KC Royals’ 2024 roster was built for postseason pursuits. Here’s how they did it

In early February, during the Royals Rally preseason event at Kauffman Stadium, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino made a bold claim.

“It’s time to bring playoff baseball back to Kansas City,” Pasquantino declared.

The Royals, who tied a franchise record with 106 losses last season, have made good on Pasquantino’s bravado and determination.

On Friday, they clinched a berth in the Major League Baseball playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season.

“I think I said we wanted the division, and that didn’t happen,” Pasquantino bellowed inside the champagne-soaked visitors’ clubhouse in Atlanta late Friday night. “But we’ve got time for that, I suppose.

“But, hey, we made the playoffs. The goal coming into the year is to extend your season as much as you can. We are going to try to do that. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”

The Royals enter the postseason with a wealth of experienced veterans. Team captain Salvador Perez spearheads the group as the lone player left from KC’s 2015 World Series championship team.

Perez, the ‘15 World Series MVP and perennial All-Star, remains a linchpin for the Royals. In fact, teammates made it their mission to get Perez, 34, back to the postseason this fall. It was one of the club’s top goals at the outset of spring training in Surprise, Arizona.

Over the years, Perez has endured too many losing seasons — disappointing moments and intense heartbreak. But he’s never wavered in his love for Kansas City.

He’s a loyal teammate and mentor to any number of younger Royals. Guys like MJ Melendez, Freddy Fermin and Bobby Witt Jr. have all learned much under his tutelage.

With that and other reasons in mind, it was crucial for those in the Royals’ front office to build a competitive team this year. They wanted to give Perez a chance to experience October baseball again in the twilight of his career.

“It’s really incredible, and that is one of the big motivations for me,” Royals second baseman Michael Massey said. “Just to see a leader like that, and a guy you know has been there and respect so much ...

“He has done so much, not only for this organization, but for the game of baseball in general. To be able to help him alongside and give him that opportunity is kind of special.”

The Royals knew they had to revamp their pitching staff. And they equally realized their offense sorely needed some additional difference-makers.

The first step was scouring the free-agent market for sustainable starting pitching. General manager J.J. Picollo managed to land veteran hurlers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha. Each had enjoyed solid 2023 campaigns with San Diego.

The Royals were interested in Lugo as early as the 2023 offseason. He profiled as an ideal fit alongside returning ace Cole Ragans. Lugo’s big-league experience and zeal for the game — pitching, in particular — continue to make him an ideal tone-setter atop the starting rotation.

Wacha, meanwhile, came with postseason experience, so Royals brass knew he wouldn’t shy away from big moments. He settled into the fourth spot in the KC rotation and has helped shift the team’s overall culture in a positive direction.

Members of the Royals’ rotation now huddle in the dugout after each other’s starts and watch one another’s bullpen sessions during the week.

Wacha and Lugo have been excellent. Lugo is an American League Cy Young candidate and this summer played in his first All-Star Game. Wacha became one of the best pitchers in the league during the second half of the season.

Put simply, the Royals are finally returning to the playoffs, in large part, thanks to their starting pitching.

“I’m so proud of the environment they created,” Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney said. “I’m so proud of the dedication to each other, to the organization and to the city of Kansas City. It’s truly amazing. It’s pretty emotional, this day. I’m really proud of the guys.”

The Royals still needed a competent lineup to support their starters, so Picollo continued to shop along the margins in free agency. He pursued and landed such veterans as Hunter Renfroe, Adam Frazier and Garrett Hampson.

Those moves, too, have had their desired effect: Renfroe is a slugger and Frazier has thrived in his new utility role.

“We have a different team than we had last year,” Picollo said. “There are some guys that are the same, but we have a different team.

“We believed from the get-go that we had a team that can be competitive. We tried to put last season behind us last year and just move on. They did a great job in not dwelling on the past and looking forward to the future.”

Picollo’s retooling continued once the season got underway. He pushed the right buttons in his search for capable injury replacements even recently, signing proven MLB veterans Tommy Pham, Yuli Gurriel, Robbie Grossman and Paul DeJong.

Each has fit seamlessly into the Royals’ lineup. The new additions give manager Matt Quatraro multiple options for mixing and matching bats against various opposing pitchers.

“I’m so thankful to be here,” Pham said. “This team, we are so ‘as one.’ We are relentless and we believe we can do something special. That’s a dangerous combination, and I’m thankful to be a part of it.”

This storybook season hasn’t come without adversity, of course.

The Royals endured two seven-game losing streaks in recent weeks. The offense went particularly cold against the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants during the final regular-season homestand at Kauffman Stadium.

“I think that’s the beauty of this team, they never stop believing in themselves,” Royals hitting coach Alec Zumwalt said. “Even though we weren’t winning games, and we may have hit a rut and were not scoring runs, they stayed the same and stayed the course. That’s all we can ask them to do.”

The challenges continue. Pasquantino was lost to a right-thumb injury not long ago. He took batting practice Thursday as the latest step in his recovery.

The Royals miss his bat and glove, but there is no guarantee he’ll be able to play in the postseason.

KC is also missing a few pieces of its bullpen. Relievers Hunter Harvey and James McArthur have been shut down for the remainder of the season, and Will Smith has yet to return from an injury of his own (though he is slated to throw a live bullpen session soon).

Right-handed starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen, another in-season acquisition, just returned from a stint on the injury list (left-hamstring strain). But he was removed from his most recent start due to lower-body fatigue, and there are concerns about how much he can provide in a playoff series.

The Royals continue to show their resolve. Witt, who signed a massive contract extension this past offseason, produced another historic campaign and is in consideration for the coveted AL MVP award.

Both Witt and Perez have racked up 25-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs this year. They’re the dual engines of the Royals’ offense and typically come up big in clutch moments.

There are some new faces in the bullpen. Left-handers Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch IV, Angel Zerpa and Sam Long have thrived in specialized roles. New closer Lucas Erceg, acquired from the Oakland Athletics, recently pitched high-leverage innings over three consecutive days.

The Royals will need their bullpen to keep it up in the playoffs, an admittedly tall order for relievers who haven’t been in these sorts of situations before.

But that’s the beauty of the 2024 Kansas City Royals. This team is replete with emerging stars, developing role players and a caravan of big-league veterans.

“We believe in ourselves,” Zumwalt said. “Other people don’t believe in us, and that fueled us and gave us the motivation we needed.

“When we got to spring training in Surprise, Arizona, it was full-speed ahead. They never stopped and I am just so proud of them.”

With stellar pitching, quality offense and precise decision-making — three requisites for a deep run in October — who knows how far the Royals might go now?