Feel bad for Royce. I think he'll be synonymous with 'what if'...
I think injuries were the biggest culprit more than anything else. He worked hard in the off-season to tweak his stance and mechanics - while his stance is different, I don't see too much difference in the mechanics. Looks like he is standing flat footed when he swings and that wasn't the case in 2023. That leg injury he suffered on opening day in 2024 - it set him back big time and it was compounded by other leg / hamstring injuries.