KC Royals: What a difference a year makes

By Brad Ziegler

A year ago, the Kansas City Royals were spiraling towards matching their worst record for a season in their history.  New manager Matt Quatraro was on his way to ending his first season with only 56 wins and second year General Manager JJ Piccolo was heading into the most important offseason of his career.  Fans were fed up with what Royals owner John Sherman had termed “the season of evaluation.”

What a difference a year makes.

After the greatest year-to-year turnaround in team history, the Royals were able to clinch a spot in the playoffs on Friday, their first postseason appearance in the last eight years. The 2024 season has been built on remarkable performances by nearly every aspect of the team over the past 180 days since opening day.

Most fans will look back to February 5 of this year as the date that it all started to turn around for the Royals, the day they signed 23-year-old phenom Bobby Witt, Jr. to an 11-year, $288 million contract extension, by far the richest in the franchise’s history.  Even though Witt was under club control for four more years, the Royals sent a signal throughout the league that they were significantly changing the way they were doing business going forward.

In addition to Witt’s extension, the Royals committed more than $105 million to 15 free agents and traded for nine additional players during the offseason, more than half of whom made contributions for the Royals this season.  First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino also returned to the lineup after missing much of the 2023 campaign due to injury. After being chided for years for not being transactional enough, the Royals front office again seemed committed to making a significant turnaround.

The offseason work by Piccolo and his staff, and the commitment of a record-breaking amount of salary by ownership still needed to prove itself on the field.  After a promising spring training, the Royals got off to a fast start in the first month of the season, ending April with an 18-13 record and sitting in second place in the division.

 Salvador Perez had one of his best starts in his 13-year career, with a .355 batting average on April 30, with seven home runs and 26 RBI.  The soon-to-turn 34-year-old catcher was also receiving for a new rotation of Royals starters who combined with an almost completely new bullpen to record a staff 3.21 ERA for the month.

The starting rotation, led by newcomers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, 2023 trade acquisition Cole Ragans, and 2018 first round draft pick Brady Singer, would continue to roll up quality starts throughout the first half of the season, and Lugo began to receive mention as a potential Cy Young candidate by the All Star break.  The Royals were seven games over .500 at that point and their young superstar was just beginning to step into the spotlight.

Fans will look back to the 2024 All Star game as the point at which Bobby Witt, Jr. jumped from being one of the bright young stars of the game to being one of the top candidates for MVP.  After finishing second in the All Star Home Run derby, Witt started off the second half of the season with a 25 game streak where he hit .465 with 9 home runs and 27 RBI and moved to the top of the league’s leader boards in batting average, hits and runs scored.  While his white-hot streak cooled a little over the last month, his totals in those departments continue to lead the league.

The early season success of the Royals bullpen cooled in the second half but the immediate impact of trade deadline acquisition Lucas Erceg and the re-emergence of former starters Daniel Lynch IV and Chris Bubic have greatly solidified the bullpen down the stretch.  Second-half free agent signings Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong, Yuli Gurriel, Robbie Grossman, and Michael Laurenzen have provided some key contributions after coming to Kansas City, but the loss of first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino to injury in late August, after becoming one of the league’s most productive hitters, has had a chilling effect on the Royals offense as they try to close out the season with a wild card bid.

Year-end accolades are on hold for now as the most important week of the season remains to be played, but Ragans (most strikeouts by a Royals pitcher since 2009), Lugo (most wins in a Royals season by a pitcher since 2017) and Witt (best season by Royals batter since 1980) will all be among the most decorated in the league and Royals manager Matt Quatraro seems to be a front runner for AL Manager of the Year.

This story has been updated since it first appeared in the print edition of the September 26 issue of the Telegraph.