Kansas City Royals sign former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder

On Thursday it was announced that Kansas City has signed Lane Thomas to one a year deal worth approximately $5.25MM. In addition, there will be another $1MM available in incentives.

Both Thomas and the Royals will be looking to bounce back from ugly 2025 seasons.

Thomas only played in 39 games as he dealt with a variety of injuries. In the first month of the season, he was sidelined with a bone bruise in his right bruise. Then, in the second half he had multiple stints on the Injured List due to plantar fasciitis. He ultimately had surgery in September from which he is still recovering.

Prior to that though, Thomas had a couple of successful years as a member of the Washington Nationals. In 2022, he hit 17 home and had 52 RBIs. He followed that up with an even better 2023 campaign, clubbing 28 home runs, garnering 86 RBIs and had a slash line of .268/.315/.468.

Outside of that though, his career has been up-and-down, as a bat-first hitter, whose defence has been average at best.

Although he made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019, Thomas was drafted in the 5th round of the 2014 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He ended up forgoing college and signing with them for $750K. Much like Myles Straw, he was traded for extra bonus pool money.

Upgrading the outfield was a top offseason priority for the Royals. Adding Thomas gives them a right-handed bat to complement the trio of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, and John Rave.

While Thomas should be fully healthy to start 2026, given his past injury history, it's unlikely the Royals are done adding outfielders.

It's a low-risk signing that has the potential for a huge payoff.