Royals 26-Year-Old Floated As Trade Candidate Ahead Of 'Make-Or-Break Year'
Hopes are high for the Kansas City Royals in 2025, but not every position projects to be above average.
Last season, the Royals allowed MJ Melendez to work through his struggles as the starting left fielder, but he never really improved. The Royals' outfield ranked 29th of the 30 Major League Baseball teams in fWAR, and Melendez was the biggest detractor on the roster.
Once the team's number-two prospect behind Bobby Witt Jr., Melendez may not have much time left to prove himself. This is now a team in win-now mode, and the outfield can't be allowed to drag the rest of the lineup down for a second straight season.
Could this be the final year Melendez gets to play in Royal blue? It's certainly not out of the question.
On Saturday, Clay Snowden of Just Baseball called the 2025 season "make-or-break" for Melendez and floated the possibility that he could be traded elsewhere if he failed to establish himself as a quality starter in the Kansas City outfield.
"How long can you wait and see if a player will figure it out? Outfield is a weakness for the Royals, and a shake up is right around the corner. This season is looking like a make-or-break year for Melendez," Snowden wrote.
"Plenty of teams will be lining up to trade for Melendez if he does ever become available. Let’s hope he can put together the season I think he’s capable of and show Kansas City why he deserves a place in this team’s future."
Melendez, 26, slashed .206/.273/.400 in 135 games last season, as the Royals gave him progressively fewer opportunities to hit against left-handed pitching. While he still has some power (51 home runs in 412 career games), he has to show drastic improvements getting on base and roaming the outfield.
Already, the Royals are working on Melendez backup plans in left field, with second basemen Jonathan India and Michael Massey taking game reps there in spring training. If Melendez struggles to open the season, he could find himself benched whenever a lefty is on the mound.
In MLB, if you hit, you don't sit. There's a way for Melendez to get himself out of this mess that sounds simple, but is always difficult in practice: hit like crazy.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org