Royals' homegrown defensive dominance has laid the blueprint for Reds' path forward

On the surface, there are a lot of similarities between the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals. They're both led by superstar shortstops (Elly De La Cruz and Bobby Witt Jr.), they've both made the playoffs recently (Reds in 2025, Royals in 2024), and both teams finished last in their respective divisions in 2026.

There are a lot of reasons for that latter fact, most of which relate to the reality that both teams were among the bottom-10 in scoring output and bottom-five in ERA. That's not a formula conducive to winning for any organization, let alone two small-market operations.

However, whereas the Reds completed their trifecta with one of the league's worst defenses, the Royals remained quite strong in that facet of the game. In fact, all four of their starting infielders were named Gold Glove finalists at their respective positions, and that group doesn't even include 2025 third base winner Maikel Garcia, who missed half the season due to various injuries.

There's something to be learned from the way Kansas City has built their rock-solid defense, especially at a time when the Reds have made it clear they want to improve in that area at every spot on the roster.

Reds' best path to becoming a contender is to look inward, not outward

What's most impressive about the Royals' Gold Glove finalist feat is that each of their four players nominated for the award — first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (11th-round pick), second baseman Michael Massey (fourth-round pick), third baseman Nick Loftin (first-round pick), and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (first-round pick) — are all homegrown talents. Toss international free agent Maikel Garcia into the mix, and you've got one heck of an infield built purely on scouting and developmental.

This isn't an easy path to follow, especially since the Reds haven't had a lot of great success developing players during Nick Krall's tenure. But it's also how small-market teams build sustainable winners, at least without a sudden influx of cash coming in from ownership.

Speaking of which, there's not much separating these teams in terms of payroll, either. According to FanGraphs, the Royals ranked 18th in total salary spend this year ($148 million); the Reds ranked 20th ($129 million). Most of that difference can be found in the $13 million gap between Witt's salary on an 11-year extension, and De La Cruz's pre-arb number.

The 2026 Royals were not a success story — they won six fewer games than the Reds. They're not a perfect blueprint in the way the Milwaukee Brewers or Tampa Bay Rays are. But their ability to build one of the league's best defenses without investing a dime on a player outside their organization is proof that the Reds can do the same with a more focused approach in their player development pipeline.

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