6 KC Royals players fighting for their futures heading into 2024 season

The KC Royals are once again chasing a Cactus League pennant, but spring training successes offers little solace to fans. Years of losing, finishing in the AL Central's bottom healf, and aimless rosters have Royals fans starving for meaningful improvement. The free agent additions, namely pitchers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, brought some optimism to The City of Fountains.

Plenty of KC Royals players have something to fight for in 2024.

The Royals, fans and team alike, are hoping for major improvements in the win-loss column this coming season. After all, what was the point of the 2023 evaluation season? As spring training hits the back nine, let's look at some Royals players with something to fight for in 2024.

RHP Carlos Hernández

How many times have we hammered Carlos Hernández this offseason? The fireballer had a great opportunity following the 2023 trade deadline but stumbled down the stretch. Now a shoulder injury has hampered the Venezuelan in spring training.

“You get the injection, and then there’s a rest period to let it do its job," Quatraro said Feb. 27. "It is something that’s been nagging him since he got into camp. He tried to throw through it, but it didn’t feel comfortable at this time pushing forward."

Royals fans know how spring injuries seemingly sideline a player for a longer time than normal. Hernández could either be a premier trade candidate this season or a non-factor in the Royals bullpen. His 2023 season proves there is no inbetween for him.

OF MJ Melendez

Outfielder MJ Melendez is about to being Act Two as an MLB outfielder. He is fighting t onot only prove his doubters wrong, but prove that he can be an outfielder day in and day out.

“I feel like I’ve shown flashes of what I can do but haven’t been as consistent as I wanted to be ...” Melendez said to Kansas City Star reporter Jaylon Thompson. “So my goal is to maintain that confidence.”

Melendez went through a subtle sophomore slump at the plate, but one wonders how much moving from catcher to full-time outfielder affected that. He still played in 148 games and logged a shocking 602 plate appearances for Kansas City last year, walking 10.3% of the time. Melendez struggled at the plate in the season's beginning, but a 124 wRC+ in the second half offers hope.

“There is a lot to like about MJ,” Quatraro said. “He has huge offensive potential. We saw last year, you know, he hits the ball extremely hard. He can drive the ball to all fields. His at-bats got much more consistent in the second half of the year."

If Melendez's shows slight growth in the outfield, his bat will need to keep him in the long-term left field conversation. Changing positions this late in a baseball career can be challenging. Doing so at the MLB is trial by fire. Melendez has the ceiling to produce at the plate, but his defensive value will limit that. Melendez can make fnas forget about the 2023 season with noticeable defensive improvements and

LHP Jake Brentz

Regular Kings of Kauffman readers may remember my expectations for reliever Jake Brentz hinged heavily on his spring training performance. Well, his control has been among the Cactus League's worst this spring and his Opening Day roster chances diminish with every appearance. If Brentz wants to recapture his 2021 potential, he needs to do so quickly.

Brentz once flashed immense potential, looking like a lefty flamethrower the Royals could rely on as a setup man. So what he was a bit erratic? He still struck out 27.3% of opposing batters in his debut season, limited hard contact, and fastball surpassing 100 MPH at times. His control didn't seem that important until it, well, wasn't there anymore.

Brentz's recovery from Tommy John surgery was fairly long, with a lat strain hampering it further. We heard about Brentz's health and returned velocity this spring, offering hope that the lefty was truly back. But his first four games this spring have only hurt his MLB future. He has walked an ugly 11 batters with nine earned runs in only 2 1/3 innings of action.

Brentz is not only fighting for a bullpen role; he is fighting for his career. He has been the worst reliever in Royals camp this season, at least judging by the in-game performance. I want to see how he bounces back, but every appearance makes me question if he bounces back at all.

2B Michael Massey

Kings of Kauffman writer Patrick Glancy had a tepid response to second baseman Michael Massey's 2023 season. Glancy said Massey "put himself in a position to be pushed from the start of spring training. If he doesn't start strongly in 2024 and learn how to maintain success, the Royals may be forced to go in a different direction." It is hard to disagree with that, even with spring training underway.

Massey has lived up to his defensive billing. Sure, he is not an immediate Gold Glove contender at second base, but he is holding his own in the field. It is his bat that leaves fans wanting more. Never mind many were fine with Omar Infante taking up payroll and a spot in the lineup. Massey certainly has room for improvement at the plate, and starting the season strong will go a long way.

Massey, like many of his Kansas City counterparts, had a better second-half performance in 2023 at the plate. He remained below-average though in that span, sporting an 85 wRC+. That is an acceptable season-long metric for a glove-first second baseman, but it leaves fans wanting more in the lineup's bottom half.

Massey has been performing well in spring training so far. However, he is facing competition from Nick Loftin, Adam Frazier, and Garrett Hampson in the middle infield position. To secure his place in the team, Massey not only needs to maintain his performance but also outshine his competitors.

RHP Matt Sauer

I am hard-pressed to think of a player with a shorter leash than reliever Matt Sauer. Rule 5 draft picks do not have a good history of staying with their new club in recent history. Kansas City has a solid track record of finding productive players in the Rule 5 draft, compared to the rest of the league. They hope Sauer can be another success story of finding undervalued players.

Sauer has the frame and stuff to possibly be a starter, but injuries and a top-heavy New York Yankees pitching corp made his MLB path tough. The righty hopes to improve his fastball by a few ticks coming out of the bullpen while leaning on a fastball/slider mix in a relief role. His curveball and changeup have potential but would be easy pickings for MLB hitters.

Sauer will have plenty of low-leverage appearances this season. His performance in those will define his future not only in Kansas City but in the MLB. The Royals covet his control and ability to throw strikes, but are betting his stuff improves in a relief role. Brad Keller and Joakim Soria fit that profile in ways, but will Sauer be another forgotten player or a diamond in the rough? He will decide his fate in 2024.

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