KC Royals finally make inevitable decision to cut ties with struggling veteran

As the Kansas City Royals get closer to concluding their second month of the season, they've undergone some roster reconstruction in recent days.

On Sunday, they designated reliever Chris Stratton for assignment after his putrid start to the year. Then on Monday, Luke Maile suffered the same fate as the team opted to shift away from carrying three catchers on the 26-man roster.

Now, ahead of their weekend series opener on Friday with their AL Central rivals in the Minnesota Twins, the Royals made another move that should come as a shock to nobody after they announced Hunter Renfroe had been designated for assignment.

KC Royals cut ties with struggling veteran Hunter Renfroe

A once formidable power threat who'd slugged 20 or more home runs in six of his first eight seasons in MLB, Renfroe never really found his footing in Kansas City after signing with them ahead of the 2024 season.

In his first campaign as a Royal, Renfroe hit 15 HR and 52 RBI with a .229/.297/.322 slash line, a 92 wRC+ and -0.1 fWAR. Not great numbers by any means, but considering he matched the 92 wRC+ he hit in the 2023, he was, in a way, what the Royals signed up for.

However, after exercising his player option this winter, 2025 has not been nearly the same case, as the Royals could only dream of Renfroe producing the narrowly below-average totals he posted a year ago.

Through 108 plate appearances across 35 games this season, the 33-year-old was slashing just .182/.241/.242 with 0 HR, 4 RBI, a 32 wRC+ and -0.9 fWAR.

And at no point had he managed to to instill any sort of confidence in Royals fans this season, as through his first 14 games, he went 5-for-43. And after a pinch hit double, in what turned out to likely be his final game with club, on Tuesday in San Francisco, Renfroe surpassed the .180 AVG mark for the first time since March 31 - and at no point in the year had he eclipsed the Mendoza Line (.200 AVG).

When you pair his lack of power and hitting ability in general with what can only be described as below-average defense in the outfield (-5 DRS and -1 OAA) this season, Renfroe was simply an all-around liability that a contending like the Royals could not afford to keep around any longer.

In all likelihood, Friday's DFA will set the Royals up to release Renfroe in the coming days, as his limited production and over $7.5 million price tag is not one worth stashing in the minors, though we'll know more concrete news soon on Renfroe's exact future.

What we do know now though is that the Kansas City will call upon Nick Loftin to take his place on the bench. It won't be the first time Loftin has gotten a promotion in 2025, as he was called up as cover last month when Tyler Tolbert was placed on the bereavement list. However, any game action he gets this time around would be his first MLB action of the season, as he failed to register a single game played in his brief April stint.

Loftin may only carry a career .229/.307/.295 slash line and 69 wRC+ in the major leagues, but he's looked more than worthy of another shot in Kansas City after the season he's crafted in Triple-A in 2025. Through 184 plate appearances across 40 games in Omaha, Loftin is slashing .295/.451/.468 with 4 HR, 24 RBI and a 150 wRC+.