Missing the major league playoffs after entering the 2025 season with a promising roster will force Kansas City Royals general manager J.J. Picollo to embark once again on a winter quest to improve a club that finished with its second straight winning season, but whose unfortunate early September swoon — the Royals lost eight of their first 12 games before going 8-5 the rest of the way — dashed KC's hopes of making a deep postseason run.
Expect the architect of last offseason's successful roster retooling to leave no stone unturned in his search for help.
But how much money principal owner John Sherman is willing to spend on free agents, and how much big league talent the Royals may sacrifice to improve themselves, remains to be seen.