KANSAS CITY -- The Royals held their annual Royals Rally at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday, the unofficial kickoff for 2025, with Spring Training beginning in Arizona in less than two weeks.

Several players met with fans in different parts of the stadium, and those who met with the media brought up a consistent theme: The excitement for baseball is different this year coming off a postseason appearance than simply the optimism felt at the start of every season.

¡°I was even asking some people, ¡®Is there an uptick in ticket sales during this thing?¡¯¡± shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. ¡°And they said for the past two years, it keeps going up and up. That¡¯s something you always want to see. The fans are engaged, and they¡¯re definitely engaged with what¡¯s going on across the street [with the Super Bowl-bound Chiefs].

¡°What happened last year, and then now onto this year, I think everyone¡¯s really excited, and that¡¯s what it¡¯s all about.¡±

The Royals went from 106 losses in 2023 to 86 wins in ¡®24, making the postseason and winning the American League Wild Card Series against Baltimore. They lost to the Yankees in four games in the AL Division Series -- a loss that still stings.

¡°Everybody knows how our season ended,¡± starter Cole Ragans said. ¡°We took that into the offseason, kind of used it as some fuel. We know what it takes to get there. We¡¯ve got to do a lot of little things right. In a couple weeks, we¡¯ll be getting rolling, back to that main goal of getting back to the postseason and making it even further and winning it.¡±

Pitchers and catchers have their first workout on Feb. 12 in Surprise, Ariz., while position players will join them Feb. 17. The Royals¡¯ first Cactus League game is Feb. 21 against the Rangers at Surprise Stadium.

¡°They weren¡¯t happy at the end of the season,¡± general manager J.J. Picollo said. ¡°The city¡¯s excited, we made the playoffs, it¡¯s a nice story, but we didn¡¯t go as far as we wanted to go. That¡¯s what I heard from the players. They¡¯re going to be the ones driving the bus. When your players are motivated and feeling like they have something to accomplish, it¡¯s a pretty good feeling for us.¡±

• As spring nears, Picollo breaks down Royals' offseason

QUIET PERIOD WITH NEW STADIUM

Royals CEO/chairman John Sherman did not have much to say publicly about the Royals¡¯ stadium negotiations on Saturday, only saying that the team was in discussions with both Missouri and Kansas officials about potential site locations after a vote failed last April to build a stadium downtown.

A downtown Kansas City ballpark isn¡¯t out of the question, but the Royals are discussing all options now, including a move across the state line into Kansas.

¡°I can¡¯t tell you a whole lot about that,¡± Sherman said. ¡°The reason for that is we¡¯re having serious discussions -- this is big economic work, and discretion and confidentiality are paramount to those discussions. Certainly hopeful that before too long we¡¯ll be able to tell you a lot more. But not a lot to say right now.¡±

The Royals and Chiefs¡¯ lease with Truman Sports Complex, where Kauffman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium are right now, ends in 2031.

Sherman did say it¡¯s the Royals¡¯ goal to know more -- and be able to talk about it -- by ¡°mid-year¡± in 2025.

AROUND THE HORN

? Versatility is going to be on display all spring for the Royals, who plan to have Jonathan India and Michael Massey get reps in left field, India get reps at third base and Maikel Garcia get reps in center field as a potential right-handed platoon option for Kyle Isbel, who is still seen as the everyday center fielder. But if Garcia can handle the outfield, that opens up third base for India.

? Starter Kyle Wright will be a ¡°touch behind¡± other pitchers getting into games this spring, manager Matt Quatraro said, after a year-long layoff from pitching because of right shoulder surgery. The Royals are still treating it as a normal spring for Wright, but they¡¯ll be cautious with his innings.

? The bench is going to be one of the most interesting roster battles this spring because of the options the Royals have and what they want to prioritize: speed and defense or offense. With hitters like Nick Pratto and Nelson Vel¨¢zquez out of options, the Royals could use them as bats off the bench, or they could use speedy outfielders Dairon Blanco and Joey Wiemer for late-game pinch-running opportunities.

¡°We¡¯re going to have an interesting spring,¡± Quatraro said. ¡°We¡¯re going to have a lot of decisions to make.¡±