Kansas City Royals' 2026 Trade Deadline Process causes Concern for the Future

The Royals made three deals on deadline day, despite having a plethora of options to trade and rebuild the farm system.

Jul 31, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52) delivers a pitch in the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The trade deadline has come and gone with teams either selling pieces to build towards a better, more competitive future or buying for a potential deep playoff run. Then there is the middle ground, where teams stay put with fewer moves, but the core of their roster stays together to ride out the season. The Royals fall in the latter portion of teams, despite having a ton of tradable pieces to rebuild the farm system.

The Royals made three trades on deadline day, trading Lane Thomas and Bailey Falter to the Braves for Lucas Braun and Carter Holton. They traded Kris Bubic to the Dodgers for Carlos Duran and traded Manuel Colon for Nolan Hoffman. These aren't bad trades, but let's discuss the issue with the process shown by the Royals during this deadline.

Writer's note: This is more of an editorial piece discussing the process of the deadline. This is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.

The Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo Conundrum

Just about every Royals fan has heard the reports of the Royals holding on to Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo to be able to compete in 2027. Obviously, the Royals stuck to their guns and didn't trade them, which is fine to an extent. Both Wacha and Lugo have another guaranteed year on their contracts, and both have been serviceable or good this season. They have been good free agent signings and put together some solid years for the Royals, but there are issues with going down this route.

Both of them are 35+ years old and have shown some signs of regression, one more than the other. The issue lies in the fact that they are 35+ year-old starters who could fall off a cliff in 2027, and that is a valid concern given how baseball aging curves work for pitchers. There is zero guarantee that both Wacha and Lugo will be effective going forward, and both could have been used to improve the team in the long run.

The Bullpen Pieces

There is a saying in baseball to trade your relievers when you are out of contention, and the Royals are 21 games under .500. This is where this writer has gripes with the Royals' process. The Royals have had one of the worst bullpens in baseball, and they had pieces that could have been flipped to contenders for a solid return.

Headlining the bullpen pieces would have been Daniel Lynch IV, who has been by far and away the best arm in the bullpen. While the trade market for relievers varies from year to year, they typically get solid returns. Lynch is also a reliever with team control until 2029 and could have fetched a better-than-expected return. John Schreiber also lands on this list, and while he wouldn't have garnered as big of a return, he is a free agent after this season, so the Royals should have capitalized on that.

The other issue with the Royals' process in the bullpen is the fact that they kept relievers while also trading for relievers. They went about retooling the bullpen by getting Carlos Duran and Nolan Hoffman, both of whom are interesting pitchers, but the roles in the bullpen are nowhere near settled. Schreiber and Lynch will probably stay in their high-leverage roles, Steven Cruz might be the closer, and everyone else is there. That truly sparks confidence going into 2027 if nothing changes in the offseason.

The Big Issue

Jul 10, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Kansas City pitcher Daniel Lynch IV (41) pitches in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The issue with not maximizing the trading of some players is that no one knows if baseball is going to be played next season, with the CBA contract expiring. With discussions on salary caps leading the charge, there is a chance baseball is not played next season and a lockout happens.

That alone should have deterred the Royals from this path of keeping Wacha, Lugo, and Lynch. The other issue is that the current core of players, that stem from the 2024 playoff run, has not been able to replicate that season. Outside of Bobby Witt Jr., there has been too much inconsistency to say that the Royals will be competitive next season with the current core.

The process shown by the Royals is concerning because it feels like an "all eggs in one basket" situation, where they believe this core can take them to the promised land. That is concerning given the state of the farm system, the state of the bullpen, the state of the starting rotation, the state of the lineup, and so on.

In this writer's opinion, the Royals are going on with a core of players that have not quite shown consistency, and they are foregoing the future for the slim chance of competing in 2027. Maybe, just maybe, making some solid deals this year with very tradeable pieces that teams asked about could have reopened a longer contention window rather than a contention crevice for one season, and if they fail to compete, what happens then?