By Adam Gardner | July 30, 2026
We continue to move closer and closer to the Major League Baseball trade deadline at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, but there are no Royals moves yet.
There haven’t been many moves league-wide, really, so it isn’t just Kansas City.
“Despite a heavy lack of movement to this point, there are expected to be several trades…” an article from The Athletic mentioned Thursday morning.
What we can do while waiting for roster moves to be made is sit back and just enjoy the game of baseball while nothing is on the line. It’s not as fun as watching the Kansas City Royals compete for a postseason spot, but at least it’s baseball.
With a labor issue potentially impacting the 2027 season, “at least it’s baseball” is even more attractive than usual right now.
But that’s down the line. We’ll focus on what’s actually happening right now because there will be plenty of time to talk about labor negotiations in the offseason.
Royals and Twins battling for the series
The Royals knocked off the Minnesota Twins 4-0 last night after blowing Tuesday night’s game. Alex Lange had the Royals one out away from a 2-1 win Tuesday but the Twins walked it off with a 2-run base hit to win 3-2.
KC answered with a 4-0 win last night setting up the rubber match in today’s afternoon contest in Minnesota.
The Royals are clearly out of the running in the AL Central. The American League Wildcard standings aren’t much better; KC is technically closer if you look at “games back” but there are a lot of teams in the way.
It’s almost August and I’ve accepted this season for what it is – extremely disappointing. The team didn’t play well out of the gate, then an alarming number of injuries have kept the team from being able to mount a comeback.
Even if the team had remained healthy, there weren’t a lot of signs that they could overcome the deficit they put themselves into at the start of the season. The roster needs an overhaul before 2027.
Sprinting Salvy
Every once in a while something happens in a game that you really don’t expect. One of those things happened Wednesday night when Salvador Perez launched a high fastball from Joe Ryan into deep center field.
The Twins outfielder didn’t get a good read on the ball and it caromed off the wall past him and our captain was off to the races.
I love Salvy – we all do – and it was a moment of pure bliss as he raced for third base and slid in for his first triple since 2022. It was the 12th triple of his career and I admit I’m shocked that number is in double digits. I have to remind myself he was a little thinner in the early years; he had 9 triples in his first six season.
He’s not so spry anymore. My wife summed it up well after watching him round second base on the replay, saying “he’s thick.”
He huffed and puffed his way to third and slid in head first, taking a moment to catch his breath. It’s an image so good, I have to use it twice.
There are a few reasons I loved watching Salvy get a triple. First, I’m a fellow big man and I appreciate what was going through his mind as he rested his head at third base.
And I really appreciate how much Salvy loves the game, which we talked about in Monday’s post. He’s just a big kid out there, having fun.
But what I really love about the triple is that he’s setting the standard for the team, just like you expect the captain to do. The team’s in last place in a bad division. The postseason is out of the question. Perez just set the franchise home run record.
None of that mattered to Salvy in that moment. He had a chance to get an extra base and he took it. He’s a professional and professionals give it their all no matter what. That’s leadership by example. Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen saw Salvy hustle out that triple in a game and I’m sure it will leave a mark on them.
Salvy’s the best.
Injury issues continue
The triple and the Wednesday win were fun, but what’s not fun is that the Royals continue to have injury problems. Vinnie Pasquantino is back on the Injured List with a right wrist problem, just three weeks after returning from the IL following right hamate surgery.
As Anne Rogers pointed out, the Royals Opening Day infield, excluding Perez, is now on the IL. Jonathan India is done for the season, Bobby Witt Jr. is dealing with a lower back issue, and Maikel Garcia has a muscle strain in his left hand.
Speaking of Garcia, his rehab assignment didn’t go well. He went 0-for-3 in five innings with Northwest Arkansas, the Royals Double-A team, on Tuesday. Garcia experienced familiar discomfort in his hand during his last at-bat and is now back in Kansas City for more evaluation.
Add it onto the pile of things that went wrong for the Royals in 2026.
Trade deadline nearing
The Athletic pointed out the lack of action on the trade market is likely due to the number of teams still figuring out if they’re “buyers or sellers.” There’s no confusion for KC, though.
Michael Wacha could be an interesting trade piece for the Royals. He’s performed well this season and was an All Star. He’s also thrown the fifth-most innings in baseball this season, showing he still has longevity in his arm.
Starting pitchers are always sought-after at the trade deadline, but the Royals have Wacha locked up through the 2027 season with a club option for 2028. Team control usually drives up the price in a trade, but will KC want to move a starting pitcher when they’ve had so many injury issues this season?
The short answer is it depends. If the price is right, they would have to move Wacha. But since they still have the stalwart locked up for the next couple of seasons, they don’t need to be desperate at the deadline.
Lefty relievers are also quality trade pieces as contenders look to beef up their bullpens before October. Daniel Lynch IV has been really strong out of the pen this year, posting a 2.00 ERA in 45 innings of work.
Lynch has been deadly against left-handed batters, holding them to a .382 OPS. Righties have hit him better, but he’s still allowed just a .672 OPS against right-handed hitters.
The Royals and Lynch are scheduled for arbitration after this season and next, which means Lynch wouldn’t become an unrestricted free agent until 2029 at the earliest. Again, club control could mean the potential return for Lynch could be really good, but it also means it might be more than teams want to pay for a reliever without much postseason experience.
Perhaps the most likely trade candidate is Lane Thomas. His contract is up after this season and he’s not a superstar, so the Royals asking price would likely be pretty palatable for contending teams. Thomas hits lefties well and could be a good option for a team looking to help their outfield and/or bench depth.
Silly ideas from some Red Sox fans
It’s humorous to see the trade ideas people have online. A few Red Sox fans are really stretching the limits with their ideas for a new shortstop in Boston.
Yes, they’ve really tossed out ideas for the Red Sox to acquire Bobby Witt Jr. from the Royals. I don’t think most of them are taking it seriously, but there are altered photos of Witt in a Boston uniform, which makes me sick to my stomach to even see.
It’s not going to happen. The Royals organization would completely lose the fanbase if Witt was traded, even if the return was spectacular. Witt is our guy, our homegrown superstar, and fans wouldn’t be able to wrap their head around it.
But that won’t stop people from tossing ideas around online. Heck, I remember convincing myself a few years ago that the Royals could trade Wade Davis for Trea Turner. Sometimes our minds are capable of crazy things.
We’ll see if anything realistic happens over the weekend heading into Monday’s deadline. I suspect the Royals will make a trade or two, but nothing that will be considered franchise-altering.
