The Kansas City Royals have had to endure quite the difficult season. From a team that had won 80-plus games two consecutive years, they are now on pace to lose nearly 100 this year alone. Injuries have plagued Matt Quatraro's squad from the start and continue to do so, but every team endures that. The measure of how good a team is how well you handle it and if the right guys step up.
Clearly, Kansas City's depth has been tested, and they have failed, particularly on the mound. Starting pitcher Cole Ragans has been out for months at this point and will return sometime mid-season next year; Seth Lugo missed time and is just now ramping back up to being his full self, and Kris Bubic was recently traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a bag of chips.
The bullpen has been even worse, giving up win after win and home run after home run. Things dropped to a season-long low when the Minnesota Twins were able to boot a grand slam off of Matt Strahm in the bottom of the ninth, just days ago.
However, while this year seems all but finished, recently acquired Randy Dobnak from the same division rival Twins has been a bright spot so far for the Royals. And if he continues to perform at a high level, Dobnak may earn himself a nice little payday to stay in Kansas City for 2027.
Royals may have found a bullpen ace in Randy Dobnak in the midst of porous 2026 season
Traded to the Royals in mid-June for cash considerations, Dobnak had long been a forgotten piece on the Twins roster. But so far with the Royals, he has proven to be not only worth what it took to acquire him, but perhaps an extension candidate.
In his five appearances, Dobnak has tallied an incredible 1.04 ERA in 26 innings pitched, 14 strikeouts, and a nearly 1.2 WHIP. In every game Dobnak has appeared in, he's pitched at least four innings, making it seem more feasible to deploy him as a starter. And for the Royals' current roster, he is.
But provided that J.J. Picollo, for all his faults, has it in him to pay the man for 2027, Dobnak would probably best serve the Royals as a sort of in-between piece. KC is set on Lugo, Michael Wacha, Noah Cameron, and hopefully Cole Ragans as starters next year when he returns. Making Dobnak basically the fifth-to-sixth rotation starter and the first guy they'd call out of the bullpen to see extended time on the mound.
Assuming Dobnak can keep up his solid play so far in his Royals tenure, there should be no doubt his new contract is coming. Letting him walk in the offseason after trading for him would be incredibly poor asset management by Picollo, but that's something he's all too familiar with.
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