In case you missed it last week on the Royals Review Radio podcast, Jeremy Greco and David Lesky and I sat down to talk about the players currently on the roster and in the minor leagues that could potentially play a role on the 2022 Royals team. We talked about the starting rotation, the potential infield rotation, and how Kyle Isbel and Edward Olivares factor into the outfield. I encourage you to go give that a listen if you find this article interesting because there were a lot of really good thoughts bounced around about how this team is going to look in 2022.

Much has been made about the Royals 40-man roster situation and the decisions they’ll have to make this coming offseason. The Royals 40-man roster currently has 41 players on it with two players (Jesse Hahn and Ronald Bolanos) currently on the 60-day IL.

First, here is a list of players that are either free agents at the end of the season or could easily be cut/moved on from that currently occupy 40-man roster spots:

• Wade Davis
• Greg Holland
• Hanser Alberto
• Jarrod Dyson
• Ryan McBroom
• Ervin Santana
• Michael A. Taylor

That is the bare bones list. Joel Payamps, Jesse Hahn, Domingo Tapia, Ryan O’Hearn, and Lucius Fox are all guys that I would be willing to add to that list in the right situation. Tapia has done a lot of good things this year that I think deserve an extended look. Joel Payamps and Jesse Hahn have live arms that I’m okay continuing to evaluate. Ryan O’Hearn has revealing pictures of Mike Matheny on his cell phone. And Lucius Fox seems like a guy they’ll want to keep as infield depth.

That’s 7 names that will clear up spots on the 40-man roster immediately, giving us 6 spots on the 40 after Hahn and Bolanos are added after the season. Here is a long list of players eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this offseason, broken into tiers of how likely they are to be protected:

Locks for the 40-man roster

• Nick Pratto, 1B
• MJ Melendez, C
• Jonathan Bowlan, RHP
• Dylan Coleman, RHP
• Jonathan Heasley, RHP

Needs strong consideration / Could see them being taken:

• Josh Dye, LHP
• Austin Cox, LHP
• Maikel Garcia, SS
• Dairon Blanco, OF
• Yefri Del Rosario, RHP

Big names that are also eligible:

• Seuly Matias, OF
• Yohanse Morel, RHP
• Zach Haake, RHP
• Grant Gavin, RHP
• Gabriel Cancel, INF
• Rudy Martin, OF
• Brewer Hicklen, OF

If I was the GM…

40-man adds:

• Nick Pratto
• MJ Melendez
• Dylan Coleman
• Jonathan Bowlan
• Austin Cox
• Jonathan Heasley
• Maikel Garcia

40-man cuts:

• Jesse Hahn
• Ryan O’Hearn
• Lucius Fox

Combine Hahn, Fox, and O’Hearn with the 7 aforementioned names that are easy cuts and you create 9 spots on the 40-man roster very quickly. Add on my 7 additions and you have 38 players on the 40-man roster heading into the Rule 5 Draft (I’m not going to play the free agency game, that’s something that would obviously require another move or two). I don’t like leaving Dairon Blanco, Yefril Del Rosario, and Josh Dye off the list, as I think there’s a halfway decent chance all three could be selected, but I just don’t know if I expect the Royals to clear space for 10 different players to protect this offseason. Leaving the roster at 38 means they could still add Matias or Blanco, but there’s just too many guys that need protecting.

I’m not willing to leave off Austin Cox or Maikel Garcia if I’m KC. Under no circumstances should the Royals allow either of them to get away. I think it’s a longshot Garcia gets taken but you have enough fat you can trim to make room for him on the roster. Cox would almost certainly be taken by someone, even if just as a flier, but I think he adds fantastic depth to this pitching group and you could always make him the sweetener in a trade for your 2022 Opening Day center fielder if you wanted to clear more space later.

This leads into an interesting conversation about a potential roster crunch on Opening Day next season. I am of the opinion that Kyle Isbel ought to be the every day RF for this team starting day one. Unless they move Benintendi this offseason and LF opens up, Benintendi and Isbel need to be your corner outfielders on day one. Edward Olivares is a fantastic bench option specifically for when the Royals face LHP.

If Isbel is the every day RF for this team, you’re looking at potentially having 9 different players vying for 4 spots in the lineup. Let’s briefly cover the locks for the roster and then we’ll get back to the competition:

Locks
– Salvy, C
– Benintendi, LF
– ___________, CF
– Santana 1B/DH

I firmly believe that the CF for this team on Opening Day in 2022 is either Michael A. Taylor or not currently a part of the organization. I don’t think it’s realistic to expect either Isbel or Olivares to man CF for this team full time, meaning they’re going to have to find someone else to do it. This means that…

• Kyle Isbel
• Edward Olivares
• Whit Merrifield
• Hunter Dozier
• Emmanuel Rivera
• Nicky Lopez
• Adalberto Mondesi
• Bobby Witt Jr.

…are going to have to find a way to share time at 4 positions: 3B, SS, 2B, RF. The DH spot could be open, theoretically, but as soon as Nick Pratto is manning first base every day and Carlos Santana is DHing, you lose that spot. You’re also probably going to be having MJ Melendez and Salvy splitting time at DH as well. Meaning 9 players are going to have to share 4 spots somehow. Here is how I *think* the Royals lineup will be at its best in 2022 (both for now and the future, combining preference and realism):

• LF: Benintendi
• CF: ………
• RF: Isbel
• 3B: Witt Jr.
• SS: Lopez/Mondesi
• 2B: Lopez/Merrifield
• 1B: Pratto/Dozier
• C: Salvy/ Melendez
• DH: Salvy/Melendez/Santana

This means that unfortunately you’re going to have Emmanuel Rivera, Edward Olivares, and even Hunter Dozier coming off of the bench at times. If those three guys are your bench/role players, that is a phenomenal outcome. I also think the most realistic and optimistic outcome for this team revolves around Bobby Witt Jr. playing 3B. I think he’s personally best suited at SS, but this team doesn’t have another option for the hot corner that’s better than one of Nicky Lopez or a healthy Adalberto Mondesi at SS while Witt Jr. mans 3B. It’s kind of a catch 22 of sorts.

That’s a lot of words to point out what has been a long foreseen problem, but I wanted to get some thoughts on paper for anyone who is interested. This offseason is gonna be kind of wild and should paint us a pretty good picture of what to expect for not just the Royals in 2022, but 2023 as well.