Yankees, Mets, Red Sox Trade Candidates Who Royals Must Pursue In 2025

The Kansas City Royals will never be a big-market team, but maybe they can use that to their advantage.

Some of those big-market franchises around Major League Baseball have some interesting logjams this season. In particular, the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox all have position players struggling to earn playing time who could have much more opportunity on a team like the Royals.

So as Kansas City looks to establish itself as a perennial playoff team, who might they be able to grab in a midseason trade thanks to limited opportunities with these juggernaut franchises? Here are three ideas:

Yankees - Oswald Peraza (3B)

The Yankees have struggled to get third base right all season, which has led to endless speculation about a Nolan Arenado trade. But what if one of their current third basemen has a bright future ahead of him in a smaller market, with more of a shot at future playing time?

Peraza was once a top-100 prospect in all of baseball, but the presence of Anthony Volpe in New York moved him off shortstop and kept him in Triple-A when he should have been developing in the majors. The 24-year-old is slashing .172/.250/.328, but it's a lot harder to produce when you're only playing one out of every three days.

Mets - Brett Baty (3B)

The Mets have their own version of Peraza in Brett Baty, except the 25-year-old is getting more playing time of late. He's seemingly moved into a platoon role with veteran Starling Marte, as Mark Vientos takes over designated hitter on days Baty is at the hot corner.

If Baty proves to be an above-average hitter, the Mets probably won't trade him. If that's the case, they can look into Marte as well, though New York would have to pay down some of the veteran's contract. If Baty struggles and the Mets decide to shake things up, the Royals could try to buy low.

Red Sox - Ceddanne Rafaela (CF)

This is by far the most exciting name on the list. Rafaela is still only 24, he's locked in on a team-friendly $50 million extension through at least 2031, and he's put up 1.7 bWAR, mostly on the strength of his defense, through just 44 games this season.

The issues with Rafaela have always been chase rate and on-base percentage, which the Royals don't necessarily want to add more of to their lineup. But he's still so young, and the fact that the Red Sox might entertain the notion of moving him to make room for top prospect Roman Anthony could be a rare opportunity. This is a Platinum Glove-caliber defender with real offensive upside.

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