The Kansas City Royals rebuild has not gone according to plan. While they have young talent like Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, MJ Melendez, and Vinnie Pasquantino on the team, they have not investing in veterans who could mentor them. While Salvador Perez and Zack Greinke have been the father figures in the clubhouse, they have wasted the talent of many of their top prospects.
When rebuilding a team, you should promote younger talent. While they have done that to some extent, they have also kept players like Matt Duffy and Dairon Blanco on the roster, which took playing time away from up-and-coming prospects like Samad Taylor and Nelson Velázquez, among many others.
The Royals did make some good calls by removing Franmil Reyes, Hunter Dozier, and Jackie Bradley Jr., among others. But overall, this team is wasting the likes of Bobby Witt Jr. and Cole Ragans, young talent which deserves to play for a contender.
Kansas City Royals who won't be back next season: Josh Taylor
Josh Taylor was one of the pieces acquired in the Adalberto Mondesí trade to the Boston Red Sox. Since joining the Kansas City Royals, the 30-year-old relief pitcher has done little but disappoint and cost the Royals' games.
In his small sample size of 17 2/3 innings before suffering injuries, he holds an ERA of 8.15 with a record of 1-3. The Royals could remove him from the team once he returns from the injured list due to having younger talent that is more developed. It depends on what Kansas City wants to do since they seem to be stuck in a rut.
Taylor's history suggests he can be hit or miss. With the Boston Red Sox in 2019, he emerged as one of their best relievers, throwing 47 1/3 innings and holding a 3.04 ERA, which was good for 1.3 bWAR. In his next season, he pitched in seven and one-third innings and gave up eight runs, earning a 9.82 ERA. But in 2021, he pitched well again, throwing 47 2/3 innings and finishing with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.2 bWAR. In that postseason, he pitched in six games and gave up one run over four innings, finishing with a 2.25 ERA.
As you can see, he's unpredictable, and the Royals don't have time for that.
Kansas City Royals who won't be back next season: Taylor Clarke
Taylor Clarke is another reliever who has been struggling with consistency his whole career. After becoming a free agent from the Arizona Diamondbacks, he signed a contract with the Kansas City Royals to begin the 2022 season.
Clarke is also 30 years old, and his play has been changing year by year with different problems arising. In his first season with the Kansas City Royals in 2022, he limited the number of walks and hits he gave up, but recently he has reverted back to his old ways.
In the 2022 season, he pitched in 49 innings and had an ERA of 4.04 with a bWAR of 0.6. He showed much potential to become a key piece of the Royals' bullpen, but in 2023, just like the team, he decided to take a massive step back.
In 2023, he has struggled far more. He is now walking batters three times more than in 2022, while also giving up base hits at a rapid rate. His ERA has soared to 5.66, and he has blown multiple games, leading to a record of 3-5. The Kansas City Royals could continue to use him, but his 2022 season may have just been a standout, and waiting for another to happen is just a pipe dream.
Kansas City Royals who won't be back next season: Matt Duffy
Matt Duffy has been a very versatile player his whole career. This offseason, he signed a one-year $1.5 million contract with the Kansas City Royals. Signing with a rebuilding team like the Royals signals that the end of his career is near. His main attraction to the Royals is that he can play all infield positions, which is the same reason the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs liked him.
While Duffy has been productive at times, he also hasn't helped the team much, if at all. In the 2023 season, he has played in 75 games and only brought in 13 RBIs with a single home run and a batting average of .249 to his name after all that time. While his contract is relatively cheap, his roster spot is very valuable for a rebuilding team to use to test the abilities of younger talent.
Instead of having Matt Duffy in the majors, they could instead call up one of their prospects named Devin Mann, who in 123 games slugged 20 home runs and brought in 86 RBIs, while also batting .277. While it's just minor-league games, if they don't add him to the 40-man roster soon, he could be scooped up during the Rule 5 Draft.
Kansas City Royals who won't be back next season: Dairon Blanco
Dairon Blanco hasn't impressed much in the 2023 season. His main attraction for teams is that he is as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog. He often reminds fans of Billy Hamilton, who, like Blanco, can't hit well and doesn't walk at a high degree.
Blanco in 2023 has hit .226 with two home runs and 17 RBIs. He also stole 22 bases and only got caught five times. But, unlike Hamilton, Blanco hasn't been the worst hitter, currently holding an OPS+ of 90, unlike Hamilton's career average of 66.
Blanco is currently 30 years old but didn't come to MLB until 2018 when he joined the minor leagues of the Oakland Athletics. He was later traded in 2019 with Ismael Aquino from the Athletics to the Kansas City Royals for Jake Diekman. Due to the relationship between Cuba and MLB teams, much talent through the years was lost, but recently MLB teams have been able to acquire top talent at one of the highest rates ever.
Despite showing much promise at age 30, Blanco isn't worth keeping because as he continues to age, he will get worse offensively, defensively, and speed-wise. His talent was wasted by not receiving a call-up sooner, but I would love for him to prove me wrong.
Kansas City Royals who won't be back next season: Jordan Lyles
The Jordan Lyles experiment has failed greatly, and it cost the Kansas City Royals $17 million over two years. Since joining the Royals, Lyles has done what he was hired to do, which was to eat innings, but the extent of this failure is unmatched.
The Baltimore Orioles helped Lyles turn his career around in 2022, in which he pitched 179 innings and gave up a 4.42 ERA, which was good for a team that just needs a player to pitch, but is bad if you want to contend. Lyles mostly succeeded due to the Orioles moving back the left-field wall, which limited the amount of home runs he gave up.
Since joining the Royals, he has given up just over two home runs for every nine innings pitched. This has led to a league-leading 38 home runs given up. In addition, he also has given up the most runs of his career and currently in MLB at 119. In 166 2/3 innings pitched in 2023, he also holds a record of 4-17 with a 6.43 ERA.
Lyles has been one of, if not the worst pitchers in MLB during the 2023 season. It seems best if both teams part ways from each other as it has been a negative relationship for both parties. The Royals need to admit they wasted $17 million and just release him.
