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

RHP Brady Singer

Is Brady Singer fighting for a rotational role? No, his job seems safe enough this spring. But, is he fighting for a possible extension and dictacting how his post-arbitration days go? Absolutely. The Royals played salary hardball with him once, and looked smart for it. Now, Singer has a chance to remind fans why Kansas City drafted him so high.

Singer's 2023 wasn't terrible, on the surface at least. He was still worth nearly 2 fWAR, pitched a career-high 159 2/3 innings, and made 29 MLB starts. Not too shabby right? Well, comapred to his 2022 season, it was. Singer's age-26 season had some high hopes for saving the 2018 draft class pitchers and finally give Kansas City a reliable winning starter. Not an ace, more like a king of spades.

Singer's spring training adjustments shows a more malleable pitcher, one realizing his position in the pecking order. He sits in the middle of the pack at best after Kansas City's offseaosn acquisiitons and Cole Ragans' emergence. Singer needs to adapt to survive in the Royals' rotation. Adding a four-seam fastball and sweeper in Arizona proves that.

Fringe MLb players fight for their roster spots every season, every opportunity they get. Singer has long-term money and chances on the line in 2024. A rebound year, by his terms, could buy him opportunites around the league for years to come. A stellar year though, could land him a coveted long-term contract somewhere that many MLB players never see.