The Royals’ second half arrives with a familiar problem hanging over everything: how to fix a disappointing season without making life even harder down the road.
Kansas City entered the year with real expectations after a 2024 playoff run, and the idea was simple enough - finish above .500 again in 2025 and keep the same core together for 2026. Instead, the first 97 games have gone sideways. The club has not gotten the kind of results it needed, and now the trade deadline is looming as the next big decision point.
What makes this deadline tricky is that the Royals are not just shopping for help. They’re trying to thread a needle. The goal is to add young, controllable talent that can help shape the roster for 2027 and beyond, but the most obvious ways to get that kind of return may involve moving players Kansas City would still like to have around next season and after.
Michael Wacha is the clearest example. Dealing the 35-year-old right-hander could bring back young, controllable talent, though the exact return would depend on how other teams value him. The catch is obvious: moving him would also create a major hole in a rotation that is already thin, and that problem would stretch into the next two seasons if the Royals pick up his ‘28 club option.
That’s the tension for Kansas City at this deadline. The roster needs help in plenty of places, but this does not have to be a full teardown or a dramatic reset.
The Royals need to use this moment to start collecting pieces that can matter right away next season, even if doing that means parting with something important, possibly a starting pitcher. Building the 2026 roster should be the priority.
There is at least one encouraging note in the organization’s pipeline. MLB’s pipeline picked Jack Slightom as its favorite Royals draft pick.
Kansas City took the 6-foot-5 right-hander from Illinois at No. 56 overall after opening the draft with two college players, and the upside is easy to see. Slightom was already climbing in velocity this spring and reached 98 mph, with room to add more as he focuses solely on baseball for a full year.
He also played quarterback in the fall. That added power could help his slider take another step, and his changeup is already showing above-average flashes.
As the second half begins, the Royals are staring at a deadline that could shape more than just the rest of this season. The choices they make now will say plenty about how they plan to build the next version of this team.
In Other News...
Royals Just Reached A Trade Deadline Crossroads Fans Feared
The All-Star break arrived with the Royals stuck at 38-59, a record that leaves them tied for the worst mark in baseball and forces a hard look at where this season is headed. Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone have given Kansas City some bright spots, but the roster around them has been battered by injuries to key arms and late-inning pieces, and the club has spent most of the summer trying to patch holes instead of climbing the standings.
Kansas Citys deficit in the division and wild-card race has made a postseason push look remote, which is why the next few weeks feel so important for the front office. With the Aug. 3 deadline approaching, the Royals are in no position to buy, and general manager J.J. Picollo could be faced with deciding whether to move multiple veterans and reset around the younger core rather than keep waiting for a turnaround that has not materialized. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Late Draft Pick Carries More Weight Than Fans Realize
The Royals 19th-round choice of Hudson DeVaughan was never just about adding another arm to the system. Kansas City has leaned into an underslot draft strategy, saving money early so it can chase prep talent later, and DeVaughan fits that larger puzzle as a right-handed pitcher with real upside and enough raw stuff to make the pick worth remembering. An Alabama commit with a fastball that helped him climb the board this spring, he gives the Royals another lottery ticket in a draft class built around flexibility.
Hudson DeVaughan also gives Kansas City a little insurance if the rest of the class doesnt break the way the club hopes. Late picks like this often live in the margins of draft coverage, but this one carries more weight because of what it could unlock elsewhere, whether that means extra room to get other young players signed or simply a fallback if the money gets tight. Even if he never becomes the headline, the Royals clearly saw enough in the arm to make him part of the plan. [Read more 🡒]