KC Royals: 3 players to ditch, 9 to add before season’s end

The KC Royals season has been one filled with disappointment and losses, but there's always next season right? The team needs to focus on that as the 2023 season winds down. The Royals have already deployed 31 different pitchers this season and 49 different batters too. This roster has seen plenty of turnover but, in the words of Matthew McConaughey as Mark Hanna, "You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers in this racket."

The KC Royals need to move past these three players, towards the future.

The Royals have some clear players that do not factor into the future of this organization. Guys like Nicky Lopez and Jose Cuas fit that role but hit the road at the trade deadline. That opportunity has passed. The Royals need to cut bait with these players, return or not, to truly lean into evaluation mode to close out the 2023 season.

Reliever Collin Snider

Remember "The Fireman" Collin Snider? His 2022 debut season started strong, but terrible May and June performances erased any goodwill his MArch and April outings built. Snider's MLB workload never recovered, and a second-chance September saw Snider give up seven runs on 12 hits in nine innings of work. Snider had a surprising stretch of games, but the bulk of his appearances outweighed that. Snider ended up posting a -.6 WAR in 42 appearances, a terrible rate at best.

Snider appeared in five games for the Royals, with even worse results. From July 2 to July 15, Snider had four walks to three strikeouts, four earned runs in less than five innings, and posted a 2.357 WHIP. All of that, the strikeout/walk ratio, the ERA, and the WHIP, is well below the league average. Even Royals utilityman Matt Beaty has a better strikeout/walk ratio this season.

If there were some better results in Triple-A, there would be a reason for keeping the 27-year-old. But, the sad fact is he is having his worst season at the Triple-A level. Across 35 games, Snider has 9 K/9, 6.81 BB/9, and a 1.78 WHIP. All those are not only bad but minor league career lows for Snider. There is not a redeeming factor to find in Snider this season, at any level. There are some good bullpen arms, better ones certainly, who need to join the 40-man roster now and take Snider's spot.

Replacement players: Will Klein, John McMillon, Steven Cruz