Royals 'Increasingly Unlikely' To Land Cardinals, Red Sox Stars

Don't get your hopes up, Royals fans.

May 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; A Boston Red Sox hat and glove sit in the dug out before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals have been quiet since making a few key moves this offseason. They acquired Nick Mears and Isaac Collins in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers and signed outfielder Lane Thomas to a one-year contract.

However, there hasn't been much movement since then, but the Royals do look a lot better heading into the 2026 season than they did at the end of 2025. They had two targets in mind before the turn of the calendar, one from the St. Louis Cardinals and one from the Boston Red Sox.

However, chances of that happening have gone down significantly, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Royals May Be Out On Trade Targets

Sep 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) hits a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

"The Kansas City Royals are increasingly unlikely to land either of the two hitters they pursued in trades: the St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Duran," Rosenthal reported.

The Cardinals have a high asking price for Donovan, and the Red Sox are also selling high on Duran. The Royals have the prospects necessary to make a deal, but it seems unlikely now that they'll add either one of them via trade.

If the Royals are planning to add one more bat for the outfield, they may have to dive into free agency, where options such as Harrison Bader are still available.

But fans shouldn't get their hopes up for somebody like Donovan or Duran. The Royals were said to be interested in them earlier in the offseason, and both would give them a significant offensive boost.

Perhaps they found the asking price to be too high. They could still use another outfield bat though.

They kept Jonathan India for one more year, which fills the second base need and is likely what took them out of the running for Donovan. The infield should be in good shape heading into 2026 if India can prove his 2025 struggles were a fluke.

Donovan still has plenty of suitors such as the Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants, but Duran's market seems to have cooled off a little bit, meaning he might end up remaining in Boston.

It will be interesting to see where the Royals go next, but it appears that they can be ruled out as suitors for Donovan and Duran.

More MLB: Royals Sign Top Ranked Outfielder With Superstar Potential