Royals Rumors: How Kansas City Is Leaning At Trade Deadline, Per Insider

It hasn't been the season the Kansas City Royals would have hoped for, and time is running out to change their fortunes before the trade deadline.

Monday night was a good start if the Royals are going to go on a miracle run. They erased an early 4-1 deficit to the Chicago Cubs, who entered the game with the National League's best record, to secure a 12-4 victory that got them to 49-52 on the season.

Still, the Royals seem to be reading the writing on the wall, as they haven't hit well as a team all season and still sit 4 1/2 games out of playoff position in the American League.

On Tuesday, ESPN's Buster Olney reported that the Royals are open to trading away veterans, but only those who won't be a part of the team next season. That puts all eyes on right-hander Seth Lugo, who holds a $15 million player option for 2026 that he's likely to forgo.

"The Royals have signaled a willingness to trade, but with an eye toward competing again next year -- meaning they aren't willing to part with the core of their pitching staff. Other teams say Kansas City is (unsurprisingly) looking to upgrade its future offense in whatever it does," wrote Olney.

"Seth Lugo will be the most-watched Royal before the deadline, since he holds a $15 million player option for 2026 "that you'd assume he's going to turn down," said one rival staffer. That'll make it more difficult for other teams to place a trade value on him: The Royals could want to market him as more than a mere rental, while other teams figure he'll go into free agency in the fall when he turns down his option."

Lugo, who owns a 2.94 ERA through 18 starts this year, would have to fall into a dramatic slump to even consider picking up that option, especially because he was also the Cy Young Award runner-up last year. So frankly, the Royals can't hope to gain any leverage in trade talks from that option.

But the fact that the Royals seem ready to at least soft sell is the real headline here. It's not what they wanted this season to be, but their offense has gotten so bad that their best path forward is to use assets like Lugo to acquire young bats that can help them moving forward.

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