The Kansas City Royals are going to be sellers before the MLB trade deadline. It remains to be seen which specific players will be available. All-Star Michael Wacha has been mentioned as a trade candidate, but some rumors have suggested the team may consider not moving him. Given the Royals’ current situation, failing to trade Wacha this year would be a mistake.
Wacha, 35, turned in another strong performance in the Royals’ 3-2 win against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. The veteran right-handed hurler allowed only two earned runs in his seven innings of work. He only struck out three hitters, but Wacha’s performance was impressive nonetheless.
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Wacha now holds a 3.60 ERA across 21 starts in 2026. He has impressed on the mound.
The reason Kansas City may not have urgency to trade him is his current contract. Wacha is under contract through 2027 and he has a 2028 club option. However, the reality of the situation is he is a 35-year-old veteran who is pitching well right now, but Wacha is not exactly dominating the competition.
Capitalizing on his trade value should be a priority for this Royals ball club right now. They could realistically receive a quality trade return for Wacha given his current performance and contract. His remaining years of team control would further interest ball clubs that are in need of starting pitching help.
Plenty of teams around the MLB world would love to add a starter such as Wacha. For those that missed out on the top pitching trade targets — such as Tarik Skubal and Joe Ryan if they are made available — Wacha would be a quality alternative.
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Trading Wacha should be the plan for the Royals. If they don’t move him, it would not be a complete disaster, but it still would lower his future trade value.
The idea of having Wacha for the remainder of this season in addition to two more years after — with the final year being a club option — would catch teams’ attention. Additionally, there are no guarantees that Wacha will continue to perform at an All-Star level in upcoming seasons.
Making a deal now while Wacha’s trade value is especially high simply makes too much sense for the struggling Royals. However, only time will tell if they end up making the move.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
