3 Moves the Royals Need to Make Before the 2022 MLB Season Starts

The Kansas City Royals have made the World Series in each of their last three postseason appearances. Unfortunately, those runs have come over an underwhelming 27 year stretch. Manager Mike Matheny has his work cut out for him if he wants to guide this team back to the promised land.

The good news is that there are still a few weeks left before Opening Day of the 2022 season arrives. Kansas City has the opportunity to make a few deals and upgrade a roster full of holes. With that in mind, let's take a look at three moves the Royals should make before the season gets underway.

Royals Offseason Moves

1. Sign Kenley Jansen as Closer

If there is one thing the Royals are missing right now, it is a relief pitcher capable of coming in during save situations and shutting batters down. Kansas City will likely head into the season with a committee approach to closing games despite the fact that Kenley Jansen remains a free agent. The three-time All-Star has racked up at least 33 saves in each of his last seven full seasons and has the pitching arsenal to strike out even the best of hitters. Jansen's career ERA sits at 2.37 and his WHIP sits at 0.93. Those two marks alone make it clear that he is worth paying up for.

2. Bring in More Rotation Depth in Free Agency

The Royals seem to be locked in with veteran starters Mike Minor and Brad Keller leading a rotation that also features young hurlers like Brady Singer and Kris Bubic. The only problem is that there is almost zero depth behind those four. Kansas City's minor league system is full of talented players, but no one quite ready to make the leap to the majors quite yet. That leaves the team vulnerable if a starter was to go down with an injury. Signing a free agent like Michael Pineda would at least give Matheny a reliable arm to throw in there every so often.

3. Give Bobby Witt Jr. an Everyday Role

The biggest storyline surrounding the Royals this upcoming season is going to be the development of top shortstop prospect Bobby Witt Jr. The 2019 No. 2 overall pick has his eyes set on starting on Opening Day and Kansas City shouldn't hesitate to grant him the opportunity. The 21-year-old slashed .290/.361/.576 across Double-A and Triple-A last season with a combined 33 home runs. His power is undeniable and speed cannot be overlooked. Witt has stolen 38 bases across 160 career minor league games. The best way for the young phenom to adjust to the major league level would be playing everyday.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.