3 Royals KC Should Extend Next After Bobby Witt Jr. Deal

The Royals are well-positioned to make a significant step forward next season and experience true sustained success after signing superstar Bobby Witt Jr. to a record-breaking contract extension, effectively locking up one of MLB's best players for the next decade.

After putting forth one of the best seasons in franchise history, the MVP candidate now hopes to lead the organization back to the World Series. Kansas City has several other young promising players in addition to their homegrown star, and J.J. Piccollo and John Sherman should be aggressive in securing extensions for those players as well.

With that in mind, let's look at three Royals that Kansas City needs to extend now that Witt Jr. is here for the long haul.

3 Royals that Kansas City Needs to Extend After Bobby Witt Jr.

1. Vinnie Pasquantino - 1B/DH

Pasquantino missed most of the 2023 season after tearing a labrum in his shoulder, but he's one of the best young hitters on the team and deserves to stick around as a power bat with great leadership qualities.

He's under club control through 2026, but an extension now could save the team some money in the long run if he continues his progression, the same logic that led us to Witt Jr.'s deal.

The 26-year-old had a .832 OPS while drawing 35 walks in just 72 games in 2022, showcasing an impressive combination of power and plate discipline. Before getting hurt last season, Pasquantino saw his average dip but hit nine home runs with 17 doubles in 62 games.

After going through a long injury rehab process while his team stumbled down the standings, Pasquantino is ready to get back on the field.

Given the flurry of offseason spending we've already seen, it looks like the Royals' brass means business too. That means there's no better time to ensure Pasquantino helps form a formidable middle part of the order for the future.

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2. Cole Ragans - SP

The acquisition of Ragans in the middle of last season has a chance to go down as one of the best trades in franchise history. Essentially from the moment Ragans joined the Royals' rotation, he was one of the most elite pitchers, and players altogether, in the sport.

Just like Pasquantino, Ragans has a few years of club control left with arbitration. He fits the timeline of the young pieces perfectly and if last season's breakout was real, he'll anchor this rotation through the contending years.

Admittedly, it's a small sample size, but these are the gambles teams like the Royals have to make. In 12 starts with Kansas City, Ragans had a 2.64 ERA with 89 strikeouts to just 27 walks in 70.1 innings. He had quite possibly the best pitching month in Royals history with advanced numbers that jumped off the charts.

The organization has its foundational position player locked up in Witt Jr. Now, it's time to lock up the opening day starter.

Similar to how the Atlanta Braves locked up Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider with long-term extensions, the Royals should do the same and bank on Witt Jr. and Ragans continuing their dominant stretches to form one of the most dangerous one-two punches in MLB.

If you secure a great power hitter like Pasquantino and have your frontline starter in Ragans, you'll need some ancillary pieces as well to fill in the margins, as you'll see on the final page.

3. Maikel Garcia - 3B

Why not go ahead and solidify the infield of the present and future by extending the 23-year-old Garcia, who has shown significant promise and improvement in his time with the club?

There's no rush on getting a Garcia deal done, as he'll be under club control for a while, but it would be a sign of stability and an indication to other free agents that the Royals are truly serious about contending.

Garcia led the team in on-base percentage at .323 with the fourth-most at-bats, compiling 50 RBIs on 20 doubles, 38 walks and 23 stolen bases. He'll need to work on the plate discipline with 115 strikeouts, but those are really promising numbers for such a youthful player that was one of the best defensive infielders in baseball.

He ranked in the 98th percentile in outs above average, and it's reasonable to expect he'll improve in that area as he matures as a player.

After a strong offseason playing with Venezuela, I'm expecting big things for Garcia moving forward. Similar to the other guys on this list, signing Garcia to an extension now could save the Royals quite a bit of money ultimately.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about this Royals team. Kansas City could and should compete for the AL Central as soon as this season, largely due to these three players on top of the organization's additions in free agency.

The Royals have a bright future. Let's keep that sun shining as we grow into a new era of Kansas City baseball.

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