Despite loss, KC Royals' offseason addition continues to find answers when called on

Let's travel back in time to end of March. The Kansas City Royals have yet to make any sort of splash to their outfield, despite desperately needing to do so. As Spring Training is coming to an end and Opening Day just days away, it wouldn't have been a shock for many Royals fans to think the outfield core at that time would be what J.J. Picollo and the Royals' brass planned on running with in 2025.

But then on March 22, the long-awaited offseason addition of an outfielder finally came, when the Royals acquired veteran 1B/OF Mark Canha from the Milwaukee Brewers.

It may not have been groundbreaking at the time, and perhaps he's not performed at a groundbreaking level overall since arriving, but more often than not Mark Canha has found a way to contribute when called upon.

Mark Canha continues to find an answer when called upon

Now, Canha hasn't been used as an everyday option for Matt Quatraro this season, with the veteran largely being deployed against left-handed pitching.

But that hasn't stopped him form coming through when he makes his way into the lineup, or his skipper calls on him for a pinch-hit opportunity.

He immediately provided for the Royals to start the 2025 campaign, posting a .364/.375/.409 slash line through the month of April, and overcame some adversity in the process, as he picked up right where he left off after a brief stint on the IL in the middle of the month.

Come May though, the plate appearances have seemingly come a little less frequently, as three of Canha's seven games to start the month have been just brief one plate appearance outings. And the stat line doesn't look as good in May compared to April, as he's slashing just .133/.235/.133 after Saturday's loss.

That can partially be chalked up to limited opportunities to really better his stats, but even with the unfavorable looking numbers there's been multiple instances this week that Canha's come through in big ways.

The first was on Tuesday during the Royals walk-off win over the White Sox, where Canha came in cold off the bench to lead off the inning with a huge walk to represent the tying run, where he'd later score.

Then in his latest start on Saturday, the Royals were down 1-0 heading into the bottom of the third, and after Bobby Witt Jr. singled and then stole second to put himself in scoring position, Canha would come up two batters later and single home Witt to tie this one up. Now, Kansas City may've come up short in the long run, losing this one 10-1, but at the time Canha's hit was certainly a game altering one off one of MLB's premier arms in Garrett Crochet.

Whether or not he deserves to be an everyday is up for debate - his career splits suggest that he's more than capable of doing so, but his recent form in May throws a bit of wrench in in the argument.

That being said, a .268 AVG amongst a struggling outfield core that features the likes of a scuffling Hunter Renfroe with a .167 AVG, Kyle Isbel and his inability to hit lefties and Jonathan India, who's shown signs of improvement of late but is still hitting .230 out of the leadoff role, Canha's impact makes a significant difference.

It's safe to say Canha's made it worth the Royals' front office picking up the phone that day in late March.