Royals GM Makes Triumphant Statement On KC's Trade Deadline Haul

Perhaps the Kansas City Royals didn't make any "blockbuster" trades this summer, but they like where they've landed.

After several weeks of chatter about the Royals potentially selling off pieces at Thursday's trade deadline, the opposite proved true. The Royals kept starting pitcher Seth Lugo in place with a brand-new extension, and brought in two new major league hitters (while losing one) and three pitchers.

Those outfielders were Randal Grichuk, who hits well against lefties, and Mike Yastrzemski, who hits well against righties. And while those two are both impending free agents, the Royals got hurlers Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek, and Bailey Falter for the foreseeable future.

As the 54-55 Royals look to erase a 3 1/2-game deficit and get back to the playoffs for a second-straight year, general manager J.J. Picollo couldn't help but flaunt his own accomplishments once the deadline had passed.

“When we think about trying to win now and trying to take care of the future, I think that’s what we executed today,” Picollo said Thursday evening, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “… We made our pitching staff better today. We made our future brighter for tomorrow. And that’s really important, and we did it in a very economical way.”

In particular, Picollo seemed to boast that he could get the most out of the three new pitchers, who have all shown potential at the major league level, but haven't yet established themselves as long-term rotation pieces.

"I’ve shared with all three of these guys on the phone: They’ll soon find out what Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha and Kris Bubic and Cole Ragans have found out, and now Noah Cameron – that our pitching coaches do a really good job in developing pitchers,” Picollo said, per Rogers. “I think it should be an exciting thing for all three of them to work with the staff that we have.”

The Royals believe they're a pitching factory nowadays, and it's hard to argue with the results. And if these new pitchers can pick up some new tips quickly, they just might be able to spur a playoff run.

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