Royals Winners Or Losers? Expert Rates KC's Trade Deadline Haul

The Kansas City Royals put general manager J.J. Picollo in a tough spot at the trade deadline.

For most of the season, the Royals have played mediocre baseball. Their offense was feeble enough to justify selling at the margins. But they quietly worked their way to within three games of a Wild Card spot (now 3 1/2) by the time the trades had to be completed.

So Picollo decided to give the team another chance, and he's hoping they reward him for it. He added two bats and three arms, plus he was able to lock up ace Seth Lugo to a two-year extension rather than having to make a decision on trading or not trading him ahead of free agency.

It was a fun deadline to be a Royals fan, and the front office was rewarded on Friday when Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic rated them as "winners" in a trade deadline review column.

"The Royals’ most impactful move was extending starter Seth Lugo rather than dangling him at the trade deadline. They also did well with their smaller moves. They got a lefty-mashing outfielder, Randal Grichuk; a righty-mashing outfielder, Mike Yastrzemski (OK, mashing might be overstating); a reunion with utility infielder Adam Frazier; and three major league arms — Stephen Kolek, Ryan Bergert and Bailey Falter — for catcher Freddy Fermin and two minor leaguers," wrote Nesbitt.

"That’s tidy trade-deadline work for an organization that’s still on the periphery of the playoff race. They got a bit better, and they’ll now have Kolek, Bergert, Falter and Lugo for 2026 and beyond."

Yastrzemski and Grichuk should be a decent platoon at a minimum, and the Royals' outfield has been so abysmal all year (a combined -2.6 fWAR, worst in the majors) that any support they got was going to be an upgrade.

Meanwhile, the Fermin trade was a surprise, but the fact that the Royals got two potential starting pitchers down the stretch for their backup catcher (who admittedly played a lot more than most backups) was a pleasant surprise.

Ultimately, the Royals still have a hole to climb out of, and most would still consider them underdogs to make the playoffs. But they gave themselves a better shot, and they did so without sacrificing any of their blue-chip prospects.

More MLB: Royals, Giants Make Last-Minute Trade Bringing Veteran Outfielder To KC