While seeing how the season went, and now how the postseason is going thus far, I thought it would be an interesting project to sort of "retool" the Royals roster for next season. Keep in mind I am no expert on this topic and also, we all know as Royals fans that the team in recent years has not spent a lot of money in free agency.

For this exercise, I am not going into the specifics of how much each player would cost as that is unknown. I am looking at mostly middle tier FAs. We would ideally like to get all the best FAs at each needed position, but we know that will not happen.

With all of that being said, here is how I would like to see the 2024 season roster look:

SP

1. Cole Ragans
2. Kyle Gibson or Jordan Montgomery
3. Trevor Bauer
4. Jordan Lyles
5. Jack Flaherty

RP

1. Brady Singer
2. Alec Marsh
3. John McMillon
4. Jackson Kowar
5. Steven Cruz

CL (one of the below)

• Drew Pomeranz
• Trevor Rosenthal
• Dylan Floro

C

1. Salvador Perez
2. Logan Porter
3. Tom Murphy or Roberto Perez

1B

1. Vinnie Pasquantino
2. Garrett Cooper
3. Nick Pratto

2B

1. Nick Loftin
2. Tony Kemp or Kolten Wong
3. Matt Duffy

3B

1. Maikel Garcia
2. Matt Duffy
3. Bobby Witt Jr.

SS

1. Bobby Witt Jr.
2. Maikel Garcia
3. Nick Loftin

LF

1. MJ Melendez
2. Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
3. Dairon Blanco

CF

1. Kyle Isbel
2. Michael A. Taylor
3. Harrison Bader

RF

1. Nelson Velazquez
2. Harrison Bader
3. Dairon Blanco

As you see, there are some names missing that are currently on the MLB roster. I believe some such as Michael Massey and Drew Waters should be sent down to AAA or traded as I feel we have seen enough of their play to get a good idea of their abilities. This doesn't mean they are incapable of playing at the MLB level necessarily. I just think currently they are not where they should be.

Also, I am not counting the players on the 40-man roster who are down in the minors currently, so a few on the list above may need to be sent down or traded (such as Blanco or Duffy).

I fully expect for this to be received in a somewhat alarming manner. I do not expect everyone to think this is a solution and some of the players one could argue don't belong at the MLB level, while I agree with that sentiment some, I also think some players have more potential than what is currently realized (e.g., Loftin and Isbel). I tried to consider a middle tier FA market coming to KC if any do. I also think there are some FAs which are overlooked as they are on stacked rosters currently.

I think veteran presence to help with the outfield would be a nice addition. Which is why Michael A. Taylor is mentioned as well as other key FAs.

As far as 2B goes, I feel that Nick Loftin could take on that responsibility well. Call it a "gut feeling" but I believe he would do better than Michael Massey has done. Massey has great fielding for the most part, but I feel as somewhat previously mentioned, he hit his ceiling already. Loftin appears to have a much higher ceiling.