Welcome back to the 2025-26 edition of Smash or Pass, in which we examine potential free agent and trade targets to determine whether the Red Sox should pursue them and what it would take to land them. Next up, a left-handed pitcher to pair with Garrett Crochet who has been mentioned in Red Sox-Royals trade rumors. Who […]
The Royals are making moves, and this episode breaks down what they really mean. Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco are joined by Thomas Nestico (TJ Stats) to analyze one of the most surprising trades of the offseason, as the Kansas City Royals strike a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers that could quietly pay dividends. The […]
The Royals had nine potential honorees on last year’s ballot. I made a case that at least eight of them could deserve to be elected, even though we were restricted to only voting for five. Because of that restriction, I chose to intentionally leave off Wade Davis and Alex Gordon because I felt it was […]
On Saturday, the Brewers traded outfielder Isaac Collins and reliever Nick Mears to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Ángel Zerpa. That has a lot of implications for the bullpen, obviously (check out Harrison’s look at Zerpa), but Collins also started almost four times as many games in left field than any other Brewer outfielder […]
Jaylon Thompson writes about the Royals acquiring Isaac Collins and Nick Mears from the Brewers for Angel Zerpa. “We were in the market for an outfield bat, and you know, through our process we started having conversations with Milwaukee,” Picollo said. “And immediately, it centered around Zerpa, and we still felt like we need to […]
The San Diego Padres have been part of various trade rumors since the MLB Winter Meetings. There has not been nearly as much conversation or coverage about their free-agent targets, if there are any. San Diego has three spots to fill in the rotation after Dylan Cease and Michael King reached free agency and Yu […]
The Royals may have finally made their big move for an outfield bat, and it didn’t cost Cole Ragans. It also didn’t cost Noah Cameron or even Kris Bubic. Isaac Collins is a switch-hitter who primarily played left field with a little bit of right field and even a couple of innings at second and […]
Early this morning at The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon wrote: “The Milwaukee Brewers are looking to trade off their outfield depth, most likely by moving Isaac Collins or Blake Perkins for a reliever with minor-league options remaining.” And what do you know , tonight, the Milwaukee Brewers have traded Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to the Royals for 26-year-old left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa … who has an option year remaining.
Robert Murray on the news:
Isaac Collins is...
Another shoe has dropped in the wake of the Brewers’ signing of Akil Baddoo: Isaac Collins, last year’s primary left fielder for much of the season, has been traded to the Kansas City Royals, along with Nick Mears, who pitched 76 times for the Brewers since arriving at the 2024 trade deadline. Coming back to […]
The Royals announced they have brought back reliever José Cuas on a minor league deal. Cuas previously pitched for the team in 2022-23. He did not pitch in the big leagues last year, spending the season in the Braves organization. In 132 career MLB games, he has an ERA of 4.37 with 122 strikeouts in […]
For the second straight preseason, Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections – now available at Fangraphs – see the Kansas City Royals as a club with strong pitching that can compete for the division. Szymborski projects the Royals to “finish with somewhere between 82-86 wins or so, depending on the assumptions”, and this is before the Royals […]
The Royals had a quiet Winter Meetings, but have been pretty active in the days since, signing outfielder Lane Thomas to a one-year deal, and inking All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia to a long-term deal. In his write-up of the Garcia deal, ESPN reporter Jeff Passan notes the Royals continue to be active on the […]
The Royals have locked down the left side of their infield. Having already signed shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to a long-term deal, they have now signed third baseman Maikel Garcia to a five-year contract with a club option on a sixth year, according to ESPN reporter Jeff Passan. Update at 1:54 p.m.: The deal is […]
This week, the Kansas City Royals signed outfielder Lane Thomas to a one-year, $5.25 million contract. Thomas joins the Royals after spending the last year and a half with the Cleveland Guardians. The Royals are hoping the right-handed hitting outfielder who hit 28 home runs in a season as recently as 2023, can bounce back […]
In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, hosts Jacob Milham and Jeremy “Hokius” Greco dig into a pivotal week for the Kansas City Royals and Major League Baseball. First up: No Rule 5 Draft pick. Was this a missed opportunity or a calculated decision? The hosts explain the logic behind passing and how it […]
I didn’t realize until I went to a Nippon Professional League game in Japan just how much sports fashion is a thing here in the United States. Walking the streets there, you don’t see a whole lot of NPB merch being worn. Sure, you see some ball caps, some stickers, that sort of thing. It […]
Anne Rogers writes about the Royals landing Lane Thomas. After that uneven 2024, Thomas was limited to 39 games and 125 at-bats for the Guardians in 2025, mostly due to a lingering case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which required surgery in September. And before that, Thomas missed a month with a right […]
The Royals are signing former Cleveland Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas to a 1-year, $5.25M deal according to Will Sammon and Mark Feinsand. The deal includes $1M in incentives as well. Thomas is a 30-year-old, right-handed outfielder who has spent most of his defensive innings in center field and right field. He has bounced around during […]
The Winter Meetings have concluded with the Royals yet to address their glaring outfield needs. The free agent market became thinner when former Royals outfielder Mike Yastrzemski signed a two-year deal with the Braves this week. With Harrison Bader looking for a three-year deal, the free agent market isn’t looking like a promising avenue to […]
Mike Yastrzemski proved to be a terrific pickup for the Royals last summer. But he won’t be returning in Royals blue. The Braves signed Yastrzemski to a two-year, $23 million deal, according to ESPN reporter Jeff Passan. The contract includes a third-year club option. The Royals acquired Yastrzemski for pitcher Yunior Marte at the July […]
Does it really matter which outfielders the Royals bring in? The answer is certainly yes, but let’s not get bogged down in that. Step back a bit and look at the broader scope here. It makes a huge difference if they for some reason spent 300 to 400 million to get Kyle Tucker, but we […]
Lady Luck smiled on the Kansas City Royals in the 2026 MLB Draft lottery on Tuesday, much to the pleasure of the front office. “It’s awesome. It’s exciting,” said Royals general manager J.J. Picollo. “We had less than a one percent chance of getting the first pick, we probably should have been closer to 16, […]
Braves Franchise History 2009 – The Braves trade Rafael Soriano to the Rays in exchange for Jesse Chavez. He will appear in 28 games while posting a 5.89 ERA and a 4.69 FIP in 36 2⁄3 innings. Atlanta will send him to Kansas City at the trade deadline along with Gregor Blanco and Tim Collins […]
Christmas came early for the Royals this year. The MLB draft lottery has hurt the Royals before – in both 2022 and 2023 they were pushed back in the order due to lottery results. But this year, fortune shone upon them, and they were awarded the #6 overall pick in next summer’s draft, despite finishing […]
The Royals continue to be attached to several outfielders during the Winter Meetings as they look to upgrade their outfield. The latest reports indicate they are looking at Astros outfielder Jake Meyers, who enjoyed a career season in 2025. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes the Royals are one of a number of teams interested in […]