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Why Royals Should Extend Michael Massey
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- Why Royals Should Extend Michael Massey
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Kansas City Royals should have an easy decision to make on Michael Massey who just had his best season yet, hitting .274 while recording 50 RBI and launching 13 home runs.
Given that Massey is still relatively young at 28 years old and is coming off a career year, it makes sense for the Royals to consider initiating extension talks before another team, especially a contender, has the chance to scoop him up.
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Moreover, the second baseman recorded a .735 OPS and remained a key contributor in Kansas City's lineup down the stretch, logging a career-high 116 hits and 25 doubles. Moreover, Massey only suffered a left calf strain and concussion compared to previous seasons where he struggled with nagging back issues.
As a result, Massey had his healthiest season to date. He played in 131 games this year after his back problems kept him out of 85 matchups in 2025 and 62 in 2024.
Besides his performance at the plate, Massey shined in the infield, recording an impressive 11 outs above average and placing in the 96th percentile, according to Statcast. His efforts would ultimately cement his spot as a Gold Glove Award finalist for his position alongside Cole Young of the Seattle Mariners and Chase Meidroth of the division rival Chicago White Sox.
Second basemen who can hit for power while simultaneously playing excellent defense are hard to come by and Massey has shown that he can do both. Even though Nick Loftin and Josh Rojas are next in line to Massey on the depth chart, neither has demonstrated the same offensive consistency. Tolbert batted .285, however, it was over a smaller sample size of 80 games.
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Massey had one of his strongest showings in the Royals' 7-6 walk-off win over the San Diego Padres, going 3-for-5 at the dish and plating two runs. He also wrapped up the season on a high note, driving in another run during the team's 11-5 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
With that, not extending Massey could turn out to be a mistake for the Royals who will have to rely on their lineup to win games as their starting rotation outside of Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Noah Cameron, Randy Dobnak and Daniel Lynch IV continues to recover from injuries.
While Massey remains healthy and keeps his bat warm this winter, general manager J.J. Picollo will have his work cut out as he tries to get Kansas City back to contention.
