Someone on the Royals’ bench needs the ability to play third, in case All-Star Maikel Garcia goes down or needs a rest. The two most likely candidates to fill that role would be either Josh Rojas or Nick Loftin. The former signed a minor league deal and is coming off a pretty terrible season, but he also has a lot of big-league experience. The latter worked his way up through the Royals’ system and has played parts of the last three seasons at the major-league level. So who’s it going to be?
Josh Rojas was on the South Side in Chicago last year, and he could not hit while also grading out as a below-average fielder. His 44 wRC+ in 2025 was easily the worst of his career, though he posted between 1 and 2.5 fWAR in each of the four preceding seasons. This is a veteran ballplayer with a track record that suggests he belongs in the big leagues. So far this spring, the left-handed hitter has been crushing it, hitting .258/.361/.548 while trying to earn a spot in Kansas City. He can play second and third as well as some corner outfield, so that flexibility matches up well with Loftin. I would give Loftin the edge at third overall because he has been pretty consistent there, though he has a more limited sample size. Rojas has the edge at second base and in the outfield. He is older at almost 32, but not so old that his productive years are necessarily behind him.
Advertisement
I like Rojas a lot, mostly because he has shown himself to be a productive MLB player and Loftin really hasn’t yet. Because Nick still has an option remaining and can easily be sent to the minors, that makes Josh the safer pick. However, he was really, really bad last year, so he should get the hook pretty quickly if the team goes with him. Rojas will be inexpensive, though not quite as cheap as Loftin. His mix of plate discipline and experience makes him a better bet and a cheap way to add depth to the 40-man roster.
What does Nick Loftin bring to the table? A couple of things working in his favor are youth and right-handedness. With Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel already in the outfield, adding another left-handed bat in Rojas might be a bit of overkill, especially with Pasquantino, Jensen, and Massey also in the infield mix. The roster is balanced enough right now that I’m not sure that will become the deciding factor.
What youth brings is upside and often less injury risk, along with a slight cost advantage. Since Rojas accepted a minor league deal, he can start in Triple-A (assuming there are no opt-outs I missed) and keep the organization’s depth intact. So far, he has also been crushing it in Arizona, posting a .300/.400/.600 slash line. In both 2024 and 2025, however, Loftin struggled to hit at the big-league level, and until he proves he can do that consistently, he leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe he will turn it on at age 27, and if he does, the team would be rewarded for sticking with him over Rojas. He has just over a year of service time, so he is under team control for another half-decade and could be a valuable role player for years to come.
Both players are making a strong case to be part of the 2026 Royals Opening Day roster, but there can really only be one unless the team decides it can do without Michael Massey. That seems unlikely, though perhaps these two could make him look expendable.
Advertisement
For me, I would give Rojas the first shot. He has been a good player at the top level for most of his career, while Loftin’s consistent inability to hit the ball hard has really limited him offensively. It would be nice to see Loftin take a step forward and become a solid bench piece for the next few years, but I have seen enough of him to think that is a risk a team trying to win now should not take.
