Full-speed ahead: Royals’ historic offseason sets tone for ‘24

KANSAS CITY -- Royals owner John Sherman is a businessman, but at his core, he’s a Royals fan. And watching his team tie a franchise record with 106 losses in 2023, well…

“It sucked,” Sherman said.

He paused, then added: “But that’s what motivates you. Sometimes you need that slap upside the head, right? We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we cannot tolerate something like that again for our fans.”

While they believed they were better than a 56-win team and felt like they had a foundation to build around, the Royals knew they had to improve the roster in more ways than one for 2024. Written on a whiteboard in general manager J.J. Picollo’s office at Kauffman Stadium this offseason, a list formed:

Starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
Reliever
Reliever
Reliever
Bat

This was the blueprint of Kansas City’s offseason.

By Spring Training, the Royals had checked every box plus more. They committed $109.5 million to free agents, more money than any offseason in franchise history. They also signed their star shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr., to an extension that could amount to $377 million over 14 years.

The small-market Royals were one of the busiest teams this winter in hopes of bringing winning back to Kansas City.

“There’s expectations on this team now for the first time in a few years,” Vinnie Pasquantino said. “That’s exciting for us. It’s exciting for fans. You can’t guarantee anything … but within this team, we’re looking at the division.”

Their mission to prove it began Thursday with an Opening Day loss to the Twins and a swift reminder that Minnesota still is the team to beat in the division. It was just one game out of 162, and the Royals left the ballpark Thursday still with tons of faith in their revamped roster -- which was the result of an aggressive, hectic and historic offseason in Kansas City.

The Royals actually began to attack their needs at last year’s Trade Deadline, when they went after a starter (Cole Ragans from Texas) and right-handed power (Nelson Velázquez from the Cubs). A day after the Deadline, Picollo met with ownership to outline his thoughts on free agency, the state of the farm system and what he believed the team needed this offseason.

Then, after the season ended, the Royals’ held their annual organizational meetings with baseball operations employees convening at the club’s Arizona facility. After being consumed with overhauling the coaching staff following the ‘22 season, Picollo was set on having the meetings early.

There, the foundation for the offseason was created, including added infrastructure, ideas to remake the roster and a shared vision.

“If we’re going to be more demanding of our Major League players, and the expectations are going to be raised, then we need to raise the expectations by putting a better roster together,” Picollo said. “We've got to constantly be thinking about how we can improve the Major League team. Free agency, waiver claims, trades, anything that will allow us to be competitive. Just trying to get people to understand that there is a sense of urgency.”

The Royals had hoped to attack the market aggressively. They had so many needs that they couldn’t afford to wait until January to improve their roster for fear of not getting players they needed.

The start of the Hot Stove, however, was slow. And leaving the Winter Meetings on Dec. 7, Royals officials were frustrated especially with the starting pitching market.

Picollo and his team were in talks with several starters and had made a few offers, including one to Sonny Gray that was surpassed by the Cardinals. Generally, groups the Royals met with indicated they were content with waiting.

“It was like crickets,” assistant general manager Scott Sharp said.

So leaving Nashville, Tenn., the Royals made a pivot. The relievers would come first, but in a way that would allow financial flexibility for other moves.

The first target: Will Smith.

A three-time World Series champion, Smith was a fit because of his leadership, strike-throwing ability and closing experience. He made his big league debut with the Royals in 2012 and had a desire to return. The Royals’ pitch to Smith and all the newcomers was focused on their desire to win. They had players to build around, like Witt, Ragans, Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia and others. They were willing to get creative with deals that included player options. And they wanted to sign players now.

“We wanted to show that we’re trying to improve the team,” Sharp said. “The way to do that was to be aggressive, try to sign players early and keep the pressure on the market.”

On Dec. 10, Smith and the Royals came to terms on a one-year, $5 million contract.

“You can see it going in the right direction,” Smith said. “We saw the core they have.”

Smith is a well-respected player, but Picollo was not expecting the credibility the Royals would gain by signing Smith. Nor did he expect Smith to recruit other players.

“But he said, ‘Look dude, I’m coming,” Picollo said. “‘What do we need to do? Who else do you need?’”

Picollo mentioned reliever Chris Stratton, and Smith called his former Rangers teammate. Not 24 hours later, the Royals had a deal with Stratton for one year and a player option.

“Now, you start to feel the momentum,” Picollo said.

Picollo also mentioned starter Seth Lugo to Smith, wondering if the starting market might move. Smith was going to call Lugo but found texting to be easier, as both were putting their young kids to sleep at the same time.

“My first question to Will was, ‘Do you have any kids?’” Lugo said, explaining that his wife, Amanda, was worried they would be the only couple with children because of the Royals’ youth. “If my family is happy, I can focus on my job and perform better.”

Smith told Lugo about his 1-year-old son, and that Amanda and the Lugo boys, ages 3 and 1, wouldn’t be alone. Lugo was sold on the atmosphere and the Royals' vision. On Dec. 12, they committed $45 million to Lugo, a two-year deal with a third-year player option.

“I read about them sweeping the Astros [in September in Houston],” Lugo said. “The win-loss record is important. But it doesn’t tell the whole story. … I could see the potential, for sure.”

Adding Lugo was big, but the Royals wanted another starter. However, they felt they might need to trade for one if the financials wouldn’t work with a free agent. Earlier, the Royals had discussed a deal with the Marlins that would send Pasquantino to Miami for 26-year-old starter Jesús Luzardo.

Difficult trades must happen sometimes, but this one would have been hard. The Royals see Pasquantino as one of their best hitters and want him as part of their core.

Picollo went to Sherman: They could make a trade, or they could sign another starter. The Royals had connected with several free agents, including Lucas Giolito, Jack Flaherty and Marcus Stroman. But Michael Wacha was the one they really wanted because, like Lugo, he throws strikes, he has postseason experience, and he has a willingness to lead.

“That’s where John stepped up,” Picollo said.

The conversation between Picollo and Sherman wasn’t long, but it was monumental. Sherman authorized the $32 million contract, a two-year deal with the second being a player option.

“I got out a piece of paper, started working through it and said, ‘If you can get him for that, do it,’” Sherman said. “… There were just certain players we didn’t want to let go of right now. Lot of control, lot of upside, lot of potential.”

Wacha had texted Lugo, his former Padres teammate, a congratulatory message after hearing about the signing. Not expecting the Royals to continue to add, he was surprised to get a text back that read, “Hey, come join us.”

“I was very aware of what their vision was,” Wacha said. “I was keeping up with all the signings. It was definitely a step in the right direction for me being able to sign here.”

Meanwhile, the Royals were also talking to outfielder Hunter Renfroe, who played at Mississippi State with Stratton and remembers how fondly former Royals Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and others talked about Kansas City. The Royals felt that Renfroe could bring needed power to their outfield.

On Dec. 15, just five days after bringing Smith onboard, the Royals came to terms with Wacha and Renfroe.

Five signings. Five days. More than $100 million committed.

“That week really was remarkable,” Sherman said.

The financials and logistics of these deals made the week frenetic, but even more complex was the 40-man roster management. At a full 40 players, the Royals had to make corresponding moves when each signing became official.

A new trend emerged: The Royals were not content with potentially losing players while trying to pass them through waivers. If they could make a trade and add depth, they would. For example, the Royals didn’t view reliever Taylor Clarke on the bottom of their roster, but they needed a spot for Lugo. They reached out to teams and immediately got interest back, ultimately trading Clarke to Milwaukee for two Minor Leaguers: infielder Cam Devanney and pitcher Ryan Brady.

"J.J. wanted us to be really aggressive,” Sharp said. “If we’re going to lose somebody off the roster, we’d prefer to get players back. Make sure they’re good players. Make sure we’ve researched them and done our due diligence. It takes time and a lot of coordinated effort among pro scouting, amateur scouting, R&D, all the AGMs.”

That meant the days got hectic, as the Royals managed physicals and paperwork with their free agents while engaging with other teams on trades and exchanging physicals of those players.

“It was razor-thin in terms of the timing of it,” Sharp said. “You get a little bit of an adrenaline rush.”

Before Christmas, the Royals had added six free agents and two through trades. Things quieted down, but Picollo felt they still needed a veteran left-handed infielder. Second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier was a target, but the financials weren’t lining up early in the offseason.

But Frazier, who played at MSU with Stratton and Renfroe, and his agent were persistent. He loved what the Royals were doing and saw similarities with Seattle and Baltimore, his previous two teams. Both made the playoffs after long droughts when he was there in 2022 and ‘23, respectively.

In late January, the Royals were able to land on a low guarantee of $4.5 million with a higher $8.5 million mutual option. They didn’t promise Frazier everyday playing time but felt he would give a professional at-bat when needed and knew he could move around the infield and outfield.

“I told John that Frazier completes our team,” Picollo said. “And he said, ‘Go ahead and do it.’”

On a parallel track with free agency this winter was the Witt extension, which was also part of the pitch to free agents who all shared a desire to play with the Royals’ star shortstop.

Extension talks started in September and finally culminated in February with a creative megadeal and easily the largest contract in Royals’ history.

“Every day, it was, ‘How do we make the team better? Where are we at with Bobby?’” Sharp said. “It’s not a conversation you might be having with an agent every day, but we’re having internal conversations about developing concepts and deals and how it’ll work financially. It was all-consuming.”

To get the extension done this winter, they had to convince Witt they were serious about contention. He loves Kansas City, but winning trumps all.

“You saw all the moves they made this offseason,” Witt said. “It’s a sign of hope. I felt like it was the right time, and it’s an exciting time, for sure.”

Projection systems remain skeptical about that excitement; Fangraphs has them winning 76 games and finishing fourth in the division.

But the Royals aren’t shying away from their goal.

“Everybody wants to win,” Ragans said. “You have the veteran guys who have done it, and they know what it takes. All we care about is winning.”

Whether the Royals engineer a turnaround and how big it might be remains to be seen. But they certainly did what they could to improve, and it resulted in an offseason unlike any other.

“Throughout last year, J.J. said it was an evaluation year,” Sharp said. “Well, we evaluated, and we found what we needed. We executed the vision. There wasn’t really a spot on the roster we didn’t impact.

“Now, we actually get to the starting line.”