The Kansas City Royals’ 2024 season was nothing short of a remarkable turnaround. After the team struggled during a challenging 2023 campaign with a 56 -106 record. Yet, the Royals orchestrated a remarkable turnaround. They finished 86 – 76 and secured their first postseason berth since 2015. By securing a wild card spot. They finished six and a half games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the American Central. This 30-game improvement stands as one of the most significant in MLB history. Stay tuned for the 2025 Kansas City Royals season preview. We will look ahead to what the Royals might achieve next.
Key to this resurgence was the stellar performance of the starting rotation. Left-hander Cole Ragans emerged as the team’s ace, posting an 11-9 record with a 3.14 ERA over 32 starts. His dominance on the mound was complemented by right-hander Seth Lugo, who provided veteran leadership and consistency throughout the season. The dynamic play of shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. further energized the lineup, showcasing his offensive prowess and defensive agility.
2025 Season Preview: Schedule
The Royals will open the season at home. They will have a three-game series against the defending American League Central Champions, the Cleveland Guardians. Then they will head to play the National League Central Milwaukee Brewers for their home opener in another three-game series. National League East they will host the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and the Washington Nationals this year.
They will travel to Miami and Philadelphia this year to play the Marlins and Phillies. They will travel to play the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, and the St. Louis Cardinals. While they will host the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. They will host the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies from the National League West foes.
They will travel to play the rest of the National League West. This includes the San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Francisco Giants. The Royals will host the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins seven times each at Kaufmann Stadium.
While facing the Guardians, and Tigers in seven of their 13 meetings on the road. The rest of their schedule will be made up against the rest of the American League (East and West).
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2025 Additions
- 2B – Jonathan India – Trade with Reds
RHP – Carlos Estevez – two year contract
SP – Ross Stripling – signed to Minor League deal Invite to spring training
C – Luke Maile – Signed to Minor League deal
SP/RP – Thomas Hatch – signed to Minor League deal
IN/OF – Harold Castro – signed to Minor League deal
SP – Cole Ragana – Signed a three-year deal to stay with KC
OF- Joey Wiemer – Trade with Reds
RP – Carlos E Hernandez – one-year deal avoiding Arbitration
SP – Michael Wacha – signed three year 51 million dollar deal
SP – Michael Lorenzen – signed a one-year seven-million-dollar deal. - OF – Mark Canha – Trade with MIL
2025 Subtractions
SP – Brady Singer – Trade with Reds
INF – Garrett Hampson – Free Agent (ARZ)
1B – Yuli Gurriel – Free Agent (SDP)
OF – Tommy Pham – Free Agent (PIT)
RP – Nick Anderson – Free Agent (STL)
INF/OF – Adam Frazier – Free Agent (PIT)
INF – Braden Shewmake – Lost off Waiver (NYY)
2025 Roster
Projected Line-up
DH – Jonathan India
SS- Bobby Witt JR
1B – Vinnie Pasquantino
C – Salvador Perez
2B – Michael Massey
RF – Hunter Renfroe
LF – MJ Melendez
3B – Maikel Garcia
CF – Kyle Isbel
The Royals as a team finished fifth in batting average .248 and sixth in OPS .403 in the American League last year. The team was sixth in runs scored. They were fourth in doubles. Fifth in steals and 10th in home runs last season offensively.
They were second in Triples with 35 twelve being the fellow American League Central Detroit Tigers. This offense is led by Bobby Witt along with veteran catcher Salvador Perez. they combined for 59 home runs and 213 RBI’s last season. Witt hit .332 while Perez hit for an average of .271 last year. They hope to see more power from Vinnie Pasquantino. He was healthy this year after missing 31 games due to injury.
He still drove in 97 while knocking 19 balls out of the park. Jonathan India hopes to stay healthy and add offense to the Royals, which was missing last year. In 151 games for the Reds last year, India had a .357 OPS, .248 AVE, 15 home runs, and 58 RBIs.
Starting Rotation
Cole Ragans -LHP
Seth Lugo-RHP
Michael Wacha-RHP
Michael Lorenzen – RHP
Kris Bubic – LHP
The Royals will miss the veteran Brady Singer who started 32 games last year with a 3.71 ERA and his 197.2 innings pitched. He only won nine games. He was on the hook for 13 losses. The Royals will depend heavily again on Ace Cole Ragans (11-9) with his 3.14 ERA over 32 starts 206.2 innings pitched and 223 strikeouts to lead the rotation. If Seth Lugo can duplicate last year I think all Royals fans would be extremely happy throwing 206.2 innings with a 1.09 WHIP, 181 strikeouts, 3.00 ERA, and winning 16 games. Kris Bubic has the inside track to start the year in the fifth rotation spot. Kyle Wright is dealing with a shoulder injury as spring training gets underway. This rotation may not have a big bunch of flashy names. However, if they can repeat last year, this team will be in great shape.
Projected Bullpen
Carlos Hernandez RHP
Sam Long LHP
Chris Stratton RHP
Angel Zerpa LHP
John Schreiber RHP
Hunter Harvey RHP
Lucas Erceg RHP
Carlos Estevez RHP
The Bullpen at the end of games last year was dicey for the Royals. They had James McArthur go 18 of 25 on saves chances. Chris Stratton went four of seven. John Schreiber went two of five. While the most reliable was Lucas Erceg, who went 11 of 13 last year. The Royals brought in free agent Carlos Estevez to be the closer. Erceg is set to start as the main setup man. He will be ready if Estevez goes down or has pitched back-to-back days. This bullpen will need to step up for the Royals to seriously compete this year. The hope is that Sam Long, Erceg, and Esteves can be a formidable back end for the team this year.
2025 Expectations
The American League Central is a very competitive division with the Guardians, Tigers, and Twins. The White Sox are years away from being competitive. The success of this season is going to come down to the pitching. The Royals need better performance and more consistency from the bullpen. Additionally, the starting rotation must stay healthy.
The offense should be able to keep them in the hunt for a playoff berth. I think this division is going to be a close one this season between all four teams. If Maikel Garcia and MJ Melendez can improve offensively, it might be enough. If they cannot, well be on the lookout for last year’s ITD 54th-ranked prospect Jac Caglianone. This kid has been phenomenal this spring. He should be on the fast track to the big leagues.
This is true if he continues hitting this way in the early part of the season in the minors. For now, I think this team will be very exciting to watch. They will be in contention for the division and/or a wild card spot this season. This would make it two straight seasons reaching October Baseball.
