The Kansas City Royals are not a team that likes to spend money.
More often than not they go bargain hunting and try to keep a low payroll.
But, there seems to be a change in mindset this offseason.
The Royals seem tired of losing and are ready to spend some money to become competitive.
One spot where the Royals struggled last season was at starting pitching.
They had the third-worst team ERA in baseball at 5.17.
Yet, credit to the Royals for knowing their weaknesses and addressing them.
According to Jeff Passan, the Royals and Seth Lugo agreed to a three-year, $45 million contract.
Passan also explained how the Royals have plans to spend this offseason.
The Royals vowed to spend this winter, and Lugo gets one of the biggest free agent deals they’ve given to a pitcher. They’ve got plenty more to do to get competitive and should add at least one more starter in a market full of them. @Feinsand and @anne__rogers were on the news.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 12, 2023
As Passan mentioned, the free-agent market is full of starting pitchers.
It would make sense for the Royals to add at least one more.
Where the Royals must succeed is in drafting and developing.
They did so with Bobby Witt Jr., who is their best player and one of the best in the AL.
Kansas City must use their players to build the foundation of their team, and then look for outside free agents to fill the holes.
It will be interesting to see what other moves the Royals make this offseason.
Having a 56-win year like they did in 2023 is unacceptable.
There is no question they should be better than that, especially playing in the poor AL Central.
Kansas City will not contend next year, but they can start to build a foundation of winning.
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