When Royals general manager J.J. Picollo thinks of how he wants his offense constructed, it’s not a deviation from past Kansas City rosters. It’s a gritty team that might not beat opponents with its power all the time, but rather with the pressure it puts on opposing pitchers and defenses.

Good baserunning is essential to how the Royals’ organization operates. It has been for a long time.

So why were they so bad at it in 2025?

“We gave up a lot of outs on the bases this year,” Picollo said in September. “We need to clean that up.”

The Royals made 39 outs on the bases in 2025, which was below league average (45) and tied with the A’s and Astros for sixth fewest in MLB this year. Kansas City was picked off at a base 21 times this year -- most in the Majors.

The Royals’ 110 stolen bases

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