Royals interested in re-signing Mike Yastrzemski and Adam Frazier

After making some light signings at the trade deadline over the summer to keep themselves in contention, the Royals have some interest in reuniting with two of the rental bats they brought on board in July. According to a report from Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Starthe club is interested in reunions with both outfielders Mike Yastrzemski and second baseman Adam Frazier.

It’s hardly a surprise that the Royals would want to bring Yastrzemski back into the fold. The 35-year-old veteran was a late bloomer with the Giants, not making his Majors debut until age 28, but he has been an above-average hitter for seven seasons since then. Over the past three years, Yastrzemski has been a .232/.322/.426 (107 wRC+) hitter with a 23.4% strikeout rate against an excellent 11.0% walk rate. He is also a consistent source of decent power, typically offering 15 to 20 home runs and 20 to 30 doubles in a given season.

All of that suggests Yastrzemski provides a solid foundation for an outfield in desperate need of stability, but Yastrzemski also made a big impression after being dealt from San Francisco to Kansas City last year. Although the team failed to get into the playoffs, Yastrzemski turned in a phenomenal performance with nine home runs and a 127 wRC+ in 50 games for the Royals, while also walking (13.4%) more often than hitting (11.8%). All of this happened in a small sample size of just 186 plate appearances, but if Yastrzemski can achieve anything even close to that feat in 2026, he would certainly be one of the biggest bargains in this winter’s free agent class.

As for Frazier, a reunion for the 2026 season would mark the soon-to-be 34-year-old’s third stint in Kansas City in three seasons. Frazier struggled as a Royal in 2024, posting a wRC+ of 65 in 104 games in a part-time role. However, he rejoined the team at the deadline this summer in a trade with the Pirates and turned in a much more respectable performance. In 197 plate appearances with the Royals, Frazier slashed .283/.320/.402 with a wRC+ of 98 to push his season mark to 89 through 134 games. Frazier lacks the track record of consistently above-average offense that Yastrzemski provides, but would help provide backup Michael Massey And Jonathan India at second base, which proved to be a big hole for the Royals last season.

Neither player’s contract is designed to break the bank, which is certainly one of the reasons why Kansas City is interested in rebooting both players. The club’s payroll isn’t expected to increase much in 2026, if at all, and with the team already projected by RosterResource at $139 million in payroll ($1 million more than last season), the Royals find themselves in a bit of financial trouble as they try to reshape their offense. They have already expressed a willingness to leverage their rotation mix to bring in offense, but with holes all over the outfield and on the bench, they will certainly need to add more than one bat if they hope to improve their offense in 2026. That’s where a cheaper free agent like Yastrzemski or Frazier could come in, providing roughly average production at an affordable rate.