4 things that could thrill KC Royals fans in 2024

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At least from a baseball perspective, the KC Royals and their fans won't mourn the end of 2023. It has been, after all, a rough year for both — the club avoided setting a new franchise record for losses only by beating the Yankees on the final day of the season, and the fanbase somehow survived a campaign lost almost as soon as it began.

Even after such a debacle of a season, though, there is hope for these Royals, and for once it's rooted not in overly optimistic puffing, but instead in concrete winter moves. After a quiet beginning to the offseason that increased the anxiety of followers fed up with losing, general manager J.J. Picollo reconstructed his club via an impressive collection of free agent signings and trades.

Those moves alone improve the outlook for a new season set to launch at Kauffman Stadium in late March; barring serious injuries to key players or an encore of some of the poor performances that drove the pitiful 2023 campaign, the Royals will be better and win more games. But aside from an improved record, what other things could excite KC fans in 2024?

Here are just a few.

A Bobby Witt Jr. extension could send Royals fans into a frenzy

So good is Bobby Witt Jr. that the cries for giving him a long-term contract extension began even before he played his first game in The Show. The clamor continues unabated today and failure this winter to secure Witt's services for years to come is sure to ignite a firestorm of fan anger.

Signing Witt to a new, bigger, and longer contract, on the other hand, will thrill Royals fans everywhere.

What else could excite them?

Bringing back Zack Greinke could make many Kansas City fans happy

Not long ago, the mystery surrounding Zack Greinke seemed solved when it became clear he wants to continue pitching. Greinke, an almost certain first-ballot Hall of Fame selection after he retires, resolved the uncertainty about his baseball future in mid-December — he's searching for a place to continue his career.

Whether that venue is Kansas City remains to be seen; it's probably best that it not be, but the Royals reuniting with Greinke would please a not insignificant portion of their fanbase.

Why? Because Royal followers like Greinke. He isn't the pitcher he used to be — only teammate Jordan Lyles losing 17 games prevented Greinke's 15 from tying for most defeats in the majors — but his starts still draw crowds. And he can still pitch well, just not as often as before.

Then there's the huge milestone so easily within his grasp. Greinke finished the 2023 season with 2,979 career strikeouts, leaving him only 21 short of 3,000, a plateau only 19 major league pitchers have ever reached.

Kansas City fans would love to see Greinke achieve the feat as a member of the Royals. Will it happen? We shall see.

Another thing could make fans quite happy...

Royals fans will be more than pleased if MJ Melendez rediscovers his bat

MJ Melendez has become a Kansas City mainstay during the two seasons he's been a big leaguer, and will probably be in the middle of manager Matt Quatraro's Opening Day lineup. But the roster security he presently enjoys doesn't mean his short career hasn't been disappointing.

It has.

Hope and expectations were high for Melendez when, after slashing .288/.386/.625, pacing all of the minor leagues with 41 homers, and driving in 103 runs in 2021, he broke into the majors with the Royals the following season. Yes, he homered 18 times that year, but hit only .217 and looked awkward and frequently ineffective as he transitioned from catching to the outfield. He raised his average to .235 last season, but his home run production dropped a bit to 16, and his defensive troubles continued in the outfield corners.

Put simply, Melendez hasn't been the player many thought he'd be. That could change, though, if he somehow rediscovers the offensive form he displayed in 2021. There are signs he might — he hit .273 with a .352 OBP, 10 homers, and 25 RBI in 64 post-All-Star Break games last season.

Royals fans will be overjoyed if Melendez continues along that path.

Moving along...

How Jordan Lyles could make KC Royals fans happy

Jordan Lyles' 2023 season was one to forget. Working in the first year of the two-season deal he signed with the Royals last winter, he went 6-17 with a 6.28 ERA; those 17 defeats and unacceptable ERA were the big leagues' worst.

That Lyles had such an awful campaign wasn't entirely unforeseeable. Entering the season with a 5.10 career ERA meant he was no stranger to surrendering too many runs, and he couldn't count more than three winning records among his 12 previous big league seasons.

His ugly performance made for much dissension among Royal faithful, but he wasn't really tradeable during the season and, combined with what he did in 2023, his two-year contract means the Royals won't be able to effectively court suitors for him until the midsummer trade deadline period, and then only if he's at least partially acquitted himself of last season's bad work.

Kansas City fans would, of course, welcome Lyles improving enough to make himself marketable — their club could deal him to a contender for prospects and avoid losing him for nothing when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Time and several appearances will determine how much improvement, if any, Lyles can achieve in 2024. If he's significantly better, and pays the club some dividends from that two-year deal, Royals fans just might be thrilled.

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