Matt Quatraro reveals how unsung bench piece can swipe Royals Opening Day roster spot

When it comes to determining what the Kansas City Royals roster might look like come Opening Day next month, many may look at position battles in the corner outfield and at second base, whether the Royals will trade a starter in the 11th hour or who might crack this bullpen.

However, determining who will make the bench in 2026 should be just as much a conversation, with some existing names from 2025, some non-roster invitees and some up-and-coming prospects looking to make some noise in spring training.

While one of their many platoon-worthy outfielders as well as second baseman Michael Massey are likely shoo-ins for two of the bench spots, speedster Tyler Tolbert and once promising prospect Nick Loftin are probably the frontrunners entering spring training for the final two bench spots when looking at all the options.

However, nothing is certain and manager Matt Quatraro discussed what he's looking for from the latter of the two aformentioned favorites, citing Loftin's versatility as a desireable trait.

Matt Quatraro outlines versatility as the key for Nick Loftin amid competition for Royals Opening Day bench spots

When talking to media on Wednesday, Quatraro was asked specifically about Loftin amid the current battle for Opening Day bench spots in spring training, where in his response, he leaned into Loftin's ability to move around the diamond, which he demonstrated in his somewhat limited big league run in 2025.

"He's definitely going to move around," Quatraro said. "We've had that conversation, he's got to be ready to play all four infield spots, a couple outfield spots and the opportunities are going to be in the versatility."

When asked specifically about his role in the corner outfield, the Royals skipper didn't hold back on what he felt Loftin needed to do there in particular.

"We're not looking for him to be an everyday [at] either, but he's got to be able to play both," Quatraro said.

Last season, Loftin was able to appear in three of the four infield positions, with 16 games at second base, 14 at third and five at first. Then, in terms of the outfield, he only appeared in left field - doing so the most of any positions he operated in in 2025 with 38 games. This means that by Quatraro's four infield and both corner outfield parameters, Loftin has some work to do this spring.

Whether intentional or not - any interpretation of that is purely speculative here - what Quatraro didn't discuss was his offense, which perhaps is a good thing for Loftin's sake.

After bursting onto the scene with a 119 wRC+ in a 19 game cameo in 2023, Loftin's yet to find that form again in the past two seasons while on the big league roster.

In 171 plate appearances across 51 games in 2024, he only managed to slash .189/.282/.236 with one homer, 14 RBI and a 51 wRC+, as his 11.1% walk rate and 14.0% K-rate were his only saving graces.

And last season, Loftin only managed to improve to a 71 wRC+ in 188 plate appearances across 67 games, slashing just .208/.278/.357 with four homers and 20 RBI. Again, a sub-15.0% K-rate was his only real notable positive at the plate.

Luckily for the Royals, with Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino accounting for 75% of the infield and hopefully a passable duo of Jonathan India and Michael Massey set second, as well as bolstered corner outfield mix of Jac Caglianone, Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas, the pressure isn't as intense for Loftin as it might've been last year.

A versatile utility role is seemingly all they'll need him to be in order to take some weight off the starters' shoulders.

The stage is set and expectations are clear, now it's just a matter of whether or not Loftin has what takes to start live up to the lofty (no pun intended) expectations he set for himself as a former top five prospect in the organization as recently as 2024 and become at least a serviceable major leaguer.