News Royals Team Notes

Coaching Notes: Royals, Pirates, Diamondbacks

Royals GM J.J. Picollo told reporters (including Anne Rogers of MLB.com) after the regular season came to a close that he expected that “most of the [coaching] staff” (including hitting coach Alec Zumwait) will return to Kansas City in 2026. At the time, he acknowledged that there might be some “tweaks” to the staff in hopes of getting the most out of the club’s players. Today, Picollo provided more details on those tweaks when he told Rogers that the Royals won’t renew the contracts of assistant hitting coaches Keoni DeRenne and Joe Dillon for the 2026 campaign.

DeRenne has been in the Royals organization since 2020 and has spent the past four seasons as the club’s assistant hitting coach. He previously coached in the Cubs and Pirates organizations at the minor league level. Dillon, meanwhile, has been an assistant hitting coach for the Royals in each of the past two seasons and has previously served as an assistant hitting coach for the Nationals and spent two years as the hitting coach for the Phillies in addition to time in the Nationals and Marlins organizations coaching at the minor league level. Picollo praised the pair’s work in Kansas City, telling Rogers that both are “really good, tireless workers” who will “end up in a good spot somewhere in the game.” The duo figure to have plenty of opportunities to catch on somewhere with so many teams changing managers this winter. Many of those new managers will look to make tweaks to their team’s coaching staff, which could benefit coaches like DeRenne and Dillon.

As for the Royals themselves, the departures of their assistant hitting coaches will create an opportunity to bring in fresh voices to complement Zumwait. Kansas City finished the season with a team-wide wRC of just 93, even in spite of strong performances from core pieces like Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, and Bobby Witt Jr. at the place. That’s because much of the club’s supporting cast disappointed in a big way, while some players counted on to be threats high in the batting order like Jonathan India and Jac Caglianone failed to produce. While the Royals might hope that a veteran like India can return to form on his own, a young player like Caglianone could surely benefit from the guidance that new members of the coaching staff could offer.

More from around the league’s coaching staffs…

  • Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague is expected to continue in his current role with the club, according to a report from Alex Stumpf of MLB.com earlier today. Hague, 40, spent part of three seasons as a big league player before starting his coaching career in 2020 as a minor league coach with the Blue Jays. He spent the 2024 season with Toronto in the big leagues as an assistant hitting coach, before getting hired away by Pittsburgh last offseason to serve as their primary hitting coach in the majors. Hague’s Pirates were the second-worst team in baseball by wRC+ this year as even well-regarded hitters like Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz took significant steps back at the plate. Even so, he’ll get another opportunity to guide the team’s offense in 2026, and with improving the lineup being a top priority for the Pirates this season he’ll hopefully have more talent to work with on the field next year.
  • The Diamondbacks are expecting to retain their 2025 coaching staff for next season, manager Torey Lovullo told Dave Burns and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports last week. Lovullo left the door open for some roles on the coaching staff to change even as the entire group is retained for the 2026 campaign, though he suggested that coaches will generally remain in their same role they had this season. While the Diamondbacks disappointed with an 80-82 record this year, it’s hard not to see how injuries to key players like Corbin Burnes, A.J. Puk, and Justin Martinez wound up significantly impacting the team for the worse, and it’s not impossible to imagine that the club could have squeaked its way into the postseason had core pieces like Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, and Merrill Kelly not been traded at this year’s deadline. Evidently, that’s enough for Lovullo and GM Mike Hazen to feel comfortable sticking with their current staff for at least one more year.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/coaching-notes-royals-pirates-diamondbacks.html
 
Offseason Outlook: Kansas City Royals

An 82-80 record is nothing to sneeze at in Kansas City, as it represented just the sixth time in the last 31 years that the Royals topped the .500 mark. Still, the Royals took a step back after reaching the playoffs in 2024, and will again be looking to bolster their lackluster offense.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Bobby Witt Jr., SS: $272MM through 2034 (Witt can opt out after each of the final four years of the contract; Royals can trigger $89MM club option for 2035-37 seasons if Witt triggers all player options)
  • Seth Lugo, SP: $43MM through 2027 (includes $3MM buyout of $17MM club/vesting option for 2028)
  • Michael Wacha, SP: $33MM through 2027 (includes $1MM buyout of $14MM club option for 2028)
  • Carlos Estevez, RP: $12MM through 2026 (includes $2M buyout of $13MM club option for 2027)
  • Cole Ragans, SP: $12MM through 2027 (Royals hold arbitration control over Ragans for 2028 season)

Option Decisions


2026 financial commitments (assuming only Perez's option is exercised): $79MM
Total future commitments (assuming only Perez's option is exercised): $385.5MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)


Free Agents


The Royals got an early jump on their offseason work when they agreed to a contract extension with Seth Lugo just before the trade deadline. Lugo's previous deal allowed him to opt out of the contract's final year and enter free agency this winter, and the Royals seemed to at least test the trade market just in case an extension couldn't be finalized. As it turned out, the veteran righty will now be staying in K.C. through at least the 2027 campaign, further solidifying the Royals' starting corps.

The rotation was more good than elite this season, as injuries played a role. Lugo himself missed about a month and a half due to back and finger issues, Kris Bubic's All-Star season was ended by a rotator cuff strain in late July, and 2024 All-Star Cole Ragans was limited to 13 starts and 61 2/3 innings due to a rotator cuff strain of his own. The silver lining to these health issues was that Noah Cameron got the opportunity to break into the rotation, as the rookie delivered a 2.99 ERA over his first 138 1/3 frames in the majors.

Better health is obviously no guarantee for 2026, yet assuming the Royals deal with just an average amount of injury misfortune, their rotation looks like one of the more solid on-paper units in baseball. The Royals have fewer questions about their starting pitching than most clubs, due to both a high talent floor and plenty of depth. Mutual options are almost always declined anyway, but Michael Lorenzen probably would've been moving on regardless considering all of the other pitching options on hand.

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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/offseason-outlook-kansas-city-royals-15.html
 
Owner John Sherman Discusses Royals’ Payroll

Royals owner John Sherman spoke to Anne Rogers of MLB.com and addressed various topics related to the club. He voiced his support for general manager J.J. Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro. He expressed optimism about the way things have been trending for the club, while simultaneously noting that they need to do more. He also said he would love for Salvador Perez to continue on with the club, something that already seems inevitable.

Perhaps most notably for fans, he said the payroll is “in a good spot.” Rogers notes that Picollo said last week that he and Sherman hadn’t discussed a firm payroll number but he added that what the club has now is “plenty” and it is the responsibility of the front office “to make that work.”

Those comments seem to suggest that the 2026 payroll will likely stay in a similar range to 2025. According to RosterResource, the Royals spent $138MM on their players this year and have $127MM committed to next year’s club, which doesn’t appear to include Perez’s $13.5MM club option. There’s a $2MM buyout on that option, so picking it up would add $11.5MM to the club’s ledger.

That would put the Royals fairly close to this year’s payroll before even doing anything, but not all of their arbitration-eligible players will be tendered contracts. In MLBTR’s recent Offseason Outlook for the Royals, Jonathan India, Kyle Wright, Bailey Falter, Sam Long, Michael Massey, MJ Melendez and James McArthur are listed as non-tender candidates. That would be a projected $18.9MM saved if all were let go, though the Royals may not part with every name on that list. A trade or two could also open up some more breathing room.

Time will tell exactly how things shake out but it doesn’t appear there will be a massive amount of powder dry for the front office. Going into 2026, adding offense is the goal, an annual concern in Kansas City. The pitching staff had a collective 3.73 earned run average this year, good for sixth among MLB teams. But the bats had a collective .247/.309/.397 batting line. The resultant wRC+ of 93 was better than just eight big league clubs.

Second base could be a target area if the club does decide to move on from India and/or Massey, but as is customary for the Royals, the outfield will be a focus. The club bolstered their group on the grass with midseason trades for Mike Yastrzemski, Randal Grichuk and Adam Frazier but all three are impending free agents. That will leave them with a lackluster group consisting of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, John Rave, Drew Waters and a few others.

The free agent market is headlined by Kyle Tucker, but no one will be expecting the Royals to be in the running there. Guys like Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham are likely a bit outside their price range as well. Going after someone like Harrison Bader, Cedric Mullins or bringing back Yastrzemski should be more.

The trade market could also have some possibilities. The Cardinals appear to be entering a rebuild period and could make players such as Lars Nootbaar or Alec Burleson available. The Twins also might be taking a step back, so Trevor Larnach or Matt Wallner might be out there. Further possibilities will surely emerge in the coming weeks and months.

The details will become more clear as the offseason rolls along but the Royals will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 82-80 season. “We’re looking forward to the future, and I feel pretty good about it,” Sherman said. “It’s hard to look at this season by itself. When you think about what we’ve accomplished the last couple of years, I feel really good about the fact that the franchise has been turned around. We’re going in the right direction. We should be proud of that. But we’re also very unsatisfied.”

Photo courtesy of Denny Medley, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/owner-john-sherman-discusses-royals-payroll.html
 
Chris Owings Announces Retirement

Infielder Chris Owings announced his retirement on his Instagram page last week. He last played in affiliated ball in the Dodgers organization in 2024. Now, it appears the 11-year big-league veteran will hang up his spikes at the age of 34. “This game has given me more than I could’ve ever imagined,” said Owings, who went on to thank his family, coaches, and the various organizations of which he had been a part during his career.

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Owings was drafted in the first round by the Diamondbacks in 2009, making his major-league debut four years later. He would spend six seasons with Arizona, playing a total of 575 games out in the desert and batting .250/.291/.378 with a 73 wRC+. During that time, he maxed out at 552 plate appearances in 147 games in 2015. The following year, he led the majors in triples (11) while batting .277/.315/.416 in 119 games and splitting time between shortstop and center field. After leaving the Diamondbacks following the 2018 season, he went on to spend brief major-league stints with the Royals, Red Sox, Rockies, Orioles, and Pirates, often acting as a utility player. His last big-league appearances came in 2023 with Pittsburgh. He signed a minor league pact with the Dodgers in February 2024 and played in 80 games at the Triple-A level before being released in July of that year.

In all, Owings played in 723 games and earned just over $11MM in his career. He batted .239/.286/.364 with 550 hits, 37 home runs, 220 RBI, and 79 stolen bases. He was also a serviceable defender, grading out as below-average in 2,105 1/3 innings at shortstop (-11 career DRS) but above average in 1,647 2/3 innings at the keystone (9 DRS). We at MLBTR congratulate Owings on a solid career and wish him the best in retirement.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/chris-owings-announces-retirement.html
 
Rockies Have Interviewed James Click, Scott Sharp, Matt Forman In Front Office Search

The Rockies are looking outside the organization for a new front office leader. Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reports that they have interviewed James Click of the Blue Jays, Scott Sharp of the Royals and Matt Forman of the Guardians. It’s possible that the club has spoken with others but that’s at least three external candidates to have interviewed.

Colorado just wrapped up a third straight season of at least 101 losses. They haven’t had a winning record since 2018. Understandably, changes are necessary, even for a famously loyal and insular club like the Rockies. Manager Bud Black was fired in May. A few weeks ago, it was revealed that general manager Bill Schmidt and the club would also be parting ways. When the Rockies announced the Schmidt news, they noted that they would be looking for an external candidate to be the new head of their baseball operations. That’s a notable shift for the Rockies, who have received criticism for always promoting from within. It seems they are following through on the plan to look elsewhere, based on these potential candidates.

Of the three, Click is the one with experience running a front office. After many years working for the Rays, the Astros hired Click to be their general manager going into the 2020 season. The Astros were already a good club at that time but previous general manager Jeff Luhnow had been fired in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal.

While Click had a head-start by inheriting a very strong team, he at least kept the good times rolling. They made it to the ALCS in the shortened 2020 season. In 2021, they won the West and made it to the World Series, though they lost to Atlanta. They managed to win it all in 2022, toppling the Phillies in the World Series that year.

Despite that continued success, Click and owner Jim Crane reportedly didn’t get along behind the scenes, leading to a rare instance of a club parting ways with a front office leader on the heels of a World Series title. A few months after leaving Houston, Click joined the Blue Jays as vice president of baseball strategy. He was reportedly a candidate for the Red Sox job a couple of years ago before pulling himself out of the running due to family considerations. The Sox eventually hired Craig Breslow to run their front office.

Sharp has been with the Royals since 2006, initially hired in a player development role. He got the assistant general manager title in 2015 and later added senior vice-president to his nameplate. Years ago, he received reported interest from clubs like the Mets and Angels. Last winter, he was connected the Giants general manager job working under president of baseball operations Buster Posey. Sharp withdrew his name from the running due to family considerations and Zack Minasian ultimately got that job. Last month, Sharp was connected to the Nationals’ front office search, before they hired Paul Toboni as president of baseball operations.

Forman joined Cleveland back in 2013 in a scouting role, getting promoted to assistant general manager after the 2016 season. He later added the title of executive vice-president to his office door. Like Sharp, he was connected to the Washington job last month before Toboni was hired.

Time will tell if any of these three are frontrunners or if they are just some of many names under consideration. What is also unknown is how much interest these three, or front office candidates in general, will be interested in joining the Rockies. Building a winner in Colorado will be a unique challenge. The altitude conditions are famously awful for pitchers. Even the hitters face a unique challenge, as breaking balls move differently in the mountains than at sea level. That means the bats are constantly adjusting when going on the road and back, leading many Rockies to have very wide platoon splits. It’s also been supposed that the thin Denver air present difficulties for injury management.

Those particular conditions may scare off some executives. On the other hand, the unique conditions might also attract a certain individual who is drawn to solving the puzzle and getting the recognition that would go along with that feat. There’s also the standard observation that there are only 30 jobs running a front office, so an individual who wants such a job may not want to close any doors. Teams generally don’t stand in the way of their employees interviewing for promotions elsewhere, so it’s unlikely the Jays, Royals or Guardians would stand in the way of these guys pursuing the job.

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025...sharp-matt-forman-in-front-office-search.html
 
Poll: Where Will Nick Castellanos Play Next Year?

It appears the Nick Castellanos era in Philadelphia is coming to a close. Reporting yesterday indicated that the Phillies plan to either trade or release Castellanos this winter, ahead of the final season of his five-year contract with the club, following a year where he clashed with club manager Rob Thomson and struggled to produce at the plate or in the field. It remains to be seen whether Castellanos will be traded or released to sign somewhere else on the league minimum, but either way, it seems likely at this point that his next MLB game will come in a different uniform. Which team fits him best? A look at some of the most intriguing landing spots:

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians are perhaps the most straightforward fit for Castellanos available. They’ve already made clear they hope to upgrade their outfield mix. As a club without much money to spend most years, the fact that Castellanos could be had for a fraction of his salary (or perhaps even the league minimum) has to be enticing. Lackluster as Castellanos’s production was this year, he could be a good fit for a club that produced a wRC+ of just 70 from right field this year between players like Nolan Jones and Jhonkensy Noel. Castellanos perhaps fits best as a DH given his poor defensive abilities, but that opportunity could be available to him as well with Kyle Manzardo likely to take over first base duties after being blocked by Josh Naylor and Carlos Santana in previous years.

Kansas City Royals

Sticking in the AL Central, Castellanos would be an interesting fit for the Royals as well. Kansas City has struggled to find any sort of production in the outfield for years now. This past year, they got a 69 wRC+ (30th in MLB) from right field with a 75 wRC+ (29th in MLB) from left field. Castellanos would surely provide a major upgrade to either of those spots and is capable of playing every day if needed, which would be a step in the right direction for a team that has too often needed to platoon all around the roster recently. One major flaw with Castellanos’s fit in Kansas City, however, is the presence of Salvador Perez. Perez is expected to remain with the Royals next year, whether via club option or a fresh deal, and started 66 games at either DH or first base this year. Any first base starts would push Vinnie Pasquantino to DH, meaning that Castellanos would have to play the field frequently to be a fit for Kansas City’s roster.

San Diego Padres

The Padres might seem like an odd fit for Castellanos’s services at first glance, but San Diego has frequently had to get creative with some of its additions in recent years to balance its budget while filling holes in the roster. That figures to be true once again this winter, with both Dylan Cease and Michael King leaving major holes in the rotation as they head into free agency. Starting pitching figures to be the focus for the Padres this winter, which leaves the club to replace Luis Arraez and Ryan O’Hearn in the lineup at DH on what might be a shoestring budget.

Enter Castellanos, who won’t cost much but could capably handle regular duties at DH while also potentially spelling Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ramon Laureano in the outfield corners. San Diego hasn’t been afraid to take risks on players in need of a rebound in the past. While not all of those shots have landed, they have found success with some, such as Gavin Sheets. If there’s a flaw with Castellanos’s fit in San Diego, it’s perhaps that Sheets played just 13 games at first base this year and the club might view him as their DH headed into the offseason.

Other Options

These teams aren’t the only ones for whom Castellanos would make sense, though they are perhaps the best fits. The Cubs are about to lose Kyle Tucker to free agency but they could slide Seiya Suzuki into the outfield more often, opening the DH spot for Moises Ballesteros. Guys like Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara are also around to bolster the outfield mix and are probably better than Castellanos at this point anyway. The Diamondbacks could use Castellanos as a right-handed complement to their heavily left-handed outfield and DH mix, but he might be able to do better than a pure bench role and Blaze Alexander might be better suited for that job anyway. Perhaps the Rangers could sign Castellanos to share time with Joc Pederson at DH and back up lefty outfielders like Evan Carter and Alejandro Osuna if they end up non-tendering Adolis Garcia, though even if that happens they might still prefer to try to reunite with him at a lower price point, given his superior defense. The Pirates got very little production from their offense last year but would be a better fit if Andrew McCutchen departs the club. The Giants got minimal production from right field this year but Rafael Devers is likely to be their everyday DH next year.

Where do MLBTR readers think Castellanos would fit best in 2026? Have your say in the poll below:

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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/poll-where-will-nick-castellanos-play-next-year.html
 
Giants Interview Vance Wilson In Manager Search

The Giants interviewed Royals third base coach Vance Wilson as part of their managerial search earlier this month, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Wilson is also a candidate to interview for the Twins’ position, Rogers adds.

The 52-year-old has worked as K.C.’s third base coach for the past six seasons. He’d spent the preceding two years as bullpen coach, giving him eight seasons on an MLB staff. Wilson has worked under each of Ned Yost, Mike Matheny and Matt Quatraro.

The Royals interviewed him during the hiring cycles that resulted in the Matheny and Quatraro hirings. While Wilson didn’t get the top job on either case, Kansas City has valued him enough to keep him on staff through multiple managers.

Wilson has never managed in the major leagues, but he has seven seasons of managerial experience in the K.C. farm system. He played parts of eight MLB seasons as a backup catcher with the Mets and Tigers. He’s one of a few former catchers on the radar for the Giants. Nick Hundley and Kurt Suzuki have also interviewed, with Hundley reportedly viewed as a favorite. Minnesota is known to have spoken with Nick Punto, Derek Shelton, James Rowson and Ramón Vázquez as part of their search to replace Rocco Baldelli.
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Source: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/giants-interview-vance-wilson-for-manager.html
 
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