MLB executives predict Royals to trade two righty veteran starters at deadline

MLB executives predict Royals to trade two righty veteran starters at deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Kansas City Royals are 13-19 on the season, and last in the American League Central. But, fortunately, they aren’t out of the postseason hunt yet with a 17-16 Cleveland Guardians team only 3.5 games up on the Royals this season.

However, there is a chance that things go south for the Royals, and come the MLB trade deadline, they wind up as sellers. If such a future comes to pass, some interesting names could be on the move.

Two MLB executives predicted for Mark Feinsand of MLB.com’s poll that the Royals will trade two right-handed starting pitcher veterans, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, at this year’s deadline.

MLB execs predict Royals to trade Wacha, Lugo

“As part of our annual first-month executives poll, we asked 20 front-office members whom they believed would be the biggest name moved by the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline,” Feinsand writes. “… Seth Lugo, Royals (1 vote) … Michael Wacha, Royals (1 vote).”

The Royals parting with some players at the trade deadline if things continue to go south would not be a surprise at all for this team.

If they do part with some veterans, Lugo and Wacha would make a ton of sense to trade away for a solid return. Starting pitchers typically fetch solid returns, and both of these starters have been pitching well for the Royals this season.

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Lugo has a 2.63 ERA with 31 strikeouts across six starts this season. He’s 36 years old and would be someone the Royals should seriously consider trading away this season if things fall apart further come the beginning of August.

Wacha is 34 years old and has a 3.13 ERA with 33 strikeouts in six starts this season. Similar to Lugo, he, too, would surely draw a solid return if Kansas City decides to trade the veteran righty this season.

Both Lugo and Wacha were predicted as players who could be traded by the MLB trade deadline. With the poor record, and both veterans likely to draw significant interest, it wouldn’t be a surprise if these MLB executives were proven right with both being traded.