What number of outfielders does one crew want? It actually, actually relies on who you ask. On Thursday, the Royals and Brewers determined that they wanted so as to add at the least another every to their very in a different way sized shops. Kansas Metropolis signed Lane Thomas to a one-year deal for $5.2 million, with as much as one other million in incentives, based on Will Sammon of The Athletic and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, whereas Milwaukee agreed to a serious league cope with Akil Baddoo, the phrases of which aren’t but recognized, based on Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It’s protected to imagine it’s a cut up contract, as Baddoo nonetheless has one minor league possibility left.
Thomas is by far the larger addition, however we’re going to begin in Milwaukee in an effort to spotlight two very totally different approaches to constructing an outfield.
all about Baddoo. His athleticism allowed him to spend years on the highest prospect lists for the Twins and Tigers, peaking at twelfth within the Minnesota system in 2018. That was a very long time in the past. Detroit nabbed Baddoo within the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, and he debuted in 2021, getting off to a blazing begin and working a 108 wRC+ with 1.7 WAR over 124 video games. However regardless of a number of prolonged seems to be, he by no means caught. Over 9 seasons within the minors, he owns a wRC+ of 120, in comparison with 87 within the majors. From 2022 to 2025, he put up simply 0.1 WAR with a 73 wRC+.
That’s not inspiring, and the Brewers have loads of outfielders. They’ve obtained Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, and Sal Frelick. They’ve obtained Isaac Collins, who was considerably unexpectedly good this 12 months. They’ve obtained Garrett Mitchell, proprietor of a profession 114 wRC+, attempting to bounce again from an injury-marred marketing campaign. They’ve obtained speedy fill-ins like Blake Perkins and Brandon Lockridge. Even Jake Bauers frolicked within the outfield in 2025. That’s so many outfielders. Add in Baddoo, and also you now have a full baseball crew price of outfielders! Not solely that, however they’re good. Brewers outfielders produced 10.4 WAR this season, the fifth-best mark in baseball.
Why hassle including Baddoo? First, as a result of he has just a few issues to supply. He’s nonetheless simply 27, and he stole 28 bases this 12 months (27 within the minors). He’s a left-handed hitter with a profession 93 wRC+ in opposition to right-handed pitching within the majors. Working and holding your personal in opposition to righties are helpful expertise. The second motive is that Badoo might – might – match Milwaukee’s system higher than most locations. He’s a speedy participant who hits the ball on the bottom, and the Brewers are distinctive of their success with that specific strategy. The Twins group, the place Baddoo began out, was one of many league’s most centered on lifting and pulling the ball, and whether or not or not it’s by design, no crew put the ball on the bottom lower than the Tigers in 2025. Within the unlikely occasion that there’s a league-average hitter lurking someplace inside Baddoo, the Brewers are higher suited to unlock him.
The third motive is the most important: Accidents and underperformance occur. All eight of the gamers talked about earlier obtained at the least 50 plate appearances as an outfielder this season, and that’s not all that top a quantity; the Astros and Royals had 12 such gamers. The distinction is that each one eight of Milwaukee’s outfielders put up constructive WAR. That’s the depth that helped them to complete fifth in outfield WAR regardless of Chourio taking a slight step backward and coping with a hamstring damage, regardless of Yelich needing extra time as a DH, and regardless of the accidents to Mitchell.
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All of that is to say that the Brewers actually worth outfield depth. They worth gamers whose velocity offers them the next flooring. They don’t need to be beneath substitute stage even after they’re all the way down to their sixth substitute outfielder. If all goes nicely in Milwaukee, Baddoo gained’t make the roster out of camp and possibly gained’t even sniff any main league enjoying time. Chourio and Frelick may have huge years in proper and heart, whereas left discipline will belong to some mixture of Yelich, Collins, and Mitchell. However how usually do issues go completely? Baddoo has just a few attainable strengths, and the Brewers have the depth to make use of his greatest qualities judiciously. This crew shouldn’t be going to be caught with out a competent outfielder.
The Royals are on the different finish of the spectrum. They completed lifeless final in outfield WAR in 2025. They mixed for -1.1 WAR, they usually have been the one crew beneath zero. Seven of the 12 gamers who obtained at the least 50 plate appearances within the outfield put up destructive worth. Mike Yastrzemski, the one Royal with greater than 1.0 WAR within the outfield, now performs for the Braves. Adam Frazier, whose 0.1 WAR as an outfielder ranked third on the membership, is a free agent. Jonathan India, whose 0.02 WAR ranked fifth, shouldn’t be an outfielder (and once you think about his WAR within the infield, he completed the season at -0.3 WAR).
Regardless of all that, the Kansas Metropolis outfield now appears to be set. They’ve obtained defensive whiz Kyle Isbel slated to play heart. They’ve obtained 2024 first-rounder Jac Caglianone set to get his first full season in proper discipline. And now they’ve obtained Thomas in left. If all goes nicely, they gained’t want anyone else. The issue is that hoping all goes nicely appears to be the extent of their plan. Behind these three, the Royals have a utilityman in Nick Loftin and fourth-outfielder sorts in Drew Waters, Tyler Tolbert, John Rave, Dairon Blanco, plus latest acquisition Kameron Misner. Steamer initiatives all 5 of them to place up below-average performances on each offense and protection in 2026.
To be honest, I ought to observe that Rave performed nice protection in his debut in 2025, and he might in all probability provide one thing north of replacement-level efficiency ought to a starter go down. Furthermore, ZiPS is a little more bullish. Dan Szymborski filed his ZiPS projections for the Royals simply earlier than Thomas signed, however right here’s what he needed to say concerning the outfield: “ZiPS doesn’t actually just like the outfield this time round both, but it surely does assume that there are sufficient protection and platoon benefits within the numerous gamers slated to man the grass that the Royals might eke out respectable manufacturing from the group, actually fairly much more than they obtained final 12 months.” Collectively, the three outfield spots mixed for five.9 projected WAR, only a hair beneath common, and Thomas probably bumps them simply over that bar.
Ought to the three starters keep wholesome, this outfield might, probably, be excellent. Isbel is a standout flycatcher in heart, however his profession wRC+ of 78 makes him more likely to proceed to place up someplace between 1.0 and 1.5 WAR. Nevertheless, he places the ball in play lots, and there’s at all times an opportunity he might BABIP his manner right into a two- or three-win season. Caglianone is a very thrilling participant who put up -1.6 WAR over his 62-game debut due to ugly protection, a sluggish begin on the plate, and a few catastrophically dangerous batted ball luck. It’s possibly a little bit too early to count on him to blossom into the star energy hitter all of us hope to see, but it surely’s not inconceivable. And that brings us to Thomas.
Thomas is 30 years previous, and his 2025 season in Cleveland was thwarted at each flip by accidents. He missed time with a bone bruise after taking a pitch off the wrist in April. Every week after returning in Might, plantar fasciitis despatched him again to the IL a number of instances, and he had surgical procedure to alleviate the difficulty in late September. Should you’re interested in what that surgical procedure may seem like, you’ll be able to examine it right here. On the time of the surgical procedure, the Guardians mentioned that Thomas can be again to full exercise inside three or 4 months, so he must be prepared for spring coaching with loads of time to spare. In all, he obtained into simply 39 video games this previous season, placing up a 48 wRC+ and -0.5 WAR. His 31% strikeout price was uncharacteristically excessive, and his 31% hard-hit price was uncharacteristically low. In different phrases, he actually didn’t seem like himself.
Let’s assume Thomas can get again to one thing approaching his earlier type. From 2021 to 2024, he ran a 103 wRC+ and batted .248. He walked slightly below 8% of the time and struck out simply over 1 / 4 of the time. Relying on which metric you belief, his protection was both proper round common or a bit worse. He averaged 1.6 WAR and 17 dwelling runs per 500 plate appearances. That’s not fairly a league-average participant, but it surely’s not all that far off. Thomas put up 2.9 WAR as not too long ago as 2023, and it’s price noting that stories point out that the plantar fasciitis has been dogging him since as early as 2024, so possibly his true expertise stage is a bit greater than his latest numbers point out.
I’ve been describing the best-case situation right here: Caglianone breaks out in a serious manner, Isbel maintains his protection and runs an important BABIP, Thomas will get wholesome and turns proper again into the participant he was in 2023. Everyone stays wholesome. That’s one thing like a 10-win outfield. It’s additionally one thing of a fantasy. We don’t know the way quick Caglianone will develop; the projection programs have him between 1.2 WAR and 1.7 in 2026. Isbell is unlikely to show right into a league-average hitter at age 28. And we actually don’t know what model of Thomas they’ll get subsequent season. The superior metrics have largely thought he was one thing of a mean defender for some time now, and if he’s misplaced any velocity, the large outfield in Kansas Metropolis could possibly be a troublesome project. He’s nonetheless recovering from surgical procedure, and even when he avoids the IL, he’ll in all probability want relaxation all through the season. He’s certainly not a certain factor, and as a substitute of taking a web page out of the Brewers’ playbook, the Royals don’t look very more likely to construct in a lot depth behind him.