The Royals’ deadline day was defined as much by what they kept as by what they moved.
Kansas City held onto starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, even with contending clubs showing interest, and general manager J.J. Picollo said the reporting around them was a little overstated.
The thinking is clear enough: both pitchers are under control through 2027 with team options for 2028, and the Royals view them as more affordable than what they’d find on the free-agent market. More than that, the club believes it needs both arms if it’s going to be competitive next year.
That’s where the tension sits. Kansas City is already not competitive with Wacha and Lugo in the mix, which makes the idea of a turnaround next season feel like a major gamble.
The move they did make came Monday, when the Royals sent Kris Bubic to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed pitcher Carlos Duran, the club announced after the 5 p.m. trade deadline.
Bubic, 28, is on the 60-day injured list and was limited to nine starts because of left elbow and shoulder soreness. He drew interest because his contract is expiring - he becomes a free agent this winter - and because of his ability to fill different roles. In 50 ⅓ innings this season, Bubic posted a 4.11 ERA and earned his lone All-Star nod in 2025.
Duran could wind up in the Royals bullpen soon. The 6-foot-7 right-hander spent the entire season in Triple-A, where he put up a 3.38 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings over 37 appearances.
The Dodgers signed him to a minor league deal this offseason after the A’s released him, and Los Angeles added him to the 40-man roster on July 6 while keeping him in Triple-A. He has one big league appearance, coming with the A’s in 2025, when he allowed three earned runs in one-third of an inning.
The numbers in the minors have been far more encouraging, especially this year. Duran has a 31.1% strikeout rate and leans on a 95-97 mph four-seam fastball along with a swing-and-miss slider. His 14.3% walk rate is still an issue, but the Royals have had an eye on his power arm for some time.
“We need to try to build a bullpen for next season,” Picollo said. “Carlos was a guy that we actually tried to acquire earlier this season.
He’s a really big guy. Power arm.
Upper 90s fastball. He strikes a lot of guys out.
The command is something that we’ve got to work on -- like a lot of power relievers, there’s some work to be done there.”
Kansas City also added Nolan Hoffman from the Phillies. Hoffman, 29, had been designated for assignment on Monday, and the Royals moved quickly to work out a trade and place him on the 40-man roster. To make room, the club transferred right-hander Connor Seabold to the 60-day injured list.
The bullpen remains the clearest problem area. Injuries and poor performance have dragged the unit down to a 5.40 combined ERA, second-worst in the majors. Hoffman has spent most of the 2026 season in the minors, where he posted a 4.72 ERA in 34 ⅓ innings with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate and struck out 40 batters in relief.
Elsewhere, the deadline around the league kept moving. Cleveland traded four players to land former Royal and All-Star Foster Griffin, and the Guardians also got Jo Adell from the Angels.
The Padres added two starters, Casey Mize and Robbie Ray. The Cubs acquired Clay Holmes from the Mets.
The Orioles traded Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox. The Cardinals sent Lars Nootbaar to the Diamondbacks.
The Blue Jays traded Daulton Varsho to the Astros and picked up José Soriano from the Angels.
As a result of the Luis Arraez trade, Bryce Harper will move to right field.
In Other News...
Royals Bullpen Problems Just Forced A Move Fans Saw Coming
Kansas Citys bullpen had been shaky enough that a change felt inevitable, and the latest move reflected just how little margin the Royals have left in the late innings. Left-handed reliever Matt Strahm, in the middle of a rough second stint with the club, had been hit hard by home runs and struggled to hold up in high-leverage spots, which made his 7.32 ERA in 41 appearances hard to overlook for a team trying to stay afloat.
The roster shuffle opened the door for Jose Cuas, who was brought up from Triple-A Omaha as the Royals reworked the 40-man picture and bought themselves a short window to decide the next step. For Strahm, the coming week now becomes a waiting game, with Kansas City weighing whether another club sees enough to trade for him or whether he clears waivers and moves on from a frustrating stretch that never found much traction. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Left Fans With One Bigger Deadline Frustration
The Royals did make a handful of moves around the trade deadline, including the departures of Lane Thomas and Kris Bubic, and they added a cluster of arms to bolster pitching depth. Lucas Braun, Carter Holton, Nolan Hoffman, Carlos Duran and Nate Pearson all came in as part of that effort, giving Kansas City more inventory to work with as it tries to patch together a deeper staff for the stretch run.
Still, the bigger frustration for fans was what did not happen. John Schreiber and Starling Marte stayed put even though they were widely viewed as the kind of rental pieces contenders often move, leaving the Royals with fewer obvious deadline wins than expected. The result is a familiar one for a team still trying to climb back into serious contention: some useful additions, a few outgoing pieces, and the sense that the most meaningful roster work may have to wait for the offseason. [Read more 🡒]