Orioles-Royals Blockbuster Trade Idea Sends Surging .338 Hitter To Kansas City
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In their quest for offense, the Kansas City Royals might arrive at a surprise reunion.
Early in the 2025 season, the Royals' offense has once again been their Achilles' heel. They've managed to keep runs off the board even with their top two starting pitchers injured, but the offense has been a black hole outside of Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia.
Thankfully, the Royals are still above .500, thanks mostly to a dominant 16-2 stretch against inferior opponents. They should be trade deadline buyers, and they should be able to find at least one veteran bat to help boost their offense.
As it happens, one of the top bats who projects to be available was once a Royal, and it didn't go well the first time around.
On Friday, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report speculated that the Royals could be a trade fit for the Baltimore Orioles' Ryan O'Hearn, who was high on his list of the "big names up for grabs" at this year's deadline.
"Though he has served as designated hitter more than anything else this season, O'Hearn is more than capable of playing first base or right field. He even occasionally sets up shop out in left field. And that means with very few exceptions, every tentative buyer has a weak point in its lineup that could be filled by O'Hearn," Miller wrote.
"Can't imagine he was on a single 'trade deadline candidates' list heading into the season, but O'Hearn probably needs to be No. 1 if you're ranking them today. (And while they desperately need bats, it'd be a bit funny if it's the Royals bringing him back after he had a .683 OPS and a negative-2.6 bWAR in his five seasons in Kansas City.)"
O'Hearn, 31, has been the unexpected hitting sensation of the 2025 season. He's hitting a career-high .338, and his .977 OPS is second-best in the American League, behind some guy named Aaron Judge.
Leaving the Royals after the 2022 season seemed to immediately turn O'Hearn's career around. He had an OPS+ of 71 in his last year in Kansas City, and that jumped to 122 in Baltmore in '23, then 121 the following season. This year, it's skyrocketed to 183.
If the Royals can stomach the rest of his $8 million salary (which doesn't seem like a huge ask), O'Hearn should be at the top of their list.
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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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