KC Royals News: Batting practice for Vinnie Pasquantino, Cavan Biggio signing, early power rankings

The Kansas City Royals are yet to break their weeks-long silence by making another trade or free agency addition to the 2025 roster, but as spring training draws closer, smaller moves are happening in the background.

From a minor league signing to early power rankings, here is a Royals news roundup for January 6.

KC Royals News: Vinnie Pasquantino practices his swing

Players report to spring training in just over five weeks, but first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino is getting a head start on batting practice. On January 6, Pasquantino posted a video of himself batting in a training facility with the caption, "Back at it!"

Pasquantino's early start to hitting practice will likely be appreciated by the Royals, who are still on the hunt for a middle-of-the-order bat to add to the lineup before spring training. Last season, the team's offense was effectively carried by its three stars — Bobby Witt Jr., Pasquantino, and Salvador Pérez — and without at least one more acquisition this winter, that's likely to happen again in 2025.

In 554 plate appearances during the 2024 regular season, Pasquantino posted a .262/.315/.446 line with 19 home runs and 97 RBI. A broken thumb at the end of August sidelined him for a few weeks, but he returned for the Royals' playoff campaign, accumulating a disappointing .130 batting average and just 3 hits in 23 at-bats.

KC Royals News: Cavan Biggio joins organization on minor league deal

On January 5, the Royals announced on social media that they had signed super utility man Cavan Biggio to a minor league deal, becoming the 29-year-old's fifth organization in less than eight months. Although it wasn't stated in the post, Biggio — the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio — will presumably receive an invite to spring training.

After initially being selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2013 MLB Draft, Biggio chose not to sign and instead play college baseball at the University of Notre Dame. Three years later, he entered the Draft for a second time, and was selected in the fifth round by the Toronto Blue Jays. Biggio quickly established himself as one of the Blue Jays' top prospects, and made his debut in the majors on May 24, 2019.

Biggio's first two seasons in the majors showed a lot of promise, but after an injury-riddled 2021, he never returned to his earlier form. After he posted a .200/.323/.291 slashline in 131 plate appearances to start the 2024 season, the Blue Jays designated Biggio for assignment on June 7, and he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers five days later. Biggio only appeared in 30 games for the Dodgers before he was — once again — designated for assignment, and the lefty batter was released on August 8.

The San Francisco Giants became Biggio's third organization of 2024 when they signed him to a minor league deal on August 23, but after just 12 games in Triple-A, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves on September 7. He appeared in four games with the Braves before the end of the season, and finished 2024 with a .197/.314/.303 line, 5 home runs, and 19 RBI in 224 major league plate appearances across Toronto, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.

Heading into spring training with the Royals, Biggio has a lot to prove. If he's is able to recapture his earlier form, he could provide much-needed bench support as a super utility man in Kansas City, with experience at first base, second base, third base, and both corner outfield positions throughout his career.

KC Royals News: ESPN's power rankings put Royals in 13th place

ESPN's MLB experts have published their first power rankings of 2025, with their choices "based on a combination of what seen so far this offseason and what already knew from 2024." The Royals were ranked in 13th place, three spots behind their division-rival Cleveland Guardians.

"The Royals will hope to hold the ground they gained after last year's miracle turnaround," ESPN's David Schoenfield wrote on January 3. "They re-signed Michael Wacha to a three-year deal and then traded Brady Singer for Jonathan India, losing some rotation depth but adding much-needed on-base ability (India had a .357 OBP for the Reds). If the Royals want to return to the postseason, however, they might need to improve their bullpen depth or maybe add some rotation insurance (an outfield bat would be nice, too)."

Kansas City started the offseason well by re-signing starter Michael Wacha and trading for second baseman Jonathan India, but there's still a lot of work to be done before spring training camps open. Royals general manager J.J. Picollo has said he is prioritizing the addition of a middle-of-the-order power bat, but bullpen support is also crucial after the relief corps' disappointing performance in 2024.