The baseball season is very long. There remains more than five months left in the regular season. The Royals’ final regular season game doesn’t take place until September 28. There’s a whole lot of ball to be played between now and then.
I get the need to want to overreact, or to find a quick fix solution to a right-now problem without heeding too much thought of the future.
Blow up the outfield? Sure, I see the desire.
Fire Alec Zumwalt? Yeah, I can see why fans are thinking along those lines.
Give up on the season? I mean, no, I don’t really understand that, but I also know a lot of Royals fans and they’ve made valid arguments—some more than others—why 2025 might already be lost. Royals fans have seen some stuff, that’s for damn sure.
My response to all of these worries: patience. It’s still only April.
Patience can be hard to come by for Royals fans, or even for the Royals themselves. The biggest reason why is the 2024 season, a season in which the Royals exceeded expectations with mostly the same group of players they have today.
Winning, as it should, creates a sense of urgency, but it shouldn’t create this degree of a sense of urgency.
Last week, I wanted to write about how the outfield dilemma is entirely the fault of the Royals front office, and one could’ve (or could still) argue it was a dereliction of duty by J.J. Picollo to enter 2025 with the outfield of MJ Melendez-Kyle Isbel-Hunter Renfroe.
But the Royals attempted to upgrade, and it just didn’t work out. This remains a franchise that is actually willing to spend money in free agency but still can’t afford the biggest names on the market. And it also remains a team that doesn’t have a whole lot of trade ammunition. Trades, after all, take two to tango.
Demoting MJ Melendez was the right call. If anything, the Royals have given him too many opportunities. Maybe it finally clicks in Omaha, maybe it doesn’t. I have doubts.
But, okay: if not Melendez, then who?
It’s super easy to point to a guy and say, “Well, not him.” But it’s harder—a lot harder—to figure out that guy’s replacement. Maybe Melendez isn’t the best test subject for this since he struggled so mightily, but the point remains: if not him, then who?
JJ Picollo on MJ Melendez option: “It’s certainly not the end of his career. We would like to think it’s the start of a new beginning. Take advantage of the opportunity to play in triple-A. Play well and get back here.” pic.twitter.com/YbpguXEHV9
— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) April 19, 2025
Other, worse-run franchises are currently making moves that have Royals fans wishing the front office would try something new. Take the Royals’ opponent this week, the Colorado Rockies, one of the three worst organizations in baseball.
Colorado fired their hitting coach after just 18 games. That’s just over 11% of the season! Why even bring the guy back to start the year? It reeks of desperation, of impatience, of ineptitude. Sure, they were 3-15, but they were never projected to do well, and since the change, they’ve gone 1-2. I love Clint Hurdle, but come on—naming him hitting coach is not going to save your season.
The Royals have also, clearly, struggled at the plate this season, and there have been some who questioned whether Zumwalt remains the right person for the job. Thankfully, the brass has resisted such a brash action. Zumwalt is well-respected within the organization and worked wonders for the team last season. Is he really going to get the hook after a tough 23-game start to the year?
Another dolt of a franchise, the Nomadic Don’t-Call-Us-Sacramento Athletics, made news recently by promoting their top prospect, Nick Kurtz, to the majors. Kurtz, taken with the #4 overall pick last summer, killed Triple-A during 20 games this season, but he remains, at age 22, not even ten months removed from playing in the ACC.
Now, maybe this works out for the Sacramento Nowhere Athletics. But it’s going to lead to even more Royals fans to voice their opinion that the franchise’s own top minor-league slugger from last year’s draft gets the call.
It just doesn’t need to happen yet. I fully believe that the Royals will turn things around this season, and when they get in the hunt, and the games truly start mattering, Jac Caglianone will be starting somewhere in this lineup, probably right field.
But that time is not now.
It’s still April, everybody.
Let’s chill.
