Royals Executive In Line For Prestigious Award After Surprising Season, Per Insider

There's a lot to like about the Royals right now

Mar 12, 2024; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; General view of Kansas City Royals hats and gloves in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images / Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals certainly have been the biggest shock in baseball this season.

Kansas City lost 106 games last year, but now it is pretty much a guarantee that it will be in the postseason. The Royals entered the season with very low expectations. The Royals were expected to be among the worst teams in baseball again in 2024, but the organization has done everything but that.

The Royals were one of the more surprising teams in baseball this past offseason. It wasn't expected that the team would be active in free agency, but they were. Kansas City focused on adding overlooked veterans to affordable deals. Many teams focused on big-name players like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery. Other clubs waited around hoping to land either pitcher and didn't act fast.

Kansas City dove in and landed multiple players while others waited around. The Royals signed Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, and both have been absolute successes. They didn't stop there and continued to add around the edges.

Once it. seemed like a guarantee that the Royals could fight for a playoff spot this season, they were busy once again ahead of the trade deadline and made multiple moves, including the acquisition of infielder Paul Dejong.

All in all, it has been a successful year, and USA Today Sports' Bob Nightengale predicted that general manager J.J. Picollo will win the Executive of the Year award because of it.

"The Executive of the Year award belongs to Kansas City Royals GM J.J. Picollo, and it shouldn’t even be close, making shrewd moves during the winter and at the trade deadline, turning a 106-loss team to a dangerous postseason team," Nightengale said.

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