Royals Spring Training Update: Mitch Spence role, Alec Marsh IL, Jonathan India ready

Kansas City Royals spring training camp is well underway with game action beginning this time next week.

There's been plenty of happenings that have already occurred in the first few days of camp to occupy the minds of Royals fans, from spring training trades, to names missing from camp proceedings, to insights on players' mindsets as the new campaign fast approaches.

And there's plenty of other tidbits and snippets of info that Royals fans ought to know about as the first weekend of camp gets underway.

Royals Spring Training Update: New arrival Mitch Spence expected to be stretched out as a starter in spring training

The Royals made a bit of eyebrow-raising move on Thursday after the acquired right-hander Mitch Spence from the Athletics in exchange for promising young relief prospect A.J. Causey.

Despite having such a deep major league starting pitching group already, even though Spence has big league experience operating out of the bullpen and starting rotation, MLB.com's Anne Rogers reports that the Royals intend to stretch him out as a starter this spring.

While it seems like a longshot Spence takes one of the Royals' five rotation spots, general manager J.J. Picollo says that Spence's value goes beyond the 26-man roster.

"Right now, we’d like to have as many optionable starting pitchers in Triple-A," Picollo told Rogers. "Because whatever happens, now you have multiple guys you could potentially call up."

Spence spent last season between the Athletics and Triple-A Las Vegas after a full year in Oakland the year prior due to Rule 5 requirements. He currently has a pair of minor league options remaining.

Royals News: Alec Marsh becomes the Royals first casualty to the 60-day IL

After missing all of the 2025 season, 2026 isn't looking any better for Royals right-hander Alec Marsh, who, in a corresponding move to make space for Spence on the roster, was placed on the 60-day IL.

It was a right shoulder impingement that kept Marsh sidelined last season and it's the same this time around, after undergoing labral surgery this fall.

According to a report from FOX 4, Marsh unfortunately seems set to suffer the same fate as he did a year ago and miss all of 2026 as well.

As mentioned already, Marsh last threw in 2024, where he wasn't spectacular, but was respectable in his first year as a primary starter. In 26 outings (25 of which were starts), the now 27-year-old tossed to a 4.53 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 1.26 WHIP and .247 BAA in 129.0 innings pitched.

Royals News: Hitting coach Alec Zumwalt raves about Jonathan India after lackluster 2025 season

We wrap up with Jonathan India, who despite speculation still seems poised to, at the very least, hold a regular spot at second base this season, if not being the outright starter.

In 136 games last season, India looked uninspiring to say the least. He slashed career lows with just a .233 AVG, .323 OBP and .346 SLG with another career worst total of an 89 wRC+.

But the second baseman still seems to have the support of one prominent voice in the Royals dugout already this spring at least, as hitting coach Alec Zumwalt raved about India's offseason progress, according to a report from Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star

"He put a lot of work in this offseason to be in the best place he can be," Zumwalt told Thompson on Friday.

Now it's just a matter of seeing how things translate to game action, as there are still plenty of uncertainties about India's role in 2026.

How long a leash will he have at second? Where in the lineup do you hit him at? And simply, was 2025 an anomaly and he's worth his $8 million investment in 2026 or was last season a sign of what's still to come?