Kansas City Royals Trade Starting Pitchers

The Kansas City Royals are sitting near the bottom of the standings this season and look likely to be trade deadline sellers by the August 3 trade deadline. With the team trending towards selling, all of the players who are in the final years of their club control will be legitimate trade candidates. Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com is urging the Royals to trade some of those players, specifically capitalizing on the trade market for starting pitchers, with Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha as potential trade chips. Lugo and Wacha are both signed through 2027 with a '28 club option, making them attractive to teams looking to add veteran hurlers. The Royals can trade Lugo, Wacha, and Kris Bubic, who is pending free agent, to capitalize on a strong market for starting pitching. Harrigan believes the Royals badly need to retool this season, and trading these starters would be a great way of doing so. And with both Lugo and Wacha under club control beyond the 2026 season, the Royals don't have to trade them right now, but it would make sense to move on from them to retool the roster. So the Royals will have to decide whether to trade their veteran pitchers to build for the future. Cole Ragans, who is controllable through 2028, and Bubic, who is injured, are also part of the Royals' rotation. The Royals' decision to trade or not will depend on their goals for the season and the interest from other teams in their starting pitchers. But with a strong seller's market for starting pitchers, the Royals should consider moving on from Lugo and Wacha to get a good return. The Royals are not ready to contend right now, and trading their veteran pitchers would be a step back, but it would be worth it in the long run.