Royals having busy offseason signing lowest-tier free agents

In the shock of the MLB offseason, the Kansas City Royals have been one of the league’s most active teams in free agency. While the Dodgers are locking up the biggest names, the Royals are dishing out deals to every player you forgot was still playing. In total, Kansas City has already committed $105 million in free agent dollars across six players this offseason.

If you’re in need of a refresher, here’s a summary of all the Royals’ biggest moves thus far.

Contract: 2 years, $32 million

The San Diego Padres declined Wacha’s two-year, $32 million option, meaning he signed a near-identical deal in Kansas City with yet another opt-out after this season. The 32-year-old pitcher — he’s only 32?! — has played with five teams in the last five seasons, joining the Mets, Rays, Red Sox, and Padres since leaving St. Louis. Wacha has seemed to gather himself a bit recently. His ERA has come down considerably over the last couple of years. In 2023, Wacha posted a 3.22 ERA and 124 strikeouts, his best totals since 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Contract: 3 years, $45 million

Another Padres pitcher, Lugo is coming off his first season since leaving the Mets. Lugo has been unremarkable, if consistent these last three seasons, throwing somewhere between a 3.50 and 3.60 ERA each of the last three seasons. However, his K/9 rate has consistently gone down since 2019, sliding from 11.7 to 8.9 over the last five years.

Contract: 2 years, $13 million

Renfroe is now on his seventh different team in the last six years. Since leaving the Padres in 2019, Renfroe has taken at-bats for the Rays, Red Sox, Brewers, Angels, and Guardians. He hasn’t been able to match the career highs he set in Boston in 2021, though. In 2023, he finished with a combined .233 batting average and .713 OPS across 548 plate appearances with the Angels and Guardians. He can still provide some power, though, hitting 20 home runs last year.

Contract: 1 year, $4 million

The 33-year-old right-handed pitcher has completely transitioned to a relief role, making one start since the beginning of the 2020 season. Stratton was passable in 2023, posting a 3.92 ERA and 81 strikeouts across appearances with the Cardinals and Rangers. He’s only one year removed from a sub-3.00 ERA, across 20 starts with the Cardinals in 2022.

Contract: 1 year, $5 million

Will Smith brings a championship pedigree to the Royals, insomuch as he’s been on three straight World Series championship rosters. As a reliever, Smith wasn’t exactly a major contributor to the Braves, Astros and Rangers’ World Series runs. He has ERAs of 4.00 or worse each of the last three seasons, and Smith really only pitched well during the Braves’ playoff run.

Contract: 1 year, $2 million

A pure utility player, Hampson has made fewer than 250 plate appearances over three of the last four years. His 2023 performance in Miami was arguably his best in recent memory, posting a .276 batting average and .729 OPS over 98 games.