Kansas City, MO — The Kansas City Royals have been surprise players in this year’s MLB Free Agency.

They have spent a combined 105 million dollars this offseason on 6 players who will contribute at the Major League level:

• Seth Lugo — 3 years, $45 million

• Michael Wacha — 2 years, $32 million

• Hunter Renfroe — 2 years, $13 million

• Chris Stratton — 2 years, $8 million

• Will Smith — 1 year, $5 million

• Garrett Hampson — 1 year, $2 million

Although the Royals are a rebuilding team, and this is likely a reason why all of these deals are short-term in the situation of deadline trades, these are still moves that have the potential to improve the team right now.

It is clear that they are attempting to accelerate their rebuild and to start a winning culture, thus the surprise uptick in spending. General Manager J.J. Picollo’s and owner John Sherman’s willingness to spend is respectable, and the Royals have had a good offseason so far.

SOLID STARTING PITCHING UPGRADES

The Royals harbored the 3rd-worst team ERA in all of baseball at 5.17, so adding the pair of solid former Padres in Seth Lugo (146.1 IP, 3.57 ERA) and Michael Wacha (134.1 IP, 3.22 ERA) should help stabilize this rotation immensely. With breakout southpaw Cole Ragans (7-5, 3.47 ERA) likely to take the ball on opening day next year, and Lugo and Wacha filling out the 2 and 3 spots while a combination of Brady Singer, Kyle Wright (when he returns from injury), Kris Bubic, Jordan Lyles, or others round out the bottom, the Royals rotation should improve from bottom of the pack to around the middle of the pack.

BULLPEN IMPROVEMENTS

The Royals’ bullpen in 2023 was not much better than their rotations, but the additions of Will Smith (4.40 ERA/3.67 Career ERA) and Stratton (3.92 ERA) should help solidify the back end of their bullpen. Combined with the acquisition of Nick Anderson from the Braves, and these three solid arms should yield better results than the 2023 Kansas City Bullpen. Smith will likely slide into the closer role that was vacated (and never truly filled) when Aroldis Chapman was dealt to the Texas Rangers, as he has multiple years of experience in that role, and Anderson and Stratton can hold down the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings.

ADDITIONAL POWER, SPEED, AND POSITIONAL VERSATILITY TO THE LINEUP

Finally, the addition of the powerful Hunter Renfroe (20 HR), and speedy Garrett Hampson (57 SB, 13 CS in 6 seasons) should help bring some additional dimensions to their lineup. Renfroe will likely slot into the middle of their lineup, where his power will be a nice compliment that follows the still-slugging Salvador Perez, and promising first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. With Bobby Witt Jr. emerging as a true power threat as well, the Royals’ lineup now has the potential to harbor 3 20+ home run hitters.

Hampson can provide an element of speed towards the bottom of the lineup. Although not as aggressive on the basepaths as he usually is, he has improved his average and walk-rate over the past few years, meaning he should theoretically be on base a respectable amount of the time. Along with his speed and improved contact, Hampson can also play all 3 of the infield positions left of first base, and all three outfield spots, which will give the Royals some lineup versatility and ability to play matchups.

Overall, these 6 players should, at the very least, be neutral additions to the roster, with the potential to be positive additions to the roster. If they can continue to produce in the areas they excel at, the Royals’ roster should be much improved from last year.

FANGRAPHS 2024 ZIPS PROJECTIONS

• Seth Lugo: 9-10, 4.36 ERA, 2.1 WAR

• Michael Wacha: 9-10, 4.67 ERA, 1.6 WAR

• Hunter Renfroe: .251/.313/.451, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 0.7 WAR

• Chris Stratton: 62 IP, 57 K, 12 HLD, 0.2 WAR

• Will Smith: 64 IP, 60 K, 11 SV, 9 HLD, 0.0 WAR

• Garrett Hampson: .239/.305/.346, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 5 SB, 0.2 WAR