Royals Could Make Surprising Splash Move For Franchise Player From NL
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The Kansas City Royals need help in the outfield, but how much salary are they willing to take on?
Kansas City’s pitching staff — not to mention Bobby Witt Jr. — are championship-level ingredients, but the Royals’ offense has underperformed mightily in 2025, particularly coming from the team’s outfielders.
Bringing in an All-Star isn’t essential. Guys like Tommy Pham or Rob Refsnyder would be welcome additions to an offense that has nowhere to go but up.
But if the Royals were in the rare mood to make a splash this summer, perhaps they could call the Pittsburgh Pirates and ask about the club’s long-term plans for Bryan Reynolds.
Pittsburgh signed Reynolds to the largest contract in franchise history in 2023 — an eight-year, $106.8 million deal that could keep Reynolds in Pittsburgh through a $20 million club option in 2031.
But could the Pirates be convinced to sell Reynolds for prospect capital and/or young Major League talent, especially since the team seems years away from contending? Entering Sunday, Pittsburgh owned the third-worst record in baseball at 12-22.
Paul Skenes is a bright spot for Pittsburgh’s future, but the present is bleak. If Pittsburgh doesn’t envision Reynolds staying with the team for his entire deal, the Pirates should sell high on him while his value is still strong.
Reynolds has had a mediocre start to 2025, at least compared to his career numbers. Entering Sunday, he was slashing .237/.300/.363 with four home runs, 17 RBI, and three stolen bases.
The two-time All-Star would be a massive addition for the Royals, but he’d assumedly come at a high cost.
At some point, Kansas City should go all-in on bringing in some All-Star-level talent to take advantage of having a great rotation and one of the game’s best young superstars in Witt.
Maybe Reynolds isn’t the guy they want to spend on, but he’s worth asking about this summer.
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-0663bdabe71d386728d098a436d30d0b.jpeg "Colin Keane")
Colin Keane is a writer for Kansas City Royals On SI. He graduated from Villanova University with a Major degree in English and a Minor degree in Business. Covering NBA, MLB, NFL and college basketball, he has contributed to various outlets including NESN and FanSided.