The Royals and outfielder Lane Thomas are in agreement on a one-year deal. The Wasserman client receives $5.25MM with another $1MM available via incentives. Will Sammon of The Athletic first reported that the two sides were in agreement. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the financial details. Kansas City has a couple of open 40-man spots and won’t need to make a corresponding move.
Thomas and the Royals will be looking for a bounceback season, as he just suffered through an injury-marred 2025 campaign with Cleveland. Early in the season, he missed about a month due to a right wrist bone bruise. In the latter months of the season, he went on the injured list a couple of times due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He required surgery in September with a projected recovery time of three to four months. Around those IL stints, he got into 39 games and hit just .160/.246/.272.
Prior to that, he had a solid run as a decent regular in the bigs, suiting up for the Cardinals, Nationals and Guardians. From 2021 to 2024, he got into 510 contests, hitting 67 home runs and stealing 66 bases. He produced a .248/.313/.426 line over that four-year span, which translated to a 103 wRC+, indicating he was 3% better than league average.
He was slightly better in the second half of that stretch. Over 2023 and 2024, he hit 43 home runs and stole 52 bases. His combined .255/.312/.439 line in those two seasons translated to a 105 wRC+. FanGraphs credited him with 4.3 wins above replacement, a bit better than two wins per year.
His defense has been more of a question mark. Outs Above Average has given him a minus-16 ranking for his career, but oddly considered him league average in center and subpar in the corners. Defensive Runs Saved has put a minus-18 mark on him, but most of that due to an odd minus-13 grade in 2024 alone.
He clearly has some wheels, as his sprint speed has been ranked in the 93rd percentile or above since he became a regular. With a bit of pop in the bat as well, he has been able to engineer some decent results when healthy.
The Royals have been struggling for years to get production from their outfield. In 2025, they got a collective .225/.285/.348 line from the grass. That resulted in a 73 wRC+, the worst such mark of any team in the majors.
Obviously, upgrading the outfield was going to be a priority this winter. It was recently reported that the club would be looking to add one outfielder via trade and another via free agency, with a right-handed hitter who can play center field being a specific target. The Royals currently project to have an outfield consisting of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel and John Rave. All three hit from the left side. Caglianone was a top prospect coming into 2025 but he didn’t hit at all in his first 232 plate appearances in the big leagues. Rave has just 175 big league plate appearances without much success either. Isbel has more experience but is a glove-first center fielder. They picked up Kameron Misner, another lefty, from the Rays in a trade a few weeks ago.
Thomas has pretty strong platoon splits in his career. He has been punched out in 28.2% of his plate appearances against righties with a .220/.287/.383 line and 84 wRC+. With the platoon advantage, his strikeout rate drops to 19.3%. He has a .292/.359/.500 line against southpaws for a 135 wRC+.
The Royals shouldn’t be done adding to their outfield. As mentioned, they have been looking to make two additions. This at least gives them a short-side platoon guy who can be slotted into any of the three outfield positions, while also perhaps coming off the bench for pinch-running opportunities. His health may be a bit of a question mark with the aforementioned surgery, but the estimated timeline should allow him to be healed up by spring training.
It’s a modest free agent add but the Royals apparently didn’t have much to spend. Owner John Sherman said a couple of months ago that the 2026 payroll would likely be similar to what they had in 2025. RosterResource currently projects them for a $139MM payroll in 2026. That’s already above where they finished in 2025, before even adding Thomas onto the ledger. Perhaps the next move will come on the trade market. There have been plenty of rumors suggesting the club may be looking to deal from its starting depth in order to get another bat.
Photos courtesy of David Richard, Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images