The Royals are considering acquiring a right-handed hitter, The Athletic’s Jason Stark reports (via Ken Rosenthal’s latest column), with Angels’ Luis Rengifo and Taylor Ward and Washington’s Lane Thomas among the candidates.
Rengifo is a right-handed hitter and a switch-hitter with more offensive power. Ward and Thomas are pure right-handed hitters. Rengifo is the most valuable of the trio. He is having the best season of the group and has the most defensive flexibility. Rengifo is not the best defensive player, but he can move between second and third base and also play shortstop. There will be no shortstop worries in Kansas City. The Royals have not gotten much offensive juice out of hot corner Michael Garcia. Left-handed second baseman Michael Massie was good early this season but has been in a slump this month.
The 27-year-old Rengifo will be a big addition offensively. He enters tonight hitting .308/.352/.432 in 285 at-bats. That’s two straight years of above-average offensive output. Rengifo hits the ball a lot and fits the general style of Royals hitters. He hit 15+ home runs in 2022 and 2023. His performance this year is on-base percentage-heavy, and his strikeout rate has dropped to a career-low 13%. Over the past two and a half years, he’s posted an impressive .328/.368/.555 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers.
Both Thomas and Ward have limited defensive potential as outfielders. The Royals may look to add left fielder MJ Melendez, who underperformed before going on the disabled list. Thomas may be more of a platoon target. He hits hard against lefties but has a below-average record against them. Since being acquired by Washington at the 2021 trade deadline, he has batted .310/.371/.525 against lefties. Meanwhile, he has batted .231/.294/.398 against righties. Thomas has been just as outstanding this season, batting .247/.323/.397 for the league average.
Ward has looked like an all-star when he’s at his best, batting .281/.360/.473 two years ago. His numbers over the past year and a half have been mediocre, hovering around league average. In 424 at-bats this year, the former first-round draft pick is batting .226/.309/.396. Like Thomas, Ward has been a prodigious hitter, taking advantage of the platoon advantage. He’s batting .294/.365/.468 against lefties since entering 2022. His .243/.328/.423 against righties over that span are solid, rather than elite.
All three players remain under team control beyond this season. (MLB.com’s Ann Rogers tweeted this afternoon that the Royals are reluctant to give up players at the top of their thin farm team for rentals.) Rengifo and Thomas are arbitration-eligible through next year, and Ward is controllable through the 2026-27 offseason. Financially, they’re both similarly expensive; Rengifo is the lowest-paid of the group at $4.4 million, while Thomas is the highest at $5.45 million. Rengifo will be the most expensive prospect, and he’ll have wide appeal in a market with very little infield talent.