MLB.com's dark horse pick for Royals' Opening Day roster looks far-fetched right now

It's been a jam-packed spring training already for the Kansas City Royals and there have been plenty of pleasant surprises and early standouts to aid in building the excitement of the upcoming 2026 regular season.

Of those intriguing names have been some non-roster invitees, who of course have nothing guaranteed to them, but could very well earn a shot at a major league return with strong spring showings.

One name that was earmarked by MLB.com at the start of spring training to crack the Royals' was veteran utility infielder Kevin Newman, who signed a minor league deal with the team this winter.

However, unlike his veteran counterparts like Josh Rojas or prospects like Carson Roccaforte and Gavin Cross, Newman's performance in spring training hasn't lived up to the early hype, making MLB.com's Opening Day "dark horse" prediction look like nothing but a dream now.

Kevin Newman looks far from an Opening Day dark horse almost two weeks in Royals spring training

Given how manager Matt Quatraro values versatility in his lineup, and especially his bench pieces, someone like Newman made a lot of sense.

"The Royals’ bench competition is wide open, and it’s a mix of homegrown younger players and several veteran non-roster invitees," Anne Rogers of MLB.com wrote. "The club is also considering all its options when thinking about the bench, including handedness, skillset at the plate and positional versatility."

Despite his putrid 27 wRC+ season with the Los Angeles Angels in 2025, Newman played at all four infield positions and has previous experience with being a near or even above-average hitter in his big league career.

And entering spring training, the Royals' two utility frontrunners, in Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert, hadn't exactly done enough to warrant a definitive claim on a major league bench spot.

However, through the first stretch of spring ball, Newman hasn't lived up to the expectations many might have thought were capable of him. And it's not as if he hasn't had his fair share of chances to impress.

Newman is one of seven qualified Royals hitters so far and in 17 plate appearances across six games, he's hitting just .188 with a .548 OPS and 39 wRC+.

Now, given the fact that several players have reported for the World Baseball Classic and are out of camp, is there a chance Newman could turn it around? Potentially, he is a former first-round pick and an eight-year MLB veteran after all.

That being said, with names like Loftin already on the 40-man roster and thriving so far in camp, non-roster invitees like Rojas looking much better than him, and the recent signing of Starling Marte likely taking up one of those two open bench spots, Newman needs to improve fast if he doesn't want to be left in the dark.