Every KC Royals player who is out of minor-league options heading into 2025

From position battles in the infield to multiple players contending for a role on the team's starting rotation, the Kansas City Royals have a lot of big decisions to make before Opening Day. Some stars are obvious locks to return to the roster, while others still have a lot to prove over the next few weeks — and the fact that some players are out of minor league options only complicates things further.

All players on a 40-man roster are given three minor league "options," allowing those with fewer than five years of major league service time to be sent to the minors without first being subject to waivers. An optioned player loses one of his options once he spends at least 20 days in the minors during a single season, but only one option is used per season, regardless of how many times he is shuttled between the minors and majors in the same year. Players with more than five years of service time can reject an optional assignment in favor of free agency.

Once a player is out of options, he must be designated for assignment — which removes him from the 40-man roster — and passed through outright waivers before he can be sent to the minor leagues.

Options become particularly relevant during spring training, because any player who is on a team's 40-man roster but doesn't open the season on the active 26-man roster or the injured list must be optioned to the minors. This often plays an important role in how teams put together their Opening Day rosters, with out-of-options players frequently making the active roster over players with remaining options due to the team not wanting to risk losing them on waivers.

Going into the 2025 season, there are four players on the Royals' 40-man roster who have less than five years of major league service time and are out of options. This means the pressure is on for them to make the Opening Day roster, because if they don't, the Royals will have to designate them for assignment and potentially lose them to another organization.

Every KC Royals player who is out of options heading into 2025

Carlos Hernández, RP

Since making his major league debut with the Royals in 2020, reliever Carlos Hernández has struggled to establish a permanent role for himself. Inconsistency has been an ongoing problem, and it's hard to keep hoping for improvement.

Hernández 3.30 ERA in 2024 was the best of his major league career, but his 4.80 BB/9 left plenty to be desired, with moments of brilliance only found interspersed amongst far too many underwhelming innings. Now, the 27-year-old is fighting for a bullpen spot at spring training — and it hasn't been going well.

After six Cactus League appearances, Hernández has accumulated a disappointing 7.71 ERA, and the average velocity on his four-seam fastball has dropped more than 2 mph. If he can turn things around quickly, perhaps Hernández will make the Opening Day roster, but there's no question that his position is in danger.

Sam Long, RP

Coming off a very mediocre 2023 season with the Oakland Athletics, reliever Sam Long signed a minor league contract with the Royals last winter. He started the season in Triple-A, but after posting an impressive 1.31 ERA, 23 strikeouts, and 2 saves across his first 20.2 innings, his contract was selected by the Royals on May 20.

In 43 appearances (42.2 innings) out of the Royals' bullpen last year, Long went 3-3 with a 3.16 ERA and 44 strikeouts, and he was the only minor-league free agent signed by the Royals to make it onto their postseason roster.

Now at spring training, Long is looking to prove he's worthy of keeping his role in the relief corps for 2025. As one of the Royals' top left-handed relief options, he's likely to make the Opening Day roster.

Nick Pratto, 1B/OF

In a lot of ways, it's surprising Nick Pratto hasn't already been cut from the Royals' 40-man roster. Having made 182 plate appearances in 2022 and 345 in 2023, the 26-year-old's career slashline in the majors sits at just .216/.295/.364 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI. He only made one appearance for the Royals last season, and it was to pitch a relief inning in June — he was optioned back to the minors three days later without having recorded a single at-bat.

The 2024 season marked Pratto's fourth stint in Triple-A, but he still struggled, only managing a .242/.324/.410 line with 16 home runs and 61 RBI in 490 plate appearances. Now out of options, he needs to break camp this year with the Royals, but with a slashline of just .150/.320/.350 after 25 plate appearances at spring training, it's certainly not looking good.

Just a few seasons ago, Pratto seemed set to be Kansas City's next star first baseman — but his weak bat allowed Vinnie Pasquantino to swipe that role right out from under him. Now, Pratto's time with the Royals appears to have reached its end.

Nelson Velázquez, OF

The Royals acquired Nelson Velázquez in a trade with the Chicago Cubs in July 2023, but despite a very brief moment of excitement upon his debut in Kansas City — he hit 2 home runs and 3 RBI across his first two games — the outfielder has failed to impress at the major league level.

Velázquez has a career slashline of .212/.286/.433 across parts of three seasons in the big leagues, including a .200 batting average in 230 plate appearances last year. The 26-year-old is now fighting for a bench role at spring training, but at this point, it's just a matter of time before the Royals cut him loose.