American League Central
69-93 in 2026, 5th in the division, -120 run differential. Home: Kauffman Stadium.
The roster as it stands on 2026-11-05, projected for 2027. Preliminary: free agents are off rosters and offseason moves are still to come.
Change · Kansas City Royals
Projections pull every club toward the middle, and the 2027 roster doesn't yet include free agents, trades or players returning from injury.
Where the numbers go quiet: Bullpen. The regulars here have too little MLB history for public stats to say much.
The line is this club; the shaded band runs from baseball's fewest wins to its most. 2020 was a 60-game season.
Players who appeared for the club; the band is the league's range.
Counted from transactions; the band is the league's range. The 10-day list began in 2017.
| Player | Age | Level | Role | Proj. wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Pelzer | 25 | AA | Hitter | 1.2 |
| Carson Roccaforte | 25 | AA | Hitter | 1.1 |
| Augusto Mendieta | 23 | AA | Pitcher | 1.1 |
| Luke Little | 27 | AAA | Pitcher | 1.0 |
| Easton McGee | 30 | AAA | Pitcher | 1.0 |
| Chase Jessee | 28 | AA | Pitcher | 1.0 |
| Brett Squires | 27 | AAA | Hitter | 0.9 |
| Helcris Olivárez | 27 | AAA | Pitcher | 0.9 |
Best-projected Triple-A and Double-A players in the organization who aren't on the 40-man, in wins per 600 PA or 150 IP. Thin samples are regressed hard.
| 2027 cost tier | Players | Committed |
|---|---|---|
| Contracts | 4 | $77.8M |
| Arbitration (est.) | 9 | $29.1M |
| Near the minimum | 18 | $14.0M |
| Not yet priced | 6 | – |
Luxury-tax values where we have a sourced contract; arbitration figures are our estimates.
| Spot | vs. league | Free agent option | Wins gained | Market est. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bullpen | -2.2 | Adrian Morejon | +1.4 | $22.6M |
| David Bednar | +1.1 | $18.1M | ||
| Kris Bubic | +1.0 | $16.7M | ||
| Center field | -1.9 | Trent Grisham | +2.3 | $34.2M |
| Luis Robert Jr. | +1.1 | $19.0M | ||
| Tyrone Taylor | +1.0 | $18.7M | ||
| Left field | -0.6 | Ian Happ | +1.2 | $20.6M |
| Randy Arozarena | +1.2 | $21.0M | ||
| Taylor Ward | +1.1 | $19.4M |
Already on the roster: John Rave over Kyle Isbel (CF). Projected at least a win better at the plate; defense isn't weighed.
Options are inferred from recent transactions, so some may have signed elsewhere. Wins gained are cut to 90%, a factor tested on bench players and assumed here. Market estimates price projected wins at $10.8M each, not what a player would actually sign for.
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Jensen | 24 | 69% | 2.9 | about minimum |
| Salvador Perez | 37 | 30% | 1.0 | in review |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinnie Pasquantino | 30 | 84% | 1.0 | ~$4.6M est. |
| Jac Caglianone | 24 | 6% | 0.1 | about minimum |
| Salvador Perez | 37 | 9% | 0.0 | in review |
| Nick Loftin | 29 | 1% | 0.0 | ~$1.0M est. |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Massey | 29 | 83% | 1.4 | ~$6.2M est. |
| Nick Loftin | 29 | 16% | 0.2 | ~$1.0M est. |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maikel Garcia | 27 | 84% | 2.6 | $11.5M |
| Nick Loftin | 29 | 15% | 0.2 | ~$1.0M est. |
| Tyler Tolbert ° | 29 | 1% | 0.0 | about minimum |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 27 | 84% | 5.9 | $26.3M |
| Tyler Tolbert ° | 29 | 16% | 0.1 | about minimum |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Collins | 30 | 84% | 0.5 | about minimum |
| John Rave | 30 | 16% | 0.1 | about minimum |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Isbel | 30 | 84% | 0.5 | ~$3.1M est. |
| John Rave | 30 | 2% | 0.0 | about minimum |
| Tyler Tolbert ° | 29 | 15% | 0.0 | about minimum |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jac Caglianone | 24 | 86% | 2.1 | about minimum |
| John Rave | 30 | 13% | 0.1 | about minimum |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter Jensen | 24 | 23% | 0.2 | about minimum |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 27 | 4% | 0.1 | $26.3M |
| Vinnie Pasquantino | 30 | 3% | 0.0 | ~$4.6M est. |
| Salvador Perez | 37 | 48% | 0.0 | in review |
| Player | Age | Share | Wins | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas Erceg | 32 | 85% | 1.1 | ~$2.5M est. |
| Nick Mears | 31 | 85% | 1.0 | not entered |
| Nolan Hoffman ° | 30 | 85% | 0.9 | about minimum |
| Spencer Bivens | 33 | 84% | 0.7 | about minimum |
| Carlos Duran ° | 26 | 88% | 0.6 | about minimum |
| James McArthur ° | 31 | 84% | 0.5 | ~$1.1M est. |
| Nate Pearson | 31 | 85% | 0.4 | not entered |
| Jose Cuas ° | 33 | 82% | 0.4 | ~$1.6M est. |
| Ryan Bergert | 27 | 63% | 0.3 | about minimum |
| Luinder Avila | 26 | 17% | 0.1 | about minimum |
| Connor Thomas ° | 29 | 28% | 0.1 | about minimum |
| Ben Kudrna ° | 24 | 9% | 0.0 | about minimum |
| Beck Way ° | 28 | 2% | 0.0 | about minimum |
Share is of the job at that spot; a rotation or bullpen lists several jobs, so shares can add to more than 100%. A linked cost is a luxury-tax value from public reporting. How to read this.
The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at "www.retrosheet.org". Player ID links come from the Chadwick Baseball Bureau register (Open Data Commons Attribution License). Rosters, transactions, minor league and 2026 statistics, and defensive measures come from MLB sources. We publish only our own derived results. Methods are on the Model page.