Royals News: New TV broadcasting deal, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Cole Ragans WBC

While many Kansas City Royals fans might be wondering if and how this team will pivot after missing out on acquiring top trade target Brendan Donovan, there's still plenty of other headlines happening that they ought to know about with a new month firmly upon us.

From a new television deal for the 2026 season, to the team taking on some familiar initiatives for Black History Month, to a prominent Royal making his World Baseball Classic intentions clear, here's what Royals fans should know as February kicks off.

Royals News: KC introduces Royals.TV after local broadcast drama with FanDuel Sports Network

Amid all the fanfare of how the Royals would conduct their on-field business this winter, there was one major thing happening off the field that, for awhile, caused some headaches to the organization.

After going through the same process with Bally Sports a few years ago, when Main Street Sports was teetering with bankruptcy last month, the Royals broadcasting future was in limbo and the team ended up cancelling their upcoming broadcast deal with the FanDuel Sports Network for the 2026 season.

But Royals fans no longer have to wait on how they can catch their local bradcasts in 2026, with the team announcing that they've partnered with Major League Baseball to provide television coverage in 2026.

"We thank FanDuel and their parent company, Main Street Sports, for everything they’ve done," Royals President of Business Operations Cullen Maxey said Monday, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com.

"We are excited about moving over to Major League Baseball," Maxey said. "They have built a team to support local teams and their network efforts."

"They’ve got all the relationships we need," he said.

As Royals writer David Lesky outlined, the deal will provide blackout free coverage to nearly the entire midwest region in proximity to the Kansas City, Missouri area, except for the St. Louis area.

Anne Rogers also notes that while details are still to be announced closer to the start of the season, fans who watch games via cable will still be able to watch Royals.TV in the same manner this year.

"Royals.TV will also be available through cable and satellite distributors like FanDuel Sports Kansas City was in previous years," she wrote.

Apart from local fans travelling outside the region or nationally exclusive telecasts, local fans can access blackout free Royals coverage for a yearly $99.99 fee. Out-of-market fans can still access KC broadcasts through a yearly MLB.TV subscription for $149.99.

Royals News: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum offering free admissions for month of February once again

February marked the beginning of Black History Month and for the fifth consecutive year, the Kansas City Royals are sponsoring free admissions to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for the month.

Of the numerous ways the organization supports the museum throughout the year, this specific initiative has equated to a $435,000 contribution since February 2022, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com.

"We can’t thank the Kansas City Royals and The Royals Foundation enough for once again opening the doors of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum free of charge for the entire month of February and we look forward to seeing the turnstiles spinning," NLBM president Bob Kendrick said.

And owner John Sherman, as part of his remarks during this past weekend's Royals Rally, said this initiative is "a no-brainer".

"That institution – we think it’s an important story that needs to be told, far and wide," Sherman said. "And it’s a pretty simple thing for us to do."

Royals News: KC ace Cole Ragans will not pitch in upcoming World Baseball Classic

Wrapping things up, potentially lost in the weekend and early week baseball buzz, the World Baseball Classic status of one prominent Royal was settled.

As reported by Jack Johnson of Locked on Royals on Saturday, GM J.J. Picollo said that ace Cole Ragans has chosen not to pitch in next month's global tournament.

"J.J Picollo said that Cole Ragans was asked to pitch for Team USA in the WBC but declined so that he could have a normal spring training and build up," Johnson wrote on X.

The decision should come as no surprise to the Royals faithful after the injury-riddled season Ragans just endured in 2025.

The sensational southpaw only managed to make 13 starts and throw 61.2 innings last year and his early season ailments took a hold on his stats, as he threw to a disappointing 4.67 ERA.

However, it's no surprise to hear that manager Mark DeRosa and his crew asked him to pitch for Team USA this year given not only how strong a prior track record he had in 2023 and 2024, but how strong he looked upon his return to the mound in September this past year.

In his final three starts of the season, Ragans looked like the Ragans of old, throwing to a 2.77 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 0.77 FIP and .136 BAA while striking out 45.8% of batters.

Royals fans likely would have loved to see Ragans commit to playing in the WBC and following in the footsteps that many of his teammates have already taken, including most recently Maikel Garcia, but also Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, Carlos Estévez, Seth Lugo, Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone.

However, the thought of him focussing on the upcoming season will certainly be comforting, as a return to ace status could make all the difference in Kansas City's push to make it back to the postseason.