Royals Tabbed As Fit For Projected $48M Padres All-Star If KC 'Risks The Money'
How will the Kansas City Royals improve their dismal outfield in 2025?
No combination the Royals tried in the outfield worked this past season, and with a relatively tight free-agent budget, it won't be easy for the Royals to improve in the meantime. It will take a shrewd signing or trade from the front office to upgrade the position group.
Jurickson Profar, the first-time All-Star with the San Diego Padres in 2024, may be the main free agent to watch. Profar has had such an up-and-down career that even though he showed All-Star talent, he's not a lock to get paid like a typical superstar.
In a recent mailbag column, Max Rieper of Royals Review named Profar as a potential realistic Royals free-agent signing, though he also spelled out the special set of circumstances it would likely take for such a signing to happen.
"I don’t think teams know what to make of Profar’s outlier 2024 season," Rieper said. "He’s probably not the 4 WAR player he was in 2024, but is he going to regress back to being a -1.6 WAR player that he was in 2023? Are you willing to commit to three years and $45-60 million to find out?"
"Profar could be another one of those players that finds himself unsigned come March. There’s a pretty good case that Profar would be a good fit for the Royals if they want to risk the money."
Profar is projected for a three-year, $48 million contract by Tim Britton of The Athletic, and the Royals' best chance to get him is if his market dips far below that number. The Padres would likely re-enter the mix at that point, so there could be a needle to thread where the Royals would still have to outbid San Diego.
The best version of Profar would make the Royals instant favorites in the AL Central, and perhaps even World Series contenders. The worst version might sink them in the present while prevent them from making other necessary signings in the future.
Is it worth the gamble? And will his market collapse to the point where the Royals have the opportunity to make that gamble? Those will be answers to come in the next few weeks to months.
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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