Royals Insider Names 'Biggest Need' For Pivotal Kansas City Trade Deadline
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July is a tense month for a lot of Major League Baseball clubs, and the Kansas City Royals have certainly landed in that category for 2025.
Entering play on Tuesday, the 44-48 Royals are five games out of a playoff spot. That's not a death sentence, but it's enough of a mountain to climb that something material will have to change between now and the end of the summer.
That could be a major trade acquisition, but the Royals would be taking a big leap of faith by adding to a team that hasn't proven it deserves a boost. In fact, there's still a chance the Royals could sell as well, effectively waving the white flag on the season.
But if the Royals are going to be any level of buyer, one insider has a clear vision of what they should get. Frankly, it's a vision shared by most who have watched this team play.
On Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com simply listed "power bat" in an article listing all 30 clubs' biggest needs ahead of the Jul. 31 deadline.
"Any sort of offense would be an upgrade for the Royals, who are hoping not to squander a really good pitching staff with an offense that has struggled to score runs all season.," Rogers wrote.
"The outfield makes the most sense positionally for an upgrade, especially with Royals outfielders ranking as the worst offensive group in MLB. But some versatility with their current roster allows the Royals a little more flexibility if there’s a fit elsewhere on the field."
The Royals have only 67 home runs on the season, ranking second-to-last in the majors. They're also bottom-five in runs, slugging percentage, and OPS. Their biggest move to fix the issue so far was calling up top prospect Jac Caglianone, who only has two homers and a .436 OPS in 30 games.
Beggars can't be choosers. If the Royals are going to buy, they'll have to take what the market leaves them. Unless they want to sell the farm for a rental bat like the Arizona Diamondbacks' Eugenio Suarez, they might be swimming in the Taylor Ward/Bryan Reynolds waters.
So many questions to answer, and only three weeks left to sort it all out.
More MLB: Royals GM J.J. Picollo's Trade Deadline Message Shows Need For Urgency In KC
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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