The Royals general manager wants a deeper rotation next year, and he says every open spot will have to be earned.
A year ago, starting pitching was one of the biggest strengths of the Kansas City Royals, but that changed in a hurry in 2026.
Royals starters finished 12th in the American League with a 4.58 ERA this season after posting a 3.80 ERA that ranked seventh in the majors in 2025, according to MLB.com, and general manager J.J. Picollo made it a big part of his message at Wednesday's end-of-season press conference at Kauffman Stadium.
Injuries Tore Apart the Rotation
Picollo said the club felt it had nine pitchers who could start at the beginning of the year, but by the end of the season, two pitchers who were not part of that group had moved into the rotation.
Kansas City ended the year with seven pitchers on the 60-day injured list, including starters Cole Ragans, Alec Marsh, Stephen Kolek and Luinder Avila, and the Royals finished 69-93 and last in the American League Central.
Left-hander Daniel Lynch IV was one of the pitchers who stepped in.
He moved into a starting role in August and made 10 starts, and Picollo said Lynch did enough over the final two months to compete for a rotation spot in 2027.
Right-hander Randy Dobnak, who joined the organization in June and was recalled from Triple-A Omaha in July, made 13 starts for Kansas City as well.
Even so, Picollo was firm that nobody has a guaranteed job, and he said right-hander Tony Gonsolin, whose option the Royals will likely pick up, will be in that mix too.
"Nothing is going to be handed to them," Picollo said Wednesday. "They're going to have to win the job, but hopefully we bring in the right competition where the depth of our rotation is better and we're more productive."
The Right Approach for Kansas City
Picollo is handling this the right way, because Lynch has changed the conversation around his future, Dobnak gave the club innings when it badly needed them, and the club has a decision to make on Gonsolin after his late-season audition.
Still, none of them should be handed a spot over a healthy, proven arm, and the Royals need to add more of those this winter.
The bigger problem is that Kansas City cannot count on getting its injured starters back right away.
Ragans, Marsh, Kolek and Avila all ended the season on the 60-day list, and a team that struggled on the mound for much of the summer has to plan for some of them missing time again.
Bullpen pieces and starters sit at the top of the offseason wish list, according to MLB.com, and Picollo said the goal is to get back to being a top-10 rotation.
What Comes Next
The calendar adds some pressure, too, since the current labor deal could end in a lockout on Dec. 1, which could slow down the free agent market, so the Royals may need to move fast once free agency opens five days after the World Series.
If Picollo can bring in real competition before then, Lynch, Dobnak and Gonsolin will have to earn their spots in spring training, and that is exactly where a team coming off a 93-loss season should want to be.
