A list of things the Royals have unsuccessfully tried to jumpstart the offense

Any more ideas?

On May 9, the Royals walked off the Red Sox for a 2-1 victory, giving them 16 wins in their last 18 tries. They improved to 24-16, tied for the second-best record in the American League. It was early, but it looked like last year’s surprise Royals playoff team was no fluke.

Then the bottom dropped out.

Since that point, the Royals have lost two-thirds of their games and have been one of the worst teams in baseball.

The funny thing is, little has changed with the offense. During the “hot streak”, the lineup hit .244/.304/.366 and averaged 3.5 runs per game. Since then, they are hitting .243/.293/.363, and averaging 3.1 runs per game. The “culprit” is the pitching, which went from allowing 3.1 runs-per-game (2.81 ERA) over the first 40 games, to allowing 4.3 runs-per-game (4.12 ERA) since.

But it was unrealistic to expect the pitching to continue to be as dominant as it was at the start of the season. The offense had to improve, and yet it has continued to flounder.

The Royals have at least tried different approaches to kickstart the offense. Here’s a look at a few things they have tried.

April 9 – Called up Drew Waters

The Royals called up Drew Waters early in the year when Mark Canha hit the Injured List, but he has stayed up on the roster ever since in what may be his best big league opportunity. He got off to a terrific start, hitting .290/.333/.452 over his first 18 games, but has slumped since then and is now hitting just .248/.293/.322, good for a 70 wRC+. The 26-year-old switch-hitter shows good tools at times, but has not developed into starting material yet.

April 19 – Demoted MJ Melendez

Melendez showed some promise in his rookie year, but has gotten worse each year since. Armed with a new swing, there was hope Melendez could unlock the potential he showed when he hit 41 home runs in a minor league season in 2021. Instead, he got off to a horrendous start, going 4-for-47 (.085) to begin the year, earning a ticket to Omaha. He has continued to struggle in Triple-A, batting just .229/.266/.419, and it may be time to move on from the 26-year-old.

May 23 – Designated Hunter Renfroe for assignment

Many Royals fans were ready to move on from Renfroe after his disappointing season last year, but the club brought the 33-year-old back to see if he had anything left in the tank. He did not, hitting just .182/.241/.242 in 35 games with no power and an erratic outfield arm. The Royals ate his remaining salary of around $5 million to get him off the roster.

May 26 – Called up John Rave

John Rave wasn’t called up to be a savior. It was more of a “let’s throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” approach. This spaghetti hasn’t stuck. Rave has been a solid hitter in the upper minors for the last two years, but he’s also 27 years old without a standout tool. After an impressive line in Omaha, he was called up, but has hit just .182/.260/.250 in 25 games. Perhaps he would do better with regular playing time, but so far he hasn’t taken advantage of his opportunity.

June 1 – Called up Jac Caglianone

Some fans were clamoring for the Royals to call up their 2024 first-round pick as far as as spring training. But once his tape measure home runs in the minors went viral, the bandwagon – or “Jac-wagon” began to fill. Caglianone destroyed the upper minors, hitting .322/.389/.593 with 15 home runs in 50 games, earning a call up at the start of June.

The concern was that he would chase too much at the big league level, but his chase rate is low so far and his strikeout rate is below league-average. But his groundball rate is 55.9 percent, among the highest in baseball, and he’s not hitting with the same kind of exit velocity he showed in the minors. Perhaps he needs more adjustment at the big league, or perhaps he was rushed and needs more seasoning, but Caglianone hasn’t been the boost to the offense some were expecting.

June 3 – Moved Maikel Garcia to #3 in the lineup

Maikel Garcia has been one of the only bright spots in the offense this year, raising his game to hit .309/.367/.479 and likely earning an All-Star nod. Manager Matt Quatraro bumped him from fifth to third in the lineup in early June, in an effort to put a consistent bat behind Bobby Witt Jr. and a solid on-base hitter in front of Vinnie Pasquantino.

The Royals have pressed all these levers, and yet, none of it has worked.

What is left at this point? The minors have very few bats left that are likely to make a significant impact. They could fire hitting coach Alec Zumwalt, but that is unlikely to have much short-term impact. A trade could infuse some talent, but is it worth giving up talent in a season that is going down the toilet?

At this point, the Royals may just be hoping for a “dead cat” bounce. The lineup is bad, but they can’t be this bad, can they? Jonathan India is underperforming (unless he’s not and the transition from Great American Ballpark to Kauffman Stadium is to blame). Salvador Perez is underperforming (unless he’s not and age is catching up to him). Bobby Witt Jr. is underperforming (unless he’s not and last year was an outlier season that is crazy difficult to replicate). Vinnie Pasquantino is underperforming (unless he’s not and this is just who he is). Eventually, they will regress back to their true talent level (unless they don’t).

The Royals aren’t out of it yet, but the optimism that once surrounded this team has curdled into uncertainty. They’ve tried the quick fixes, shuffled the lineup, shuffled the roster, even given the fans their dream call-up, and still, the offense remains stuck in neutral. Maybe the bats wake up. Maybe they don’t. But if this season ends up circling the drain, it won’t be because the Royals didn’t try to fix the offense—it’ll be because the guys they were counting on simply weren’t good enough. And if that’s the case, the next big move may not be a call-up or a DFA. It may be time to rethink the core.