Royals Predicted To Trade For Angels 18-HR Slugger As Concerns Mount

The Kansas City Royals' abysmal offense has been the storyline of their season.

Through 72 games, the 34-38 Royals have a bottom-five offense by any metric. They're 29th in runs scored, 26th in on-base percentage and OPS, and dead last in home runs.

Kansas City's outfield has been the worst in baseball all season, and calling up number-one prospect Jac Caglianone hasn't been an immediate fix. If the Royals want to keep the season from slipping away, they may need to make a major addition at or even ahead of the Jul. 31 trade deadline.

Will the Los Angeles Angels provide the outfield bat the Royals are looking for?

In a recent YouTube video, content creator Jim Riley predicted that the Royals would trade for Angels outfielder Taylor Ward, who has popped 18 home runs so far this season, which is eight more than anyone on the Royals has to this point.

"This fit here is one of my favorite trade partners... trade fits of this deadline," Riley said. "Ward to Kansas City, adding him into the lineup not just for this year, but for next year, with Bobby Witt (Jr.), you call up Jac Caglianone... there's nobody out in left field for Kansas City that Ward wouldn't be better than."

"I like what this does to that lineup. This year, Kansas City, the bats have been a problem. They've got good, capable pitchers. They're going to need to start to hit more if they're going to get back into it, and Ward would certainly do that for them."

While Ward has had a good season power-wise, his dip in on-base percentage is worth noting. He's at a .272 mark, his lowest since he played 40 games as a rookie in 2018, down from .323 in 2024. But still, his .750 OPS is a cut above league average.

As Riley mentions, the Royals would also have Ward under team control for the 2026 season. It's a win-now move, but we'll have to wait and see if those are the moves Kansas City has in mind for the deadline after this awful recent stretch.

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