Unfortunate Royals arbitration pattern could hint at fan favorite's ultimate fate

The Kansas City Royals accomplished a lot ahead of Thursday's arbitration deadline, avoiding hearings with six of their nine eligible names, including the likes of potential second base regular Michael Massey, starting center fielder Kyle Isbel and the newly acquired reliever Nick Mears.

However, among the three names left unprotected includes a pair of names that have grabbed a considerable amount of headlines this winter, All-Star starter Kris Bubic and fan favorite run production specialist Vinnie Pasquantino.

Now, it's pretty clear what intentions the Royals might have with Bubic, as he could very well be on the chopping block given his one year of remaining team control and their plethora of starting pitching depth. So, it's not entirely surprising the Royals are satisfied with testing their luck with him in arbitration.

However, the one situation that seems precarious at the moment is that of Vinnie Pasquantino, as a gap in value in his first arbitration eligible season makes for a potentially uncertain future.

Royals failing to avoid arbitration with Vinnie Pasquantino could put future relationship in jeopardy

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Royals and Pasquantino have a $500,000 gap in their valuations of what he should be earning in 2026 - the Royals are offering $4 million and Pasquantino wants $4.5 million.

Now, the gap isn't egregious considering where names like Tarik Skubal and the Tigers ($32 million versus $19 million) or William Contreras and the Brewers ($9.9 million versus $8.55 million) are. However, it's what not coming to an agreement represents.

There's not threat to Pasquantino leaving between now and the end of the 2028 season unless the Royals choose to themselves, but arbitration can be real strain on a relationship between a player and a team, just ask Corbin Burnes and Milwaukee.

In that case after choice words were had, the relationship was no longer tenable between Burnes and the Brewers and it didn't take long for the team to trade him elsewhere.

Arbitration doesn't need to be ugly, but at the end of the day it's a process where the team has to argue why their player isn't worth more than what they're offering, which can bring out the ugly in anyone if not careful.

And given the fact that Pasquantino revealed on Foul Territory earlier this week that the Royals haven' had any contact with him regarding an extension in years only adds another level of concern for those who believe he's a part of this team's long term future.

Could this mean the Royals are exploring a similar option to Bubic with Pasquantino and he might be on the chopping block himself?

Only time will tell, but the way things are going at the moment, the Pasquatch's future with the franchise is under a bit uncertainty.