Royals make 2 polar opposite roster decisions ahead of non-tender deadline

The anticipated non-tender deadline has come and gone and the Royals faithful now has a better idea of who will be back on their 2026 roster next season.

While there were predictable names who stayed on the expected trajectory of going to arbitration, like Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia, and other names who were surprisingly tendered deals to avoid arbitration altogether in Jonathan India and James McArthur, the last thing to figure out was who would be on the non-tender chopping block.

Well, the wait is over and Kansas City made a pair of roster cuts, one that was entirely expected and one that came as rather a shock.

The team announced Friday that they were non-tendering both outfielder MJ Melendez and right-handed reliever Taylor Clarke.

Royals expectedly non-tender MJ Melendez and shockingly cut Taylor Clarke

MJ Melendez being cut should come as a surprise to nobody, as the struggling 26-year-old looked entirely overmatched as big leaguer in his two stints in the majors this year.

In 65 plate appearances across 23 games, Melendez slashed .083/.154/.167 with a lonesome solo-homer being his only form of run production while striking out 35.4% of the time and posting a -14 wRC+.

Kansas City may have a well-documented need for corner outfield help this winter, but there's no reason to think Melendez was to be any sort a solution to that issue. In fact, his underperformance was among the key reasons they find themselves in their current outfield situation.

What was a surprise though was Taylor Clarke's non-tendering after the breakout campaign he crafted in 2025, as he likely wasn't the first pitcher many though would get the boot (cough, cough...Bailey Falter).

Clarke turned himself into one of Kansas City's more reliable relievers down the stretch and even took on some more high-leverage inning situations as well in the second half of the year.

After cracking the roster in May as injury-replacement, Clarke would throw to a respectable 3.25 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 0.85 WHIP and .194 BAA in 55.1 innings across 51 outings. This included a stellar second half to the season, where Clarke looked borderline untouchable, throwing to a 1.82 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and .178 BAA.

He seemed to be gearing up to receiving a more consistent trusted role in this 'pen rather than being eliminated from it altogether.

And the fact he was coming off the second half he was with only a projected $1.9 million price tag if he were to hit arbitration (as per MLB Trade Rumors), he made all the sense in the world as a relatively cost effective relief option for a bullpen that warrants a degree of improvement this winter.

The Royals 40-man roster now sits a 38, so how they go about filling those remaining two spots will be at the top of everyone's mind now heading into the heart of the offseason.