Kansas City acquired a pair of outfielders in the month following Picollo’s comments. They signed Avenue Thomas to a $5.5 million clawback deal for free agents, after which the lefty reliever was traded Angel Zerpa to Milwaukee for Isaac Collins and center illuminator Nick Mears. Those moves have raised the floor from where the outfield stood at the end of the 2025 season, yet on paper it remains one of the weaker groups in the MLB.
Kyle Isbel is a low-end regular player in the midfield. Collins had a strong season, but was a 27-year-old rookie whose results exceeded mediocre batted ball stats. The Royals probably don’t expect him to be anything more than an average player in left field. Jac Caglianon has the highest ceiling of the group, but MLB pitchers took advantage of his aggressive plate approach in his first 62 games. Caglianone dominated the minor leagues so thoroughly that the Royals may feel he has little to learn by returning to Triple-A. Still, there are sure to be peaks and valleys even as he takes a step forward in his first full MLB season. Thomas struggled with injuries and was largely unproductive after being traded from the Nationals to the Guardians at the ’24 deadline.
Depth options John Rave, Dairon Blanco, Drew Waters And Kameron Misner (acquired in a DFA trade with Tampa Bay) have not shown much at the big league level. That makes it unsurprising that the Royals continue to monitor the outfield market after the Collins/Thomas deals. Working with seemingly limited payroll space and a weak farming system, trading a starter could still be on the table – even if it seems less likely than it was a month ago.
Picollo has greatly downplayed the chances of a move Cole Ragans. He has been controllable for three seasons and has shown good upside, but is dealing with a significant rotator cuff injury. They extended Michael Wacha last offseason and Seth Lugo before the trade deadline. It’s hard to see a veteran right going anywhere.
Left-handed Kris Bubic is entering his final season of arbitration control. He pitched at the highest level, but suffered a season-ending rotator cuff strain not long after the All-Star Break. Southpaw Noah Cameron had an ERA below 3.00 through his first 24 career starts, despite a below-average strikeout rate of 20.5%. Adjustable depth arms Ryan Bergert And Stephen Kolek have attracted interest, but have minor league options and could be a major injury insurance option in Triple-A. They are supposedly open to a move Bailey Falterbut it would have minimal trade value. Alec Marsh has received interest in the past, but underwent labrum surgery in November and will likely miss the entire season.
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