The Kansas City Royals will finish as one of the first three teams outside the American League playoffs. Royals manager Matt Quatraro used different strategies to try and spark a run, but he ultimately came up short. On the bright side, both Seth Lugo and Carlos Estevez had excellent seasons. The story of the season centers around Cole Ragans and the rest of the pitching staff.
Last season, the Royals were a more offensively focused team. Bobby Witt Jr. put together another elite year in Kansas City in 2025, spearheading the offense alongside Vinnie Pasquantino. However, is was not enough to propel the team into the playoff field again. The chief reason was that Quatraro rarely had any arms he could consistently rely on down the stretch of the year.
Missing the playoffs is a tough pill to swallow for an ascending team. However, it is not due to a lack of effort. The Royals acquired some pieces at the trade deadline to improve the roster in July. For the most part, all of their new additions produced and gave Kansas City a boost at the plate. Unfortunately, the talent on the mound did not keep up, dragging the team down as a result.
At this point in the team's development, the Royals cannot afford to waste years missing the playoffs. Quatraro has one of the best players in Major League Baseball at shortstop in Witt Jr.. There is no telling how many more top-tier season the young star will put together, making each one precious. 2025 is a missed opportunity, something that will haunt the team moving forward.
While there are a lot of players to point the blame at, the Royals' season was decided on the pitchers' mound. Triumphs and disappointments defined the season in Kansas City.
Injuries robbed the Royals pitching staff of any rhythm
Ragans emerged as one of the AL's best starters in 2023. He made it to the All-Star Game in 2024 and helped Kansas City put up a fight against the Baltimore Orioles in the playoffs. Unfortunately, he could not roll that success into 2025. He is still worthy of all the praise he has received over the years. However, his health has become a serious question mark at this point in his career.
Ragans missed starts throughout the season with injuries. While that is not directly his fault, the impact it had on the team as a whole cannot be ignored. Without him in the mix, Lugo, Michael Wacha, and Michael Lorenzen had to step into larger roles. While Lugo handled the increased responsibility well, the pitchers behind him failed to fill Ragan's shoes while he was out.
The Royals are committed to the duo of Ragans and Lugo in the long-term. Kansas City gave the latter a lucrative deal before the trade deadline, cementing him as the No. 2 starter when everyone is healthy. While he has been effective, even Lugo has missed time this season. Having a revolving door in the starting rotation is all it took for the Royals to underperform in 2025.
The Royals could not get offense outside of their Big Three
Witt Jr., Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez gave Quatraro everything he could have asked for on offense. However, three players is not enough for a team to have an offense worthy of the postseason. There were plenty of nights where all of the Royals runs came from three players. The production from everyone else was so minimal that they might as well have not even been there.
While the offense in Kansas City struggled, the team made moves to give it some energy. For a while, Jac Caglianone gave the Royals the jolt they needed to go on a run in the heart of the regular season. The rookie suffered an injury that ended his season, but the future is bright for him in Kansas City. Quatraro desperately needs him to help prevent 2025 from repeating itself.
The Royals' offense was bad this season. However, there are not a lot of avenues the team can go down to make it any better. Perez is on the brink of a cliff when it comes to his production. Kansas City has some money to spend in free agency, but other contenders can easily outbid them. Regardless of what happens, the Royals' bats are not good enough to sneak into the playoffs.
Kansas City wasted a career year from Estevez
Estevez was a massive addition for the Royals this offseason. Quatraro and the front office had a big problem to address, and the solution they chose worked perfectly. At the end of the year, Kansas City's closer is a candidate to win awards for his efforts in a relief role. If not for him, the Royals may not have won nearly as many games as they did this season.
When the season wraps up, Estevez's numbers will rank near the league's best. His 41 saves and 65 innings pitched are both career-highs. While there is no telling how much longer the 32-year-old will be at an All-Star level, Royals fans got to watch him put together a dominant campaign. Unfortunately, his success makes the fact that his team missed the postseason much worse.
The Royals have plenty of problems to resolve this offseason. A lot of Kansas City's future success hinges on the health of both Ragans and Caglianone. All it takes it one healthy season for the Royals to jump right back into the mix in the AL. Until then, Kansas City has to go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate its long-term plans.
