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DALLAS -- Entering his third season as the Royals' manager, Matt Quatraro couldn¡¯t have had different offseason experiences. His first season brought a franchise record-matching 106 losses. His second brought Kansas City its first playoff appearance in nine seasons.

Now he and the Royals are focused on maintaining that success -- and hopefully turning it into a longer playoff run in 2025.

At the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Quatraro spoke on Monday about the Royals¡¯ offseason plans and their upcoming season. Here are five takeaways:

1. Areas of need
The skinny: The Royals¡¯ offseason search remains focused on offense and pitching depth. Quatraro is a staunch advocate for acquiring all the pitching they can, especially after trading Brady Singer to the Reds in the Jonathan India trade.

Quatraro: ¡°General depth. You can never have enough pitching. You need to be able to fortify your plan for injuries or a hiccup here or there. Same on the defensive side. ¡­ Someone who can play infield and outfield, be versatile, because you know we like to use everybody. So just creating some depth and being open to any opportunities that come, especially on the offensive side.¡±

2. The rotation
The skinny: Singer¡¯s departure brings up another spot in the rotation for competition. Kris Bubic will be in that mix, which was the plan all along when he came back from Tommy John surgery this past season as a reliever. Alec Marsh is also considered a frontrunner for a rotation spot.

Quatraro: ¡°We¡¯re going to stretch out Bubic again. He¡¯s been a starter. He adapted tremendously well to that reliever role last year. We couldn¡¯t have anticipated that, but all along, the plan was for him to start. Clearly, we really like Marsh. He came a long way last year. We would expect him to continue to grow. We¡¯ll also stretch out [Daniel] Lynch [IV] and see where that goes. But you also have to fortify the bullpen, too. We¡¯re lucky that we have some guys that can do either.¡±

3. Kyle Wright¡¯s status
The skinny: The Royals traded for Wright in November 2023 thinking a year ahead, and now it¡¯s here. Wright spent all of 2024 rehabbing from right shoulder surgery, and Kansas City expects him to be healthy and competing for a role on the team in Spring Training. What that role will be is yet to be determined. Starting is the goal, but health and innings factors will be considered.

Quatraro: ¡°That's a huge question mark for us. He'll have to build up, and hopefully he gets back to where he was prior. That would be a huge boost for us. ¡­ As far as being able to break as a starter, I would hope so. There's so much medical involved in that that I can't really say.¡±

4. Playing time for India and Massey
The skinny: A big question this spring will be the playing time for India and Michael Massey, both primary second basemen. The Royals have yet to talk in depth about it this offseason, preferring to see how the rest of the winter and Spring Training play out, and they want to include the players on the conversation. Expect both to increase their versatility, though.

Quatraro: ¡°Just talking to Jonathan a few times, he tells me he gets reps at second, short, third all offseason. He said he got some reps last spring in the outfield. We¡¯ve talked about Massey in-season last year, whether he could possibly go to left if that helps his back [injury history]. All those things are still up in the air.¡±

5. Bobby¡¯s baserunning
The skinny: Bobby Witt Jr. stole 31 bases in 2024, helping him become the first shortstop with multiple 30-homer, 30-steal seasons. But he was also caught 12 times on 43 attempts. In a season that featured very few flaws, Witt has acknowledged his baserunning can get better. Quatraro believes it will. The Royals might discuss whether Witt, who played 160 games at shortstop and 161 total in 2024, should get more days off his feet as a DH to stay fresh throughout the season.

Quatraro: ¡°Absolutely more efficient. I think [the aggressiveness] depends on how he feels. A lot of times, people say, ¡®Why isn¡¯t he going?¡¯ Well, he¡¯s played 161 games. There's wear and tear on your body -- and to be playing a premium position at shortstop every day, there¡¯s some room to grow there. But he¡¯s putting in a lot of work this offseason on his jumps, his reads, those kinds of things. I think that¡¯s where it lies. It¡¯s definitely not in speed, not in aggressiveness. It¡¯s just learning pitchers and understanding how to get those jumps.¡±