Kansas City Royals chart course for 2027 offseason

Hi everyone, it's Jalen Thompson, World's Beat Reporter for the Kansas City Star. I am here in Las Vegas, Nevada, the site of the annual GM meetings as all 30 teams are looking to get some information, figure out what this free agent market is going to look like, and go ahead and fix their teams before the start of the 2027 season. When that will be, no one really knows because it's possible that the MLB could have a lockout. Now, if they do that, That's going to cause the league to shut down for a significant amount of time. So all the teams here at the GM meetings are working hard, trying to get the information they need on potential players that are free agents, trades, anything that they can to get their team set before that potential lockout comes to pass. Now, the Kansas City Royals, they need bullpen help. They need relievers. They need closers. They need everything. They're going to get that pitching this offseason. So what they're doing now is just crossing their T's and dotting their I's before this offseason takes off in its truest form. Also, the Royals talked about having an offensive coordinator. That's right. Connor Dawson, who was a hitting coach last year, came from the Milwaukee Brewers, is going to be the offensive coordinator this year. He's going to be in charge of the game plan and going over what. to do to help a player be successful as he gets to the plate, as he gets on base, and as he scores runs. Don't forget, the Royals also signed Hunter Mintz to be another hitting coach. He is a guy that is from the Kansas City area, and the Royals are really excited to have him. So it's going to be him, Hunter Dawson, Marcus Deems in the hitting department, and the Royals are excited to see what can be next and what can be done to help this team score some more runs. Last but not least, at the GM meetings. J.J. Piccolo, Royals General Manager, said that Bobby Wood Jr. is not going anywhere. He's going to be a Royal. He's not going to go and pursue any type of moves or trades or anything of the like. There's reports out there that Bobby had drawn interest from other teams. J.J. Piccolo said Bobby's staying a Royal. So that's good news as we get to go on for the rest of this offseason and into 2027. That's it for me, and we'll check you next time from the General Manager meetings. See you later.