3 urgent moves the KC Royals must make after quiet winter meetings

It is without a doubt that the Winter Meetings this year were an absolute dud. The Juan Soto trade to New York and Eduardo Rodríguez's signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks somewhat redeemed the meetings, but it was still a boring few days for fans. KC Royals fans can groan all they want about the team's lack of impact moves in Nashville, but that was also the case for most of baseball.

The KC Royals need to increase their urgency and results this offseason.

Yet, the offseason should kick up a notch once superstar Shohei Ohtani announces his next destination. He, along with pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, are the biggest dominoes MLB teams are waiting to fall. The Royals may not be in on either player, but players are likely waiting for clear options once the big-money players are signed.

Some fans respect the offseason process, but most simply want results. After Kansas City's terrible season and the front office repeating that they were better than their 106 losses, results need to happen. The Royals opted to retain most of their coaching staff despite lackluster player performance, and most of the 2023 roster is still under contract. Kansas City could be waiting to add players before moving on from underperforming ones, but moves need to start rolling in before the new year begins.

The fanbase needs a reason to believe. The front office needs to prove they are better than their predecessors. The ownership needs to invest in the payroll. Most of all, the Royals need to improve the on-field product. How should the Royals do all those things quickly and expeditiously?

Show the fanbase this leadership is serious by extending Bobby Witt Jr.

Whenever this topic comes up, the unanimous response is that the Royals are too cheap and shortsighted to retain Bobby Witt Jr. The move would begin offseason transactions with a bang, make fans hopeful once again, and keep one of the game's brightest young stars under contract for years to come.

Sounds like a win-win-win to me.

This move is not just speculation, but one that both parties have discussed this offseason. Royals general manager J.J. Picollo talked about extension talks in his post-season presser in October.

“We are working on that,” Picollo said. “I don’t really want to comment on it more than (saying it’s) a goal of ours. It would be exciting to do so, as he is a special player. We want to keep special players in our uniform.”

Meanwhile, it's clear Witt wants to work something out and stay in Kansas City.

The Royals extending Witt would likely be a historic one and a move that would have been cheaper just a season ago. He already has a jersey in Cooperstown after his 30-49 season. He is off to a historic career start, and the Royals should ensure his career lasts longer in Kansas City.

Like the process over the results, fans will not care much about the money, incentives, or contract details. What matters most is that the extension happens to keep Witt in a Royals uniform for the prime years of his career.

Execute on evaluation results by moving on from more players.

The fanbase had the "evaluation year" idea drilled into their minds by Royals' leadership this past season. While I appreciate the leadership being transparent about their approach, the evaluation doesn't matter if they do not make changes based on that evaluation.

The Dylan Coleman trade feels like a great example. Coleman, who posted - .4fWAR in 2023, struggled with location all season. His 85 Location+ ranked dead last among Royals relievers and negated his 106 Stuff+. He only pitched in 18 1/3 MLB innings in 2023, being demoted twice after meltdown performances. It did not take years of MLB scouting experience to see that Coleman was not a contributor last season, with few positives for 2024 and beyond.

The Royals identified this and traded Coleman to the Houston Astros for an international prospect. Fans widely disapproved of the move and cited Coleman's 2022 stats as reasons to believe in his potential. The thing is, it is hypocritical to preach potential while wanting immediate improvements. The organization evaluated and deemed Coleman expendable. Since they moved him, they were able to pick Matt Sauer in the Rule 5 Draft.

There are plenty of players still on the 40-man roster that Kansas City should move on from, if at all possible. No organization has the 40-best players in the league on their roster, but the best have deep rosters at the very least. If the organization is out on a player, they need to move on. It is best for all parties and at least gives the Royals a chance to mold the team and give fans reasons for optimism.