KC Royals News: MJ Melendez changes swing, update on Jackson County stadium tax saga

While it may not be what fans want to hear, it's definitely possible that the Kansas City Royals are finished making major league additions this winter. Still, the team has signed a number of promising players to minor league deals over the last few weeks, and there will be plenty of position battles to watch at spring training.

For now, there's a lot going on in the background as the Royals ramp things up for the 2025 season. From MJ Melendez's new swing at batting practice to updates on the Jackson County ballot to fund a new downtown ballpark, here is a Royals news roundup for January 21.

KC Royals News: MJ Melendez shows off new swing at batting practice

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training camps on February 12 — just over three weeks away — with all other players reporting five days later on February 17. For outfielder MJ Melendez, it appears the start of camp couldn't come soon enough, and in the meantime, the 26-year-old is showing off his updated swing on social media.

On January 18, Melendez posted clips of his batting practice to his Instagram stories, and fans were quick to notice the change in his swing. The starting position of his hips and feet appear to have been adjusted, as well as the position of the bat before the swing. There also appears to be an extended follow-through after the swing that wasn't displayed in 2024.

Considering Melendez's shaky offensive campaign last year, it's not surprising he'd be working to improve his swing for 2025. In 451 plate appearances with the Royals in 2024, he slashed an underwhelming .206/.273/.400 for an OPS of just .673, and while he still managed a respectable 17 home runs, his unreliability at the plate was a major problem.

KC Royals News: Jackson County tax vote likely to separate Royals and Chiefs

In April 2024, residents of Jackson County voted to reject an extension of the stadium sales tax that would have helped fund both a new downtown ballpark for the Royals and renovations at Arrowhead Stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs. As a result, both teams' plans were left in limbo, and now it appears that future ballots may be split into two separate votes — one for the Chiefs and one for the Royals.

The news comes as Democrat DaRon McGee has returned as chairman of the county legislature for 2025. McGee held the role in 2023 before Republican Jeanie Lauer took over for 2024.

At Union Station on January 17, McGee told FOX4 that splitting the ballot into two separate votes was likely to be the way forward.

"I think we recognize as an organization that keeping them on one ballot together is likely not going to happen anymore where there’s one question about the Chiefs and the Royals," McGee said. "There will likely be two different questions happening from now on where you’re voting on something for the Chiefs and voting on something for the Royals and not one question for both teams."

The support for the Chiefs' funding is quite established, especially since they are the only NFL team in the state of Missouri and president Mark Donovan has warned that the team could leave Arrowhead Stadium — and Kansas City — if the tax wasn't extended. Meanwhile, the Royals' plan to build a downtown ballpark in the East Crossroads has been met with significant pushback from residents and officials alike, and the team has stopped short of making any declaration on plans to leave Kansas City.

The Royals plan for the new ballpark to open before their lease at Kauffman Stadium expires in 2030.