Post by Commissioner Erick on Jul 1, 2024 12:25:29 GMT -5
The Royals won the World Series for the second time in three seasons, and though the core of the 2030 team formed this year’s champion, Daniel Kent continued to make shrewd to build out the secondary layer of the championship core. He continued to showcase his trade acumen, landing starting infielders in deals for prospects, building out the rotation, and seeing the fruits of older deals bear fruit.
He also showed that keeping his best players locked in with reasonable salaries allowed the team to flesh out some depth as only one player earned more than $20 million.
Players
Trades
Jorge Vargas (4/18/22—Traded from Chicago White Sox, along with Jaden Ancrum, a 1st round pick, and a 2nd round pick, for a 1st round pick. $15.2 million contract in 2032)
Michael Laffont (2/23/26—Traded from Chicago White Sox, along with Tom Hedrick, and Tim Grove for Gavin Lux. Minimum contract in 2032)
Taylor Lehman (4/26/27—Traded from Tampa Bay for Orlando Aguilar, Barrett Suggs, and Tim Grove. $7.3 million contract in 2032)
Ryan Beyer (11/22/28—Traded from New York Mets along with Dan Altavilla for Jose Pineda, Jaak Bos, Adrian Uribe, Hui-ying Xiong, Blake Hunt, Josh Allen, and Mike Gifford. $11.5 million contract in 2032)
Dustin Oakes (12/25/28—Traded from Baltimore for Dan Yancey. Minimum contract in 2032)
Roderick Dalton (11/26/29—Traded from Detroit for C.J. Hoover and Ivan Johnson. $20.7 million contract in 2032)
Jeff Payton (6/3/30)—Traded from Minnesota for Bob Rosales. $4.5 million contract in 2032)
Luis Nunez (6/24/30—Traded from New York Mets for Oscar Rivera. $5.5 million contract in 2032)
Johnny Bachman (11/4/30—Traded from New York Mets for a first round pick. Minimum contract in 2032).
Marcus Thomas (1/6/31—Traded from Houston for Edwin Quiroz, Edwin Jimenez, a fourth round pick, and a fifth round pick. Minimum contract in 2032).
Aaron Wallace (7/28/31—Traded from St. Louis for Ryan Barber. $6.1 million contract in 2032)
Bob Beasley (11/31/31—Traded from Arizona for Edwin Galindo, Alex Munoz, Ajani Ghoston, and a second round pick. $14 million contract in 2032)
Tyler Schneider (12/31/31—Traded from Houston for Hugo Venegas, Steve Rohr, Jeremy Garretson, and a 1st Round Pick. Minimum contract in 2032)
Jason Fulton (1/12/32—Traded from San Diego for Willie Montiel, Tim McGinn, and Cory Hahn. Minimum contract in 2032)
Kansas City hasn’t just shone, they’ve radiated in trades, with most of their elite talent being acquired via swapping with other teams.
The most important trade they made was early in Kent’s tenure, trading the first overall pick in 2022 for a pair of picks, Jorge Vargas, and a reacquired Jaden Ancrum. They acquired that pick by fleecing Seattle, trading Jeifry Nunez for a host of assets, then traded the pick for the two future superstars, the pick that would become Roger Airhart, and a second round pick that didn’t work out. Ancrum turned into J.P. Crawford, who helped the team in the middle of the decade, while Vargas became a superstar. Vargas has led the league in homers, RBIs, runs, doubles, walks, and slugging percentage in his career, and has four Silver Sluggers to his name. He’s been the superstar who has fueled Kansas City’s success the last half decade.
The other player Kansas City acquired, who took their team to the next level, was Roderick Dalton. The Royals swapped out Ivan Johnson, an almost prototypical Royal as an elite defender with an outstanding ability to control the strike zone, plus C.J. Hoover, a spare part, for Dalton. Dalton has given Kansas City the offensive muscle to fight their way past elite playoff pitching. He’s provided tremendous regular season value in past years, and though he had a down regular season this year, had four homers in the playoffs to push the Royals forward. Kansas City realized they already had a team of great defenders and contact hitters, but needed one more special bat to propel them forward.
Kansas City acquired Jason Fulton, Tyler Schneider, Bob Beasley, and Luis Nunez in trades as well, meaning two-thirds of the team’s starting lineup was acquired in a trade. All of the five listed were acquired within the last 30 months, with Schneider, Beasley, and Fulton coming last offseason. This means that Kansas City was able to pivot away from their prior supporting cast using the trade route, and were able to build another champion.
They also picked up three exceptional starting pitchers via trade. Laffont came in a fleecing of Chicago an eternity ago, giving up the uninspiring Gavin Lux. Ryan Beyer was a gutsy trade with New York prior to 2029. Aaron Wallace was in some ways a damaged good in St. Louis in 2031. Those are three different players at three different spots in the aging curve and salary structure that Kansas City acquired.
The Royals also picked up a few relievers, backups, and fringe pieces, with one commonality. Virtually none of the players or prospects Kansas City gave up have amounted to much. They’ve been able to assemble a championship roster, with very little shipped out.
Let’s go in order: Laffont was an elite prospect discovered by the White Sox in 2025, who would take an eternity to develop. Chicago traded for him as a 16 year old the next offseason, and he developed according to plan as a top flight pitcher, making the futures game four times along the way. Kansas City didn’t need to rush him, nor did they need to trade him, so when he matured after a lengthy incubation period, he was 23 years old, a Top 10 Prospect, but someone who was primed to excel as a rookie. He had a strong regular season and a dominant postseason, and looks to be Kansas City’s number two arm for a decade-plus. The Royals also got Tom Hedrick and Tim Grove in the deal. Hedrick made some minor league All Star Games, and Grove lost a ton of starts for the Rays, but they were throw ins. Lux has played some good defense, and had an OPS+ above 100 twice since the trade, but has generally left his general managers wanting more. Kansas City wanted more and got an elite prospect that became an elite pitcher.
Taylor Lehman didn’t do anything in the playoffs thanks to a torn elbow, but he had a solid regular season doing what he always does, throwing strikes and keeping the ball in the yard. Kansas City gave up the before-mentioned Grove, the sub-replacement Suggs, and the failed to develop Aguilar. Something for nothing.
Ryan Beyer was an elite arm for the Mets, but someone with a torn rotator cuff who couldn’t pitch deep into games. The Royals made a gamble that he would return to form with them, and that they had the bullpen infrastructure to support his lack of stamina. He’s been exceptional for Kansas City, and one of the best pitchers in baseball since coming over. Kansas City also got Dan Altavilla in the deal, who was rerouted to Boston for a draft pick.
Kansas City gave up seven assets in the deal. Jose Pineda has already retired, Josh Allen has produced negative WAR in his career, though he still has some potential as a second division slugger. Mike Gifford led the NL in losses in 2030 and also has negative career WAR. Adrian Uribe has not played in the PBA, nor does he look like he has the potential to do so. Jaak Bos looks like a respectable backend arm, and Hui-Ying Xiong has the potential to become one as well. Blake Hunt had a strong 2029 for Detroit, then phased into a backup role. It’s possible several of these players become useful, but it’s likely none become an impact player. Kansas City got a superstar for spare parts.
Dustin Oakes was traded straight up for Dan Yancey, and while Oakes is simply a speed-and-defense oriented backup outfielder, he’s very good at that role. Yancey has been a solid reliever in his own right, but while Kansas City hasn’t clearly won the trade, they’ve certainly benefited from Oakes, and their bullpen has been deep enough to not need Yancey.
The trades from 2030 on are more recent, so the players traded still need time to develop. However, the first trade made in 2030 was Jeff Payton for Bob Rosales. Payton has been an excellent swingman for Kansas City, while Rosales looks like he’ll struggle to make it above Triple-A.
Luis Nunez played great defense and had a number of huge playoff hits for the Royals. He was swapped for Knuckles Rivera, who may possibly make it as a backup Catcher. The Royals got a starter for basically nothing.
Johnny Bachman was acquired from the Mets for a strong return, a first round pick. A good utility player, he gives Kansas City flexibility when healthy, though he missed the 2032 playoff run. The pick was eventually sent to the Angels in the Marcus Stroman salary dump and became Steve Monahan, who might make it as a swingman. The most likely outcome is Monahan becomes nothing, and Kansas City, again, acquires talent for free.
Soon after acquiring Bachman, the Royals acquired Houston’s Marcus Thomas for four assets—Edwin Quiroz, Edwin Jimenez, a fourth round pick, and a fifth round pick. Thomas has been a top notch reliever in his brief career, worthy of a high price in trade. Quiroz may hit it, but is an unconventional prospect as a speed-and-contact Third Baseman with little power. Edwin Jimenez may also be worth it as a right-handed hitting outfielder with a decent bat, but he’s just a teenager and forever away. The picks turned into Nick Engstrom and Danny Shultz. Engstrom may be a utility infielder if he hits his 80th percentile outcome, and Shultz looks destined for Triple-A. It’s possible, but unlikely Quiroz will make Kent look foolish for trading him for Thomas.
Aaron Wallace has been an incredible regular season pitcher for the Royals, and he was acquired for Ryan Barber, a pitcher whose best case scenario is to become Aaron Wallace.
Bob Beasley was a star for the Royals, with an amazing postseason. He was picked up for Edwin Galindo, Alex Munoz, Ajani Ghoston, and a second round pick. Munoz has a good bat and has a chance to be a good player, but Galindo is maybe a backup Second Baseman, Ghoston is a backup Catcher, and the second round pick became Kevin Spainhour, a good looking offensive infield prospect, who was just drafted. Much of that trade is TBD with regards to what the Royals gave up, but Beasley’s tremendous 2032 postseason will make it worth it, regardless of the outcome.
Tyler Schneider may have been Kansas City’s first misstep, and it was a different kind of player acquired. He was a flawed prospect with upside that Kansas City took a swing on, but he struggled through his rookie year and was overwhelmed in the playoffs. The Royals gave up Hugo Venegas, Steve Rohr, Jeremy Garretson, and a first round pick to acquire him. The pick became Caleb Larsen, a fast-moving infielder with a balanced bat, and who can maybe pitch a little as a bonus. Venegas is a Top 50 pitching prospect, while Rohr and Garretson are fringe outfield prospects. Schneider is still young and has a lot of upside though, so the ultimate future is to be determined.
Finally, Kanas City sent Willie Montiel, Tim McGinn, and Cory Hahn to San Diego for Jason Fulton to jump start the Padres rebuild. Fulton was an outstanding defender, whose glove helped suffocate San Diego in the World Series. All three look like PBA players, and McGinn in particular looks like a guy with a bright future, but Fulton was a 25 year old who produced a 4.1 WAR season and helped the club win a title.
It’s possible that Kansas City’s recent deals change the narrative, but most of their players acquired via trade were acquired for very little highlighting Kent’s ability to take on talented, but flawed players and put them in an environment where they could succeed, while reducing the cost on who they’re acquiring. Recent trades may result in Kansas City giving up impactful players but the guys they brought on were key secondary contributors to a championship team. It takes work to succeed in building a team primarily via trade, and Kent deserves immense credit for pulling that off.
Draft Picks
Roger Airhart (2022, 1st round, 28th overall. $2.7 million contract in 2032)
Jonathan Bakos (2022, 5th round, 153rd overall. $15.8 million contract in 2032)
Frank Aguilar (2023, 5th round, 171st overall. $7.2 million contract in 2032)
Kyle Sidebottom (2024, 2nd round, 55th overall. $3.4 million contract in 2032)
Caleb MacClellan (2029, 2nd Round, 47th overall. Minimum contract in 2032)
Mark Harris (2025, 9th round, 303rd overall. $1.9 million contract in 2032
Vicente Corado (2027 1st round, 1st overall. $11.5 million contract in 2032)
With the exception of Corado in 2027, Kansas City won despite not having elite draft picks on its roster. Kansas City had a ton of early picks before Kent arrived, but most of them turned into serviceable players, not stars. Jaden Ancrum was the lone exception, but he was traded away, reacquired, then traded again for J.P. Crawford.
What Kansas City has done well with the draft is finding useful relievers, many below the first round. Roger Airhart, Frank Aguilar, Kyle Sidebottom, Mark Harris, and Caleb MacClellan all contributed to Kansas City’s bullpen. MacClelan is the only one making the minimum, a bit of an oddity in today’s environment. Kansas City is comfortable paying a little bit more than the minimum—and $7.2 million for Aguilar—to retain solid relievers.
Kansas City did get good fortune with Jonathan Bakos blossoming into a plus Left Fielder and an extra base machine that plays well with Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium dimensions. He’s also a player who maintains his value in the postseason.
Still, it’s clear to see that Kansas City is not a pure draft-and-development powerhouse, using the draft to keep players who are good, but not great, with the exception of a generational prospect like Corado. Instead, Kansas City uses their draft picks and prospects to help excel in the trade market.
Free Agents
Rafael A. Gomez (1/28/30—Signed 3-year, $15 million contract. $5.1 million contract in 2032)
Elijah Cabell (2/20/32—Signed 1-year, $2 million contract)
Amed Rosario (4/7/32—Signed 1-year, $12 million contract)
Kansas City has just a few players acquired via free agency. They lack the budget to take on elite superstars, instead using free agency to supplement the core. Rafael A. Gomez was an elite reliever with the Giants, and has been an elite reliever with the Royals. He’s cost about $5 million a year, a reasonable figure for such a strong pitcher. Because Kansas City isn’t chasing choice free agents, and because Jorge Vargas is on a cheap contract, they can spend a little bit of money on a good, but not-premium relief arm like Gomez.
They signed Elijah Cabell to a cheap contract before Spring Training to round out their outfield rotation. He didn’t hit at all, after a big 2031 with Detroit, but he only cost $2 million, had a small role, and held his own on defense as Tyler Schneider’s personal ninth inning replacement.
Amed Rosario signed after the season started, growing into the starting role with Bachmann’s injuries. He hit for a .272 average in 503 plate appearances, popped a few doubles, turned some double plays, and had a huge postseason. For a one-year stopgap, he was a strong fill in second baseman.
International Free Agents
Jorge Parra (7/1/21—Signed out of Dominican Republic for $5.2 million. $4.2 million contract in 2032)
Parra was signed to a big bonus in 2021 and took some time to develop, but he’s settled in as a good starting Catcher. He draws a ton of walks, hits doubles, and is an excellent fielder, riding that combination to an All Star nod this year. Kansas City shelled out to sign him back in 2021, and it was the right decision.
Scouting Discoveries
Jorge Ortega (9/11/25 from the Dominican Republic. Minimum contract in 2032)
Ortega was discovered back in September 2025 as a soft-throwing arm that didn’t have a huge future. In 2028, however, he saw a velocity jump, and once he mastered throwing harder, his command followed in the 2030 and 2031 seasons. By the time he was called up midway through the 2032 season, he was completely different than the player discovered in the Dominican Republic nearly a decade ago. Ortega supplements a mid-90s heater with a great curveball, which he uses to dominate righties. He’s a definite scouting win.
Rule V
Joey Young (2025, 5th round, 148th overall from Baltimore. $5.5 million contract in 2032)
Kevin Levinsohn (2032, 1st round, 30th overall from Milwaukee. Minimum contract in 2032)
The Royals had two players on their team plucked from the Rule V draft. Joey Young has been on the team forever since being taken from Baltimore prior to the 2025 season. He can play all over, and has a little bit of pop and speed. His last two years have been his worst, and he’s a free agent following the year, so he probably won’t return to Kansas City, but he was free middle infield depth.
Kevin Levinsohn continued Kansas City’s trend of not paying much for backup Catchers. Stuck in Milwaukee, Levinsohn didn’t play in the playoffs but had five homers and six doubles in 181 plate appearances in the regular season. Stuck in Milwaukee’s organization, Kent identified him as serviceable talent that would fill a niche and cost the minimum.
Staff
Assistant GM: Chris Steele
Scouting Director: Jean-Paul De Sousa
Team Trainer: Joe McCullough
The Royals have a completely different staff from when they won the title in 2030. It’s a new staff, a fairly inexperienced staff, and one without too much cohesion, but it was able to win a title.
Chris Steele was the Assistant GM, a long time scout for the White Sox, Cubs, and Rangers, with winning records in 12 of his 14 seasons coached. His only losing record was his first one. His record as a scout was excellent, but he was able to scout the right talent as Assistant GM to build a champion.
Jean-Paul De Sousa was the team’s scout. He was the PBA’s first championship winning scout back in 2017 with the Mets, before scouting for Houston and Washington. Ironically, while those clubs never built much of a prospect factory, De Sousa’s specialty is scouting amateurs and minor leaguers. Kansas City’s veterans helped win this year’s title; De Sousa is around to help maintain and build the next ones.
Joe McCullough was the club’s trainer, signed in 2031 after a five-year run with the Braves. Kansas City actually had a number of IL days this year, as McCullough is only decent at preventing arm and “other” injuries. He’ll make sure a bad back stays healthy, and he’s good with legs, but his specialty is in rest. He’s excellent in rehab, and he makes sure Kansas City’s relievers can get back on the mound, and their position players can be in the lineup day in and day out. McCullough is also good with rehabbing backs and rehabbing arm injuries, so injuries won’t be catastrophic. Kent just had to cross his fingers with the rare leg injuries that happen, or with “other” injuries.
Most of Kansas City’s injury days were taken up by Chris Ely, who wasn’t going to factor with the team anyway. Their two superstars had a combined two days injured this year, with Vargas suffering a mild calf strain in early April.
Johnny Bachman had a number of leg injuries, and McCullough kept him upright for most of them, but Bachman tore his calf in late August, sidelining him for the playoffs. Amed Rosario sprained his knee for a two-week day-to-day injury in late June. Bob Beasley suffered a herniated disk in early August, but was back on the field in just three weeks. Luis Nunez was drilled in the leg with a pitch in early June and it took him three weeks to come back. Those are all the significant position player injuries, and none were too bad aside from Bachman.
Taylor Lehman tore a tendon in his elbow, causing him to miss the playoffs, but the other six arm injuries Kansas City suffered didn’t impact a player for more than a week, a testament to McCullough’s recovery skills.
Bench Coach: Alex Wood
Pitching Coach: Jose Rada
Hitting Coach: Brian Becker
1B Coach: Chris Brant
3B Coach: Chip Hale
Alex Wood was an All Star pitcher for the Dodgers, and a decade after retiring, decided to give being a Bench Coach a try. He didn’t have a great relationship with Kansas City’s veterans, but he is good with developing prospects. He was a huge boon to Michael Laffont and Jorge Ortega’s development.
Jose Rada was a long time pitching coach in rookie leagues, then Cincinnati in 2029. He’s good with teaching pitching and developing prospects, another asset helping Laffont and Ortega along.
Brian Becker is another first time coach. Kansas City signed him to his first job as Hitting Coach. He’s an exceptional teacher, gets along with Kansas City’s hitters extremely well, and is great with both veterans and prospects. Aside from his inexperience, he was a perfect choice of Hitting Coach.
Chris Brant was a new First Base coach. He’s excellent at teaching running, though his inexperience was evident this year as the Royals were the worst baserunning team in the AL. Chip Hale was the team’s Third Base coach, in a weird position. He was Hitting Coach of the Giants the early part of last decade as they became a power, then was Bench Coach for a Philadelphia for a brief time in 2027. With no prestigious coaching jobs around, he took on a $400,000 salary just to be Third Base Coach. An exceptional defensive teacher, he was an asset to the team’s defense, though predictable, he helped the team be last in the AL in baserunning.
On the whole, the Royals realized that getting coaches who would get along with Michael Laffont, and sacrificing baserunning for defensive instruction would be a good plan, and it worked out to a championship.
He also showed that keeping his best players locked in with reasonable salaries allowed the team to flesh out some depth as only one player earned more than $20 million.
Players
Trades
Jorge Vargas (4/18/22—Traded from Chicago White Sox, along with Jaden Ancrum, a 1st round pick, and a 2nd round pick, for a 1st round pick. $15.2 million contract in 2032)
Michael Laffont (2/23/26—Traded from Chicago White Sox, along with Tom Hedrick, and Tim Grove for Gavin Lux. Minimum contract in 2032)
Taylor Lehman (4/26/27—Traded from Tampa Bay for Orlando Aguilar, Barrett Suggs, and Tim Grove. $7.3 million contract in 2032)
Ryan Beyer (11/22/28—Traded from New York Mets along with Dan Altavilla for Jose Pineda, Jaak Bos, Adrian Uribe, Hui-ying Xiong, Blake Hunt, Josh Allen, and Mike Gifford. $11.5 million contract in 2032)
Dustin Oakes (12/25/28—Traded from Baltimore for Dan Yancey. Minimum contract in 2032)
Roderick Dalton (11/26/29—Traded from Detroit for C.J. Hoover and Ivan Johnson. $20.7 million contract in 2032)
Jeff Payton (6/3/30)—Traded from Minnesota for Bob Rosales. $4.5 million contract in 2032)
Luis Nunez (6/24/30—Traded from New York Mets for Oscar Rivera. $5.5 million contract in 2032)
Johnny Bachman (11/4/30—Traded from New York Mets for a first round pick. Minimum contract in 2032).
Marcus Thomas (1/6/31—Traded from Houston for Edwin Quiroz, Edwin Jimenez, a fourth round pick, and a fifth round pick. Minimum contract in 2032).
Aaron Wallace (7/28/31—Traded from St. Louis for Ryan Barber. $6.1 million contract in 2032)
Bob Beasley (11/31/31—Traded from Arizona for Edwin Galindo, Alex Munoz, Ajani Ghoston, and a second round pick. $14 million contract in 2032)
Tyler Schneider (12/31/31—Traded from Houston for Hugo Venegas, Steve Rohr, Jeremy Garretson, and a 1st Round Pick. Minimum contract in 2032)
Jason Fulton (1/12/32—Traded from San Diego for Willie Montiel, Tim McGinn, and Cory Hahn. Minimum contract in 2032)
Kansas City hasn’t just shone, they’ve radiated in trades, with most of their elite talent being acquired via swapping with other teams.
The most important trade they made was early in Kent’s tenure, trading the first overall pick in 2022 for a pair of picks, Jorge Vargas, and a reacquired Jaden Ancrum. They acquired that pick by fleecing Seattle, trading Jeifry Nunez for a host of assets, then traded the pick for the two future superstars, the pick that would become Roger Airhart, and a second round pick that didn’t work out. Ancrum turned into J.P. Crawford, who helped the team in the middle of the decade, while Vargas became a superstar. Vargas has led the league in homers, RBIs, runs, doubles, walks, and slugging percentage in his career, and has four Silver Sluggers to his name. He’s been the superstar who has fueled Kansas City’s success the last half decade.
The other player Kansas City acquired, who took their team to the next level, was Roderick Dalton. The Royals swapped out Ivan Johnson, an almost prototypical Royal as an elite defender with an outstanding ability to control the strike zone, plus C.J. Hoover, a spare part, for Dalton. Dalton has given Kansas City the offensive muscle to fight their way past elite playoff pitching. He’s provided tremendous regular season value in past years, and though he had a down regular season this year, had four homers in the playoffs to push the Royals forward. Kansas City realized they already had a team of great defenders and contact hitters, but needed one more special bat to propel them forward.
Kansas City acquired Jason Fulton, Tyler Schneider, Bob Beasley, and Luis Nunez in trades as well, meaning two-thirds of the team’s starting lineup was acquired in a trade. All of the five listed were acquired within the last 30 months, with Schneider, Beasley, and Fulton coming last offseason. This means that Kansas City was able to pivot away from their prior supporting cast using the trade route, and were able to build another champion.
They also picked up three exceptional starting pitchers via trade. Laffont came in a fleecing of Chicago an eternity ago, giving up the uninspiring Gavin Lux. Ryan Beyer was a gutsy trade with New York prior to 2029. Aaron Wallace was in some ways a damaged good in St. Louis in 2031. Those are three different players at three different spots in the aging curve and salary structure that Kansas City acquired.
The Royals also picked up a few relievers, backups, and fringe pieces, with one commonality. Virtually none of the players or prospects Kansas City gave up have amounted to much. They’ve been able to assemble a championship roster, with very little shipped out.
Let’s go in order: Laffont was an elite prospect discovered by the White Sox in 2025, who would take an eternity to develop. Chicago traded for him as a 16 year old the next offseason, and he developed according to plan as a top flight pitcher, making the futures game four times along the way. Kansas City didn’t need to rush him, nor did they need to trade him, so when he matured after a lengthy incubation period, he was 23 years old, a Top 10 Prospect, but someone who was primed to excel as a rookie. He had a strong regular season and a dominant postseason, and looks to be Kansas City’s number two arm for a decade-plus. The Royals also got Tom Hedrick and Tim Grove in the deal. Hedrick made some minor league All Star Games, and Grove lost a ton of starts for the Rays, but they were throw ins. Lux has played some good defense, and had an OPS+ above 100 twice since the trade, but has generally left his general managers wanting more. Kansas City wanted more and got an elite prospect that became an elite pitcher.
Taylor Lehman didn’t do anything in the playoffs thanks to a torn elbow, but he had a solid regular season doing what he always does, throwing strikes and keeping the ball in the yard. Kansas City gave up the before-mentioned Grove, the sub-replacement Suggs, and the failed to develop Aguilar. Something for nothing.
Ryan Beyer was an elite arm for the Mets, but someone with a torn rotator cuff who couldn’t pitch deep into games. The Royals made a gamble that he would return to form with them, and that they had the bullpen infrastructure to support his lack of stamina. He’s been exceptional for Kansas City, and one of the best pitchers in baseball since coming over. Kansas City also got Dan Altavilla in the deal, who was rerouted to Boston for a draft pick.
Kansas City gave up seven assets in the deal. Jose Pineda has already retired, Josh Allen has produced negative WAR in his career, though he still has some potential as a second division slugger. Mike Gifford led the NL in losses in 2030 and also has negative career WAR. Adrian Uribe has not played in the PBA, nor does he look like he has the potential to do so. Jaak Bos looks like a respectable backend arm, and Hui-Ying Xiong has the potential to become one as well. Blake Hunt had a strong 2029 for Detroit, then phased into a backup role. It’s possible several of these players become useful, but it’s likely none become an impact player. Kansas City got a superstar for spare parts.
Dustin Oakes was traded straight up for Dan Yancey, and while Oakes is simply a speed-and-defense oriented backup outfielder, he’s very good at that role. Yancey has been a solid reliever in his own right, but while Kansas City hasn’t clearly won the trade, they’ve certainly benefited from Oakes, and their bullpen has been deep enough to not need Yancey.
The trades from 2030 on are more recent, so the players traded still need time to develop. However, the first trade made in 2030 was Jeff Payton for Bob Rosales. Payton has been an excellent swingman for Kansas City, while Rosales looks like he’ll struggle to make it above Triple-A.
Luis Nunez played great defense and had a number of huge playoff hits for the Royals. He was swapped for Knuckles Rivera, who may possibly make it as a backup Catcher. The Royals got a starter for basically nothing.
Johnny Bachman was acquired from the Mets for a strong return, a first round pick. A good utility player, he gives Kansas City flexibility when healthy, though he missed the 2032 playoff run. The pick was eventually sent to the Angels in the Marcus Stroman salary dump and became Steve Monahan, who might make it as a swingman. The most likely outcome is Monahan becomes nothing, and Kansas City, again, acquires talent for free.
Soon after acquiring Bachman, the Royals acquired Houston’s Marcus Thomas for four assets—Edwin Quiroz, Edwin Jimenez, a fourth round pick, and a fifth round pick. Thomas has been a top notch reliever in his brief career, worthy of a high price in trade. Quiroz may hit it, but is an unconventional prospect as a speed-and-contact Third Baseman with little power. Edwin Jimenez may also be worth it as a right-handed hitting outfielder with a decent bat, but he’s just a teenager and forever away. The picks turned into Nick Engstrom and Danny Shultz. Engstrom may be a utility infielder if he hits his 80th percentile outcome, and Shultz looks destined for Triple-A. It’s possible, but unlikely Quiroz will make Kent look foolish for trading him for Thomas.
Aaron Wallace has been an incredible regular season pitcher for the Royals, and he was acquired for Ryan Barber, a pitcher whose best case scenario is to become Aaron Wallace.
Bob Beasley was a star for the Royals, with an amazing postseason. He was picked up for Edwin Galindo, Alex Munoz, Ajani Ghoston, and a second round pick. Munoz has a good bat and has a chance to be a good player, but Galindo is maybe a backup Second Baseman, Ghoston is a backup Catcher, and the second round pick became Kevin Spainhour, a good looking offensive infield prospect, who was just drafted. Much of that trade is TBD with regards to what the Royals gave up, but Beasley’s tremendous 2032 postseason will make it worth it, regardless of the outcome.
Tyler Schneider may have been Kansas City’s first misstep, and it was a different kind of player acquired. He was a flawed prospect with upside that Kansas City took a swing on, but he struggled through his rookie year and was overwhelmed in the playoffs. The Royals gave up Hugo Venegas, Steve Rohr, Jeremy Garretson, and a first round pick to acquire him. The pick became Caleb Larsen, a fast-moving infielder with a balanced bat, and who can maybe pitch a little as a bonus. Venegas is a Top 50 pitching prospect, while Rohr and Garretson are fringe outfield prospects. Schneider is still young and has a lot of upside though, so the ultimate future is to be determined.
Finally, Kanas City sent Willie Montiel, Tim McGinn, and Cory Hahn to San Diego for Jason Fulton to jump start the Padres rebuild. Fulton was an outstanding defender, whose glove helped suffocate San Diego in the World Series. All three look like PBA players, and McGinn in particular looks like a guy with a bright future, but Fulton was a 25 year old who produced a 4.1 WAR season and helped the club win a title.
It’s possible that Kansas City’s recent deals change the narrative, but most of their players acquired via trade were acquired for very little highlighting Kent’s ability to take on talented, but flawed players and put them in an environment where they could succeed, while reducing the cost on who they’re acquiring. Recent trades may result in Kansas City giving up impactful players but the guys they brought on were key secondary contributors to a championship team. It takes work to succeed in building a team primarily via trade, and Kent deserves immense credit for pulling that off.
Draft Picks
Roger Airhart (2022, 1st round, 28th overall. $2.7 million contract in 2032)
Jonathan Bakos (2022, 5th round, 153rd overall. $15.8 million contract in 2032)
Frank Aguilar (2023, 5th round, 171st overall. $7.2 million contract in 2032)
Kyle Sidebottom (2024, 2nd round, 55th overall. $3.4 million contract in 2032)
Caleb MacClellan (2029, 2nd Round, 47th overall. Minimum contract in 2032)
Mark Harris (2025, 9th round, 303rd overall. $1.9 million contract in 2032
Vicente Corado (2027 1st round, 1st overall. $11.5 million contract in 2032)
With the exception of Corado in 2027, Kansas City won despite not having elite draft picks on its roster. Kansas City had a ton of early picks before Kent arrived, but most of them turned into serviceable players, not stars. Jaden Ancrum was the lone exception, but he was traded away, reacquired, then traded again for J.P. Crawford.
What Kansas City has done well with the draft is finding useful relievers, many below the first round. Roger Airhart, Frank Aguilar, Kyle Sidebottom, Mark Harris, and Caleb MacClellan all contributed to Kansas City’s bullpen. MacClelan is the only one making the minimum, a bit of an oddity in today’s environment. Kansas City is comfortable paying a little bit more than the minimum—and $7.2 million for Aguilar—to retain solid relievers.
Kansas City did get good fortune with Jonathan Bakos blossoming into a plus Left Fielder and an extra base machine that plays well with Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium dimensions. He’s also a player who maintains his value in the postseason.
Still, it’s clear to see that Kansas City is not a pure draft-and-development powerhouse, using the draft to keep players who are good, but not great, with the exception of a generational prospect like Corado. Instead, Kansas City uses their draft picks and prospects to help excel in the trade market.
Free Agents
Rafael A. Gomez (1/28/30—Signed 3-year, $15 million contract. $5.1 million contract in 2032)
Elijah Cabell (2/20/32—Signed 1-year, $2 million contract)
Amed Rosario (4/7/32—Signed 1-year, $12 million contract)
Kansas City has just a few players acquired via free agency. They lack the budget to take on elite superstars, instead using free agency to supplement the core. Rafael A. Gomez was an elite reliever with the Giants, and has been an elite reliever with the Royals. He’s cost about $5 million a year, a reasonable figure for such a strong pitcher. Because Kansas City isn’t chasing choice free agents, and because Jorge Vargas is on a cheap contract, they can spend a little bit of money on a good, but not-premium relief arm like Gomez.
They signed Elijah Cabell to a cheap contract before Spring Training to round out their outfield rotation. He didn’t hit at all, after a big 2031 with Detroit, but he only cost $2 million, had a small role, and held his own on defense as Tyler Schneider’s personal ninth inning replacement.
Amed Rosario signed after the season started, growing into the starting role with Bachmann’s injuries. He hit for a .272 average in 503 plate appearances, popped a few doubles, turned some double plays, and had a huge postseason. For a one-year stopgap, he was a strong fill in second baseman.
International Free Agents
Jorge Parra (7/1/21—Signed out of Dominican Republic for $5.2 million. $4.2 million contract in 2032)
Parra was signed to a big bonus in 2021 and took some time to develop, but he’s settled in as a good starting Catcher. He draws a ton of walks, hits doubles, and is an excellent fielder, riding that combination to an All Star nod this year. Kansas City shelled out to sign him back in 2021, and it was the right decision.
Scouting Discoveries
Jorge Ortega (9/11/25 from the Dominican Republic. Minimum contract in 2032)
Ortega was discovered back in September 2025 as a soft-throwing arm that didn’t have a huge future. In 2028, however, he saw a velocity jump, and once he mastered throwing harder, his command followed in the 2030 and 2031 seasons. By the time he was called up midway through the 2032 season, he was completely different than the player discovered in the Dominican Republic nearly a decade ago. Ortega supplements a mid-90s heater with a great curveball, which he uses to dominate righties. He’s a definite scouting win.
Rule V
Joey Young (2025, 5th round, 148th overall from Baltimore. $5.5 million contract in 2032)
Kevin Levinsohn (2032, 1st round, 30th overall from Milwaukee. Minimum contract in 2032)
The Royals had two players on their team plucked from the Rule V draft. Joey Young has been on the team forever since being taken from Baltimore prior to the 2025 season. He can play all over, and has a little bit of pop and speed. His last two years have been his worst, and he’s a free agent following the year, so he probably won’t return to Kansas City, but he was free middle infield depth.
Kevin Levinsohn continued Kansas City’s trend of not paying much for backup Catchers. Stuck in Milwaukee, Levinsohn didn’t play in the playoffs but had five homers and six doubles in 181 plate appearances in the regular season. Stuck in Milwaukee’s organization, Kent identified him as serviceable talent that would fill a niche and cost the minimum.
Staff
Assistant GM: Chris Steele
Scouting Director: Jean-Paul De Sousa
Team Trainer: Joe McCullough
The Royals have a completely different staff from when they won the title in 2030. It’s a new staff, a fairly inexperienced staff, and one without too much cohesion, but it was able to win a title.
Chris Steele was the Assistant GM, a long time scout for the White Sox, Cubs, and Rangers, with winning records in 12 of his 14 seasons coached. His only losing record was his first one. His record as a scout was excellent, but he was able to scout the right talent as Assistant GM to build a champion.
Jean-Paul De Sousa was the team’s scout. He was the PBA’s first championship winning scout back in 2017 with the Mets, before scouting for Houston and Washington. Ironically, while those clubs never built much of a prospect factory, De Sousa’s specialty is scouting amateurs and minor leaguers. Kansas City’s veterans helped win this year’s title; De Sousa is around to help maintain and build the next ones.
Joe McCullough was the club’s trainer, signed in 2031 after a five-year run with the Braves. Kansas City actually had a number of IL days this year, as McCullough is only decent at preventing arm and “other” injuries. He’ll make sure a bad back stays healthy, and he’s good with legs, but his specialty is in rest. He’s excellent in rehab, and he makes sure Kansas City’s relievers can get back on the mound, and their position players can be in the lineup day in and day out. McCullough is also good with rehabbing backs and rehabbing arm injuries, so injuries won’t be catastrophic. Kent just had to cross his fingers with the rare leg injuries that happen, or with “other” injuries.
Most of Kansas City’s injury days were taken up by Chris Ely, who wasn’t going to factor with the team anyway. Their two superstars had a combined two days injured this year, with Vargas suffering a mild calf strain in early April.
Johnny Bachman had a number of leg injuries, and McCullough kept him upright for most of them, but Bachman tore his calf in late August, sidelining him for the playoffs. Amed Rosario sprained his knee for a two-week day-to-day injury in late June. Bob Beasley suffered a herniated disk in early August, but was back on the field in just three weeks. Luis Nunez was drilled in the leg with a pitch in early June and it took him three weeks to come back. Those are all the significant position player injuries, and none were too bad aside from Bachman.
Taylor Lehman tore a tendon in his elbow, causing him to miss the playoffs, but the other six arm injuries Kansas City suffered didn’t impact a player for more than a week, a testament to McCullough’s recovery skills.
Bench Coach: Alex Wood
Pitching Coach: Jose Rada
Hitting Coach: Brian Becker
1B Coach: Chris Brant
3B Coach: Chip Hale
Alex Wood was an All Star pitcher for the Dodgers, and a decade after retiring, decided to give being a Bench Coach a try. He didn’t have a great relationship with Kansas City’s veterans, but he is good with developing prospects. He was a huge boon to Michael Laffont and Jorge Ortega’s development.
Jose Rada was a long time pitching coach in rookie leagues, then Cincinnati in 2029. He’s good with teaching pitching and developing prospects, another asset helping Laffont and Ortega along.
Brian Becker is another first time coach. Kansas City signed him to his first job as Hitting Coach. He’s an exceptional teacher, gets along with Kansas City’s hitters extremely well, and is great with both veterans and prospects. Aside from his inexperience, he was a perfect choice of Hitting Coach.
Chris Brant was a new First Base coach. He’s excellent at teaching running, though his inexperience was evident this year as the Royals were the worst baserunning team in the AL. Chip Hale was the team’s Third Base coach, in a weird position. He was Hitting Coach of the Giants the early part of last decade as they became a power, then was Bench Coach for a Philadelphia for a brief time in 2027. With no prestigious coaching jobs around, he took on a $400,000 salary just to be Third Base Coach. An exceptional defensive teacher, he was an asset to the team’s defense, though predictable, he helped the team be last in the AL in baserunning.
On the whole, the Royals realized that getting coaches who would get along with Michael Laffont, and sacrificing baserunning for defensive instruction would be a good plan, and it worked out to a championship.