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 that it would be an uphill battle for them 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 performance we’ve seen in the 2020s, and the rest of the Royals lineup played incredibly. But all good things must come to an end, and the Royals’ season ended Thursday in Game 4 of the ALDS at the hands of Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees.

As the offseason begins for Kansas City, there are some realistic free agent targets that Kansas City could pursue in order to make another big jump, this time with the goal of winning the World Series in 2025.

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

Although the Royals had a solid lineup and some incredible starting lineups, the bullpen was a bit of a problem all season. To fix that, they need to be aggressive in the free agency market and look to acquire some of the better bullpen arms on the market. Kansas City doesn’t typically spend all that much money and therefore won’t be able to acquire some of its best players in free agency.

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

Sewald, 34, posted a 4.31 ERA with 16 saves in 39.2 innings in 2024. The veteran right-hander has struggled with some injury issues, but he should be fine through 2025. Sewald may not be the type of pitcher you can rely on at closer for 162 games, but he would fit perfectly as the Royals’ seventh or eighth inning man as they look to build their bullpen for 2025.

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

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

It’s left-handed closer Tanner Scott, who spent the first half of the season with the Miami Marlins before moving to the contending 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 getting him. Kansas City isn’t the type of team to spend hundreds of millions of dollars this winter, so finding a few players to bring in would be the best budget approach.

Scott has been one of the best relievers in the game this year, posting a 1.75 ERA and 4.0 WAR this 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

It’s still unclear whether the Yankees will try to bring back center fielder Gleyber Torres this offseason. If the Yankees are interested in bringing him back, they will likely be willing to overpay, which would put a small market team like the Royals out of the running for him. This idea is based on the assumption that the Yankees are trying to move in a different direction, perhaps moving Jazz Chisholm to second base and letting Torres walk.

If the Yankees don’t try to bring Torres back, the Royals would benefit from taking a flyer on him and inserting him into the lineup at second or third base. Torres could even see time as a DH in the Royals lineup. He would be a great addition to the team.

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

But in the ALDS, Torres was 3-of-15 with a home run, three RBI and four runs scored.

Adding Torres to the core of the young Royals would be a step in the right direction by 2025.