Kansas City entered the season with real playoff expectations, but the Royals are heading into the trade deadline in a very different spot. At the All-Star break, they sit at 38-59, tied with the Angels for the worst record in Major League Baseball, and the gap in front of them has grown too large to ignore.
That is a sharp fall for a team that opened the year with some buzz. After an 82-win 2025 and a quiet offseason, FanGraphs still gave Kansas City the second-best odds to win the American League Central before the season and pegged its playoff chances at 44.8%. Now the Royals are staring at a 13-game hole in the division and trail the wild card by 10 games, even in a league where only five clubs are above .500.
The offense has not been able to carry the load around Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone. Witt has delivered an MVP-caliber season, and Caglianone has taken a major step forward in his second year, but that production has been offset by too many other bats going quiet.
Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia have all fallen well short of last season’s numbers. Garcia has missed the past few weeks with a strained left hand, and Pasquantino recently returned after a right hamate fracture kept him out for nearly a month.
The injuries have been just as damaging on the mound. Cole Ragans had season-ending UCL surgery earlier this month, which means he will miss the rest of this year and could be out for some or all of 2027 as well.
Kris Bubic went on the injured list in mid-May with elbow problems and is still sidelined after shoulder soreness cropped up. The rotation has also been thinned by the season-ending surgeries that took Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna out of the picture back in April.
Kansas City’s bullpen has taken hits too. Four relievers are currently on the injured list, and that group includes Carlos Estévez.
The closer was a major weapon last season, saving 42 games while posting a 2.45 ERA in 66 innings, but his only appearance this year came on March 28. After allowing six earned runs in one-third of an inning in a loss to the Braves, he landed on the shelf with a left foot contusion.
A rehab assignment in early May ended badly when the 33-year-old strained his rotator cuff, and he is not expected back until at least August, if he returns at all.
With the Royals buried in the standings, they are not in any position to buy before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. General manager J.J. Picollo could move several veterans, though this may not turn into a particularly busy deadline for a last-place team.
In Other News...
Royals Face A Franchise Shaping Deadline Decision Again
The Royals are once again being asked to decide whether to think short-term or keep leaning into the long view at the trade deadline. After spending the last few years trying to build a sturdier base, the front office is weighing whether to chase young, controllable talent that fits the roster for 2027 and beyond, even if it means parting with pieces that help now.
That kind of move can make sense on paper, but it also comes with real consequences for a club that still has to cover innings in the present. Kansas City already has a thin rotation to manage, and the organization is also trying to nurture upside from within, including high school pitcher Jack Slightom, the 6-foot-5 right-hander it took with the No. 56 pick and one of the more intriguing arms in the system after he touched 98 mph. [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 🡒]