Overlooked Royals addition sparks roster debate with second spring training smash

The Kansas City Royals are in the thick of spring training action right now and there have been plenty of standouts emerging.

Of those standouts, arguably the most unexpected one has been Josh Rojas, the veteran utility man in Royals camp as a non-roster invitee.

The 31-year-old journeyman is searching for way back to becoming a productive major leaguer after a lackluster 69-game stint with Kansas City's AL Central rivals in the Chicago White Sox.

And after belting his second homer in his third Cactus League game this spring, Rojas is suddenly creating quite the Opening Day roster debate in the early going.

Could Josh Rojas be lining himself up for a spot on the Royals' Opening Day roster?

In the second inning of Kansas City's Tuesday road matchup against the Cincinnati Reds, Rojas took Reds All-Star starter Andrew Abbott deep for a two-run shot. He'd then round his day off with an RBI double his next time up to go 2-for-2 with a homer and 3 RBI.

This was just the latest standout performance in what's been an incredible start to Rojas' 2026 spring training campaign. Through his first six plate appearances across three games, he's hitting .600 with a 2.667 OPS, two homers, four RBI and one walk.

As it stands right now, Rojas looks like the best hitter in Royals camp. He leads all team hitters with more than one game of spring action so far in OPS, HR, RBI and wRC+.

And if this continues, Rojas could check a lot of boxes for the Royals if they opt to have him break camp with them next month.

Other than Carter Jensen and likely Michael Massey, the Royals last two bench spots seem as though they're open to competition.

Tyler Tolbert may have more positional versatility and is the ultimate speed threat, but his .701 OPS and 92 wRC+ in 2025 hardly make him a surefire bet to be a major leaguer come March 27. And then there's Nick Loftin, who may be earmarked by Matt Quatraro and the Royals' brain trust as being a key versatile piece this upcoming season, but the reality is, his 73 wRC+ 2025 season placed him another year further from his once top organizational prospect potential.

This means someone like Rojas, with the way he's performing and his ability to play both second base, third base and the corner outfield, could end up being just the utility option the Royals are looking for this year.

On top of that, he has some prior success to dream on, with back-to-back season above a 100 wRC+ back in 2021 and 2022 when he was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Time will tell if this is just early spring luck or a sign of good things to come, but the Royals have to be thrilled with how their low-risk gamble on Rojas looks at the moment and the healthy competition it's bringing to camp.