Royals Are 'Top Landing Spot' For Projected $105 Million All-Star, Report Says
The Kansas City Royals aren't a big-market team. Far from it, in fact, with an annual payroll ranking somewhere in the bottom third of Major League Baseball.
With that being said, the Royals have shown their willingness to spend big on the players they think can take them to the top, with Bobby Witt Jr. as the lead example. Witt's near-$300 million extension last offseason may signal that the Royals are willing to push the envelope a bit in future seasons.
Would Kansas City consider adding one more high-priced slugger to the payroll this offseason?
There's been little evidence that the Royals are entering bidding wars this winter, but what if they've been biding their time, hoping the price drops on a certain All-Star power hitter?
On Tuesday, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named the Royals as a "top landing spot" for former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander, who hit a career-high 44 home runs in 2024. Santander was fifth out of 10 teams on Miller's list.
"Maybe they could get creative with the contract structure to make it work, keeping in mind that (Salvador) Perez ($22 million this season) has a $13.5 million club option or $2 million buyout for 2026, plus Renfroe, Chris Stratton and Hunter Harvey (combined $15 million) coming off the books next season."
Santander, who wound up with an .814 OPS/132 OPS+ last season, is projected for a five-year, $105 million contract (The Athletic).
There may be a potential scenario in which the Royals get involved in Santander's market, but it involves a lot of moving parts. The market for Santander would have to be dead outside of Toronto, and the slugger would have to be very pessimistic about playing for the Blue Jays.
If the Blue Jays are the only team bidding anything significant on Santander, perhaps he could choose a medium-sized offer from the Royals instead, assuming Kansas City senses the market dipping and acts accordingly.
More MLB: Royals Predicted To Sign All-Star, Ex-Yankees World Series Champ To $11.5M Deal
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