White Sox: Looking at the AL Central’s offseason needs

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals had a tough year in 2019. They are a few years away from winning the World Series and now they are in transition. We reached out to site expert Jordan Foote from Kings of Kauffman for some expert insight on the Royals and how their offseason will look. Here is what Jordan had to say:

"“Overall, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, the Kansas City Royals are still quite a ways away from being contenders. After a season in which the team lost 103 games, there are still multiple problems to fix and holes that need to be filled. The team has some pieces it can use as hope for the future, though, as the general consensus in the KC area is that the Royals will be competitive again two seasons from now. First and foremost, keeping the infield intact is key. Salvador Perez, Hunter Dozier, Adalberto Mondesi, and Nicky Lopez are all in it for the long run. Outside of that, both Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler figure to fit into the club’s long-term plans as well. In terms of additions that need to be made for the lineup, the Royals will probably stand relatively pat. Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan McBroom could platoon and allow the club to find out what each truly offers at the plate. Bubba Starling and Brett Phillips are facing make-or-break years in the outfield. The 2020 team won’t look much different than it did this past season. As far as the rotation goes, Brad Keller is the best pitcher currently on the staff. This five-man staff has a long way to go before it’s even average. Adding the likes of Brady Singer and other minor league studs at some point in 2020 should help but until then, perhaps a depth signing or two could be made. As new owner John Sherman takes control of the team, expect Dayton Moore to make a concerted effort to keep payroll low for the first season of the Sherman era. If we talk about the Royals’ offseason plans a year from now, though, things should be quite a bit different — and in a good way.”"

We thank Jordan for this insight on the Royals. Clearly, he sees the 2020 season as one that will be more of the same from a year prior. The White Sox need to take advantage of there being two teams in the division that are completely rebuilding. It should be interesting to see how the Royals go about this offseason but they are in a little bit of a better spot than the Tigers.