Bobby Witt Jr. Makes Bold Prediction On Royals' Trade Deadline Pursuits
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The Kansas City Royals aren't where they want to be, but their star shortstop still has faith.
Bobby Witt Jr. is making his second-straight appearance in the All-Star Game on Tuesday, but the mood around his team is different this time around. In 2024, the Royals were the plucky underdogs no one expected to be in the playoff hunt; in 2025, they're seen as light-hitting underachievers.
At 47-50 entering the break, the Royals are 4 1/2 games out of a potential playoff spot, In what was supposed to be a win-now season, there's a lot of speculation that Kansas City could pivot and trade star pitcher Seth Lugo ahead of his impending opt-out.
However, as Witt told the New York Post's Jon Heyman on Monday, he expects that his team will ride out the trade deadline and perhaps even add to the roster in an effort to make the playoffs for the second year in a row.
“We’re never not going to go for it,” Witt told Heyman.
The Royals would have to leapfrog five teams to make the playoffs, though many of them are within a game or two of each other in the standings at the moment. Their offense has been a huge disappointment this season, and even Witt's production has leveled off compared to his stellar 2024 (134 OPS+ vs. 173 last year).
However, it was after the All-Star break that Witt really got cooking last year, putting up a 1.054 OPS in 64 games. Something similar this year could get Kansas City rolling at just the right time, as they open up with three of four series against sub-.500 teams after the break.
If the superstar is demanding that his team buy at the trade deadline, it's also usually a good idea to listen.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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