Third baseman Maikel Garcia and the Kansas City Royals are finalizing a five-year contract extension, sources told ESPN on Friday, locking up the Gold Glove winner with the team that saw him develop through its system into an All-Star.
The deal, which is pending a physical, includes a club option for a sixth year, sources said. It secures Kansas City one of the best left sides of the infield, with Garcia secured long term and perennial All-Star Bobby Witt Jr. signed through at least 2030.
While Garcia, 25, is capable of playing all around the diamond -- last season, he logged time at shortstop, second base, center field and right field -- he did his best work at third, where he won his first Gold Glove and finished 14th in American League MVP voting.
Garcia's bat, which had produced below-average results since his 2022 debut, blossomed in 2025, when he hit .286/.351/.449 with 16 home runs, 74 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. The leap forward compelled the Royals to commit to Garcia, adding him to Witt as the only Royals players under contract past the 2028 season.
Kansas City on Thursday signed outfielder Lane Thomas to a one-year, $5.25 million contract, continuing to complement a lineup the Royals hope will match their pitching staff. With Garcia, Witt, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and catcher Salvador Perez as lineup fixtures, Kansas City came into the winter looking to add multiple bats.
Rookie catcher Carter Jensen and outfielder Jac Caglianone, who is entering his first full season, are expected to play larger roles for the Royals in 2026 as two of the highest-touted players to join the big league team in years. Kansas City's offense struggled mightily at times in 2025 despite well-above average years from Witt, Pasquantino and Garcia.
The Royals have been active on the trade market too, looking to acquire another outfielder. They have discussed acquiring Jarren Duran from the Boston Red Sox and inquired about MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams from the Washington Nationals, according to sources. While the talks haven't yielded a deal, the Royals' efforts to improve on an 82-80 season are clear.
Not wasting the prime years of Witt and Garcia -- or the deep pitching staff that last season finished with the sixth-best ERA in baseball -- is pushing the Royals' aggressiveness. They could deal from their starting depth and tap into their prospects should the right addition at second base or outfield present itself. With Cleveland's payroll likely to be stagnant, Detroit still mulling how much it will add, Minnesota coming off a down season and Chicago still rebuilding, the American League Central is as wide open as any division in baseball.
Signed in 2016 out of Venezuela, coming from a bountiful baseball family that includes cousins Ronald Acuna Jr., Luisangel Acuna, Alcides Escobar and Edwin Escobar and uncle Kelvim Escobar, Garcia showed limited power but good bat-to-ball feel coming slowly through the minor leagues. His year-over-year swing-decision improvement led to a 2025 season in which he walked 62 times and struck out just 84 times in 666 plate appearances over 160 games.
