utility man Garrett Hampson, and outfielders Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman.

The first 5 days following the World Series are important for the KC Royals

The attention paid to Kansas City during the first five days after the Fall Classic ends won't be limited to trades and free agency. It's also during that period that contract options must be resolved and qualifying offers made.

Player options are contract provisions allowing players to either leave the club before their current deals expire ("opt-outs"), or extend their contracts whether the club wants them or not ("opt-ins"). Club options work the same way, but in reverse — teams can unilaterally decline their options to bring players back, or exercise them to bind players to another season. Mutual options allow players to return, or to leave, only if both parties agree.

Options must be picked up or declined no later than five days after the Series ends. Royals with player options include Wacha, outfielder Hunter Renfroe, and reliever Chris Stratton. Utility man Adam Frazier has a mutual option.

Qualifying offers are used by teams to lure certain free agents back into the fold. If made and accepted, a QO — projected to be $21.05 million this year — means the player returns to the offering club for another year. But QOs can be extended only to players, like Kansas City's Wacha, who've never received one before, and any team losing a player to whom they gave a QO may receive compensation in the form of an extra selection in the 2025 amateur draft.

Players receiving qualifying offers have 10 days to accept them; if they don't, they remain free agents.

General managers meet in early November

The 30 big league general managers are slated to convene November 5-7 in San Antonio for their annual meeting. Whether anything major will happen is anyone's guess — although things could be moved and shaken during the three days the GMs are together, big news is more typically made at the Winter Meetings (more on that in a moment). But whether details become public or not, expect some trade discussions to occur between the general managers.

Big roster decisions must be made in mid-November

The Royals have little more than two weeks left to finalize their 40-man roster for Rule 5 Draft purposes. Certain players not on the 40-man by November 19 can be plucked up by other clubs during December's Rule 5 proceedings (more on that coming).

The KC Royals have until November 22 to non-tender some of their players

Royals not playing under multi-year contracts and who enjoy 40-man roster spots may get increasingly nervous as November 22 approaches. The club has until that date to non-tender them — any players not offered a 2025 contract at the end of the day will immediately become free agents.

That doesn't mean, though, that the player-club relationship necessarily ends for non-tendered Royals. They and the team can negotiate new deals.

MLB convenes for Winter Meetings and the Rule 5 Draft in December

If you're looking for big deals, rampant speculation, breaking baseball news, and the hottest Hot Stove rumors, then baseball's annual Winter Meetings is the place to be. Scheduled for December 9-12 in Dallas, the game's annual offseason extravaganza should feature an abundance of major and minor league developments, including blockbuster trades and free agent signings.

The Rule 5 Draft typically takes place on the last day of the meetings. Certain Royals not included on the 40-man roster become eligible for the Draft after a specified number of seasons based on the player's age when initially signed. Once eligible, they can be drafted by any major league team having open space on its own 40-man.

But there's a huge catch to drafting another club's unprotected players — the drafting club must, with limited exceptions, keep a player on its active major league for the entire 2025 season or risk losing him to his original, or another, team.

Teams that pick a player in the Rule 5 Draft must also pay $100,000 to the team losing that player.

Arbitration deadlines hit after New Year's Day

The Royals have until almost mid-January to hammer out new contracts with their players eligible for salary arbitration. If any of those players haven't signed by then, they and the club must exchange salary proposals for arbitration purposes by January 10. They can continue to negotiate after that date, but any cases not closed with new deals must be submitted to arbitration panels for hearings, which should last from late January until sometime in February.

So, keeping an eye on how the Royals choose to deal with their 10 arbitration-eligible players will be interesting.