Blue Jays Blockbuster Trade Prediction Lands Royals' $45 Million Ace

There's a chance Seth Lugo's start on Wednesday was his last as a member of the Kansas City Royals.

In six innings, Lugo held the Chicago Cubs to only two runs, picking up his seventh win of the season. His ERA actually climbed by 0.01 to 2.95 on the year, an indication of just how good the 35-year-old has been.

A series win over the Cubs helps the Royals' cause, but they still sit three games under .500 and 4 1/2 out of the Wild Card picture. With their bottom-five offense, it's hard to envision how a copule of trade additions suddenly makes them a playoff contender.

The trade deadline is a week from Thursday, so Lugo is still scheduled to make one more start before that arrives. But if the Royals decide to jump the market by a day or two, that excellent performance at Wrigley Field could be the end.

On Thursday, Will Laws and Nick Selbe of Sports Illustrated had an interesting prediction as to where Lugo would be traded--the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.

"Lugo doesn’t strike out a ton of hitters, but he hasn’t posted an ERA above 3.60 since 2020 and quietly finished second in AL Cy Young voting last year while winning a Gold Glove to boot. The 35-year-old also fared well in two playoff starts last season," Laws and Selbe wrote.

"The converted reliever would improve just about any postseason rotation and the Royals may feel obliged to deal Lugo ahead of his looming free agency to either improve the AL’s lowest-scoring offense or retool for next year."

The Royals' return on their three-year, $45 million investment in Lugo has already paid off. But they weren't envisioning he could be gone only a year and a half into that deal, even if they decided to give him the opt-out he now looks primed to exercise.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt headed to free agency, so adding a third expiring deal in Lugo would really ramp up their urgency to make noise in the postseason.

More MLB: Red Sox Superstar Could Be Royals' Target In Seth Lugo Trade, Per Insider