The Kansas City Royals entered the 2016 season as the defending World Series champions, hoping to reach the World Series for the third consecutive season. Before the season, the team signed free agents Ian Kennedy (a starting pitcher) and Joakim Soria (a reliever) and re-signed star Alex Gordon. However, several players from the previous year's team departed in free agency, including right fielder Alex Rios, second baseman/outfielder Ben Zobrist, and pitchers Greg Holland, Ryan Madson, and Franklin Morales.