Coming into this offseason, Royals General Manager J.J. Picollo mentioned that adding a middle of the order bat was something that was a priority for the team. Recently, a report came out that the Royals made a strong push to add Anthony Santander before the Blue Jays finalized their deal with him. The report from Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic suggested that the Royals offer reached 3 years 66 million.

 If this report is accurate, the Royals offseason is clearly not over and the possibilities for what they will do this offseason become vastly larger. There have been plenty of rumors floating around that the Royals are out of money and are done spending and a recently quiet offseason has caused these rumors to just get louder. But with the recent addition of Carlos Estevez and the rumors of interest in Anthony Santander and Starling Marte suggest just the opposite.

Could these recent reports and signings mean there is more to come as we get closer to opening day?

It is clear that the Royals not only have interest in adding a bat in the middle of the order but are clearly looking at corner OF options. The reports also would suggest the Royals were willing to max out adding 22 million in salary cap prior to the addition of Carlos Estevez. This means they have around 10 million dollars they are willing to spend at most as we come into spring training.

This new information leaves the team with several interesting courses of action. Let’s start in free agency where the market has dried up some but there are still several interesting options. Guys like Randal Grichuk, Harrison Bader, Ramon Lauriano, and Tommy Pham could be interesting bats that could make a difference in the middle of the order and have enough range to play in Kauffman. While these guys are not quite superstars, they help move the needle in the middle of the order and in the OF.

Another option for the Royals to add a bat is through trade which is a route we have already heard they have considered. A report came out recently that the Royals explored a trade for Starling Marte for Hunter Harvey but never really gained traction. There are lots of options for the Royals to explore in the trade market that could make a difference in the lineup. 

There are several young options on smaller contracts like Jake McCarthy, Alec Thomas, or Heston Kjerstad. These guys would be ideal fits, but likely will be expensive because of their previously elite prospect profiles and minimal hits on payroll. The other options would include more expensive veteran guys such as Taylor Ward, Starling Marte Ian Happ or Seyia Suzuki. All guys who could provide some improvement in the middle of the order and are plenty capable fielders who would instantly make a difference. 

The Royals will be active as the offseason continues and as we get closer to opening day and there are a lot of options the team could explore over the next several weeks. The recent news is exciting and is something that should excite Royals that they will be aggressive and make another move. While they may not have landed Santander, a few things are clear, the team seems willing to aggressively add and spend as they clearly feel they can win now and don’t want to wait.