Bobby Witt Jr.

The winner won't have to make a special trip to pick up his hardware, since both Judge and Ohtani will be in attendance, of course. We imagine Judge will be the pick here, but we'll see. Other so-called "finalists" for the awards are Judge, Witt and Jose Ramirez for AL Outstanding Player; Ohtani, Francisco Lindor and Marcell Ozuna for NL Outstanding Player; Emmanuel Clase, Logan Gilbert and Tarik Skubal for AL Outstanding Pitcher; Chris Sale, Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler for NL Outstanding Pitcher; Wilyer Abreu, Colton Cowser and Austin Wells for AL Outstanding Rookie and Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill and Skenes for NL Outstanding Rookie.

After losing 106 games in 2023, the Royals responded to the embarrassing result by going on a relative spending spree last winter. Bobby Witt Jr.’s 11-year, $288.78MM extension naturally drew most of the attention, but Kansas City spent $110.5MM on free agent contracts, most notably bringing Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha to bolster the pitching…

After losing 106 games in 2023, the Royals responded to the embarrassing result by going on a relative spending spree last winter. Bobby Witt Jr.’s 11-year, $288.78MM extension naturally drew most of the attention, but Kansas City spent $110.5MM on free agent contracts, most notably bringing Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha to bolster the pitching…

The Royals added 30 wins between 2023 and 2024 and should continue improving for 2025

The Royals made significant strides in 2024 but must do more this winter to keep up in an increasingly competitive AL Central.