This MLB offseason, the Kansas City Royals didn’t do much to bolster their outfield offense. They appeared content and confident in their right fielder in Jac Caglianone and center fielder in Kyle Isbel. Left field was their biggest concern, but they didn’t want to spend the money on a big name.
They did have extensive conversations about trading for Jarren Duran, but those died down after it was reported that the Red Sox asking price was high and they were asking for Cole Ragans in return.
That ultimately meant the Royals had to shift, and in doing so, the Royals would trade Angel Zerpa for Nick Mears and their left fielder, Isaac Collins. Collins had a very good rookie season, batting a .263 AVG, .368 OBP, .411 SLG, .779 OPS, with 22 doubles, nine home runs, and 54 RBIs, all while receiving NL Rookie of the Year votes.
The big concern was the fact that he was a 27-year-old rookie. While he is young, that is older than the average rookie age, and would he be able to top or even match his rookie season.
Collins did start this season slow, as through his first 13 games he hit a .171 AVG, .310 OBP, .286 SLG, .595 OPS, with one home run and three RBIs.
In his last 11 games, he has hit a .270 AVG, .372 OBP, .351 SLG, .723 OPS, with one home run, five RBIs, and five walks.
Similar to the rest of the offense, Collins appears to be turning things around.
After trading for Collins, the Royals wanted a platoon for Jac Caglianone, and they chose Lane Thomas to do the job.
Due to injuries, Thomas would only play in 39 games in 2025, so this would be a low risk high reward signing.
Low risk, he plays as he has and he gets released. High reward, he is a solid platoon piece for Caglianone and makes his way into an everyday role.
Lane Thomas started off very slow, and in his first 11 games he batted a .136 AVG, .296 OBP, .182 SLG, .478 OPS, with no home runs and one RBI.
In his last 11, he has batted a .290 AVG, .405 OBP, .387 SLG, .793 OPS, with one home run, four RBIs, and six walks.
Lane Thomas walk-off home run in comeback against Angels
With his improvement, he actually has been more of a platoon for Kyle Isbel than he has for Jac Caglianone, and at this rate it very well could continue to work that way due to the fact that Caglianone is performing well enough and consistent enough to not need a platoon.
Overall, the moves for the most part felt underwhelming this offseason, but as of recently they have started to pay off. What originally seemed like an outfield filler in Collins and a depth piece in Thomas are starting to feel like two solid pieces to a promising 2026 season.