Royals Urged To Immediately Cut Ties With $13 Million 10-Year Veteran
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As the Kansas City Royals' outfield continues to struggle, it's not hard to find a list of scapegoats.
Jonathan India has been subpar for the Royals all season as he attempts to learn left field. Kyle Isbel, as usual, hasn't hit much. MJ Melendez was demoted to Triple-A for his ineptitude at the plate, and even Drew Waters has dropped off since his hot start after promotion.
However, one Royals outfielder trumps all of those players in bringing down the team, and he's done it over a part-time sample size. Hunter Renfroe, a 10th-year major league veteran who exercised his 2025 player option on a two-year, $13 million contract, has been unbelievably bad.
In 30 games and 92 plate appearances, Renfroe has slashed .167/.228/.202, good for an OPS+ of 24, while also playing slipshod defense in right field. All of that futility combined has helped him rack up -1.1 fWAR, making him the single least valuable player in all of Major League Baseball this season.
FanSided's Tremayne Person had a strong recommendation for the Royals on Monday: cut ties with Renfroe immediately, which means eating the remainder of his $7.57 million 2025 salary.
"Some might argue the Royals lack outfield depth and can’t afford to cut bait with a veteran presence like Renfroe," Person wrote. "But it's an excuse that holds the franchise back. Keeping an unproductive player on the roster just because there’s no obvious replacement is flawed roster management.
"In reality, giving at-bats to a struggling veteran does more harm than giving those same opportunities to younger players or fringe prospects who might surprise with development or spark the team with energy."
It's a more than fair argument. Every at-bat the Royals give Renfroe could easily be an opportunity to find out what they have in Waters, Nick Loftin, John Rave, or even Joey Wiemer. All of those players have spent more time in Triple-A than necessary due to Renfroe hogging a roster spot.
At a certain point, keeping Renfroe becomes less about hoping he can regain his vintage form and more about not wanting to eat the rest of his contract. And that's a losing philosophy, because the contract became a sunk cost a long time ago.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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