Potential free agent target: Josh Rojas

The light-hitting utility player provides plus defense.

The Royals are seeking to supplement their lineup, and have been attached to some hitters that may be available through trade. But a recent report at The Athletic suggests the team may have to shop in the lower-priced aisle.

The Kansas City Royals expect their payroll to be in the same $120 million range it was last season, according to sources briefed on their plans. FanGraphs estimates the team’s current payroll is $116 million, leaving little flexibility for the front office to acquire the additional hitter it is seeking.

The Royals’ preference is for a left-handed hitter. Jurickson Profar, a switch-hitter, likely will be out of their price range. A more likely target is Josh Rojas, who was non-tendered by the Seattle Mariners.

Rojas was originally drafted by the Astros in 2017 out of the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He was traded to the Diamondbacks in the Zack Greinke trade in 2019 and spent a few seasons there as a regular at both second base and third base before they shipped him to Seattle in 2023 in a trade for reliever Paul Sewald.

The 30-year-old was non-tendered after the season after hitting .225/.304/.336 with eight home runs and ten steals in 142 games. His 91 OPS+ was the second consecutive year he posted a below-average OPS+, after two years above average. Rojas has a strong career walk rate of 10 percent with average strikeout rates. He can run well, stealing 23 bases in 2022, although he rated poorly in Baserunning Runs this year.

But Rojas’ was a 2.2 rWAR player this year due largely to his defense. He was among the top 40 players in Outs Above Average (OAA) overall and top 30 in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). His primary position was third, where he was eighth-best among third basemen in OAA and fourth-best in DRS.

Rojas could provide value as a light-hitting, good defender with good baserunning, but the Royals already have a similar (and younger) player in Maikel Garcia. Garcia has reportedly come up in trade discussions and could be attractive to other teams due to his ability to play shortstop. The Royals could be offering him up to upgrade the lineup in other ways, while using Rojas as a potential replacement.

Or Rojas could simply be a bench player to provide more depth. The Royals gave 525 plate appearances to Adam Frazier and Garrett Hampson, and Rojas could fill one of those roles with his ability to play all over the field. The Royals are seeking a player who can play both infield and outfield, and Rojas would fill that role.

“If we’re not going to be able to get the power, scoring runs, then you want to be more athletic,” Picollo said. “It’s those margins [manager Matt] Quatraro talks about all the time. You’re trying to improve on the margins. If you can’t get a legit bat, try to make your 13 as good as you can make it.”

Rojas likely wouldn’t take much to sign, probably something close to the $2 million they signed Hampson to last year. If he signed, the Royals would still retain club control over him in 2026 if they wanted.