Royals should explore a bold move for Colorado’s Brenton Doyle

The end of all our exploring

Despite efforts to improve the outfield during the offseason, the Royals entered the 2025 season with a most underwhelming trio roaming the beautiful green grass of Kauffman Stadium.

In left field, there was MJ Melendez, a former minor-league catcher who once popped 41 home runs in a season across AA and AAA, but who’s never found his footing in the majors. Melendez has never posted an OPS above league-average, coming closest his rookie year when it was .706. His OPS rose the next year, but not enough to keep with the league, and it’s cratered since then, to the point where his OPS+ in 2025, before demotion, was a staggering 0, much like Senator Blutarsky’s GPA at Faber College.

In right, you have Hunter Renfroe, a 33-year-old who has twice corked more than 30 home runs in a Major League season and ended another year one shy. But those days are gone, long gone, and Renfroe slumped in his first year in Kansas City to the tune of slashing .229/.297/.392 for an OPS eight percent below league average. This year, things have gone incredibly wrong incredibly fast as his OPS+ is 12 and his bWAR, through just 58 plate appearances across 17 games, is -1.2.

Center looked the most promising, with Kyle Isbel, a 28-year-old who can’t hit much but made up for it with his glove. The problem this year is that “can’t-hit-much” has turned into “can’t-hit-at-all.” His on-base percentage, nothing to have championed in the past, has dropped 57 points since last year. He’s walked once in 2025, which is actually more times than he’s stolen a base.

The outfield was always going to be the Royals’ weak link in 2025, even with giving time to Maikel Garcia and Jonathan India.

It just turned out to be much, much weaker than anticipated.

The Solution

It’s still early in the season, of course, and patience must be practiced. But, again, Melendez is already back to the minors (hey, that could be the name of a movie!).

There are some options for call-ups from the minors, such as Jac Caglianone (who’s still pretty green) and Gavin Cross (who’s struggling for the Naturals). Maybe there needs to be more of Garcia, India, or Tyler Tolbert (who only has five at-bats).

I don’t think Nelson Velasquez, as much I love the dude, is the answer, or else he’d already be back in The Show. Batting a buck-fifty-four in Omaha doesn’t help.

And while the corner outfield might be the easiest position for which to trade, the Royals need to be bold with a move that would land them a solid center fielder, thus pushing Isbel to one of the corners with Caglianone when he’s ready.

And that center fielder is Brenton Doyle.

The Player

Brenton Doyle, who turns 27 next month, is the starting center fielder for the Colorado Rockies. Acquiring him would (probably) take a hell of an offer, which we’ll get to, but he would be well worth it.

First, his age perfectly aligns with that of the rest of the Royals core players (aside from Salvy, of course). Vinnie Pasquantino’s 27 until October while Bobby Witt Jr. turns just 25 in June. Michael Massey’s only 27, too, while Maikel Garcia turned 25 just before the start of the season. Isbel is the oldest of the bunch at 28.

Second, Doyle doesn’t hit his free agency until after 2028—he still has three years remaining of arbitration. There’d been talk of Doyle and the Rockies discussing a long-term deal, but nothing materialized. Perhaps the Royals could pounce on that. Acquire him and extend him.

Third, Doyle is a fantastic defensive player who has speed to burn. He’s twice won a Gold Glove for his defense. He finished 2024 with an 11.4 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), which topped all center fielders. He stole 30 bases in 35 tries last year.

He also keeps improving as an offensive weapon. After posting a 104 OPS+ in 2024, in 13 games for the Rockies this year, he’s slashing .315/.351/.537/.888, which is 36 percent above average. His wRC+, which levels out the Coors Effect, jumped from 45 in 2023 to 97 in 2024 and currently sits at 133 in 2025. Doyle may not walk much, which means he’ll fit right in with the Royals, but he has cut down his strikeout rate, from 35% in 2024 to 25.4% last season to 19.3% now.

Overall, Doyle is a fast, dynamic center fielder who keeps improving at the plate.

Oh, yeah: he plays for a franchise going nowhere that often dumps their best players. Just ask Nolan Arenado.

The Deal

A few quick points here:

• Caglianone isn’t going anywhere outside of Kansas City except for, maybe, Omaha.
• Just because the Rockies have made bad trades in the past doesn’t mean they will again (so I keep telling myself and so, I’m sure, Rockies fans are hoping).
• No deal would be imminent as the Royals look to get out of this funk without losing capital and the Rockies keep telling themselves they’ll turn their season around.

I just went to BaseballTradeValues.com to check to see if anyone had submitted a Royals-Rockies trade regarding Doyle, and somebody had: the Royals deal Alec Marsh plus a Round B Competitive Balance Draft pick for Doyle. It came out nearly even.

To which I have to say: sign me the heck up for this!

To which I also have to say: no way the Rockies make such a deal.

Right?

That seems too good to be true for the Royals. Marsh is fine. He’s fine. I would not miss him if he mainly brought back a starting center fielder.

Marsh turns 27 in May. I imagine the Royals would have to trade someone, or multiple someones, younger than that to nab Doyle. Thankfully, the Royals farm system is improving, and there are dudes to deal, among them Carter Jensen, Asbel Gonzalez, David Shields, Spencer Nivens, Blake Wolters, Drew Beam, etc.

Overall

The Royals outfield is not great, and it doesn’t seem like it will fix itself. A trade is only part of the equation to fix those three spots, and making a bold move for a centerfielder, instead of merely plugging in a rental corner outfielder, would solidify Kansas City’s outfield for years.

Brenton Doyle is a prime target.