The Kansas City Royals are one of the best Cinderella stories in all of sports. Last season, they were one of the worst teams in baseball. They lost over 100 games and many predicted they would face an uphill battle to become a competitive team. They had Bobby Witt Jr., but what else?

The 2024 Royals have proven all the doubters wrong time and time again. Witt made one of the biggest jumps in production we’ve seen in the 2020s and the rest of the Royals roster played incredible. But all good things must come to an end and the Royals’ season ended at the hands of Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the ALDS on Thursday.

As the offseason gets underway for Kansas City, there are a few realistic free agent targets that Kansas City could look to acquire in order to make another big jump, this time looking to win the World Series in 2025.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work at The Baseball Insiders Podcastsubscribe to The moonshotour weekly MLB newsletter, and join the Discord for exclusive information leading up to the MLB offseason.

3. RHP Paul Sewald would be the perfect bullpen addition for Kansas City

Even though the Royals had a strong lineup and incredible starting pitchers, the bullpen was a bit of a problem throughout the season. To solve this problem, they are going to have to be aggressive in the free agency market, looking to acquire some of the best bullpen arms on the market. Kansas City generally doesn’t spend too much money, so they won’t be able to acquire some of the best players in free agency.

There are two bullpen arms on this list, one being a potential closer alongside Lucas Erceg and this one being more of a setup guy. The first player on this list is veteran reliever Paul Sewald.

Sewald, 34, posted a 4.31 ERA with 16 saves in 39.2 innings in 2024. The veteran right-hander has dealt with some injury issues, but is expected to be fine before 2025. Sewald may not be not being the kind of pitcher you can count on as a pitcher. closer for 162 games, but he would fit right in as the Royals’ seventh or eighth inning guy as they look to build their bullpen for 2025.

2. LHP Tanner Scott would be a great fit as the team’s next closer

The next player on this list would be a great addition to the back of the bullpen. He could either be added in place of Sewald or alongside him, although this pitcher will cost more because he is younger and much better at this point.

This is left-hander Tanner Scott, who spent the first half of the season with the Miami Marlins before being traded to the San Diego Padres. The Padres will make an effort to re-sign him, but they will have bigger fish to fry in free agency this offseason.

A team like the Royals has a much better chance of making Scott a priority and bringing him in. Kansas City isn’t the type of team that’s going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars this winter, so finding a few players to bring in would be the best budgetary approach.

Scott has been one of the best relievers in the game this year, posting a 1.75 ERA and 4.0 WAR for the season, including 18 saves in his first half with the Marlins.

1. Taking a flyer on 2B Gleyber Torres would make sense for the Royals

The jury is still out on whether the Yankees will look to bring back center infielder Gleyber Torres this offseason. If the Yankees want to bring him back, they’ll likely be willing to overpay, which takes a small market team like the Royals out of the running for him. This idea assumes that the Yankees are looking to move in a different direction, potentially moving Jazz Chisholm to second base and letting Torres walk.

If the Yankees aren’t looking to bring back Torres, the Royals would benefit from taking a steal on him, adding him to the lineup at second or third base. Torres could even see time as a DH in the Royals’ order. He would be a great piece to add to the team.

Torres, 27, slashed .257/.330/.378 in the regular season. It was one of the two worst seasons Torres had in professional football. Torres posted an OPS of .871 and hit 38 home runs in a season a few years ago.

But in the ALDS, Torres 3-for-15 at the plate with a home run, three RBIs and four runs.

Adding Torres to the Royals’ young core would be a step in the right direction heading into 2025.