Royals Executive Vice President J.J. Picollo and Manager Matt Quatraro addressed the media in an end of year press conference on Tuesday, September 30.

The Royals finished the 2025 regular season with an 82-80 record, missing the third wild card spot by five games. One of the key topics brought up was the team’s offensive performance in 2025. The Royals ranked 13th in the American League in runs scored and were last in home runs. Picollo said the organization might look to make some tweaks to the coaching staff, but Hitting Coach Alec Zumwalt is confirmed to return for 2026.

Picollo mentioned the team did plan to bring veteran Salvador Perez back for 2026 as well. Perez has a team option worth $13.5 million on the table for next season. One of the highlights that Picollo and Quatraro spoke about during the conference was the team’s pitching staff, which ranked near the top in the AL in Earned Run Average (ERA) even despite injuries to All Stars Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic.

Picollo stressed that the front office is focused on improving the roster without any drastic changes to payroll.

Several prominent rookies were called up this season to contribute at the Major League level, including Jac Caglianone, Carter Jensen, and Noah Cameron. While the team did fail to make the postseason and finished third in the AL Central, the Royals did secure back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2014/2015.