J.J. Picollo might’ve just revealed Royals’ intentions regarding standout rookie

The Winter Meetings are underway and while the Royals have yet to make a move since the festivities began Sunday night, the anticipation continues to build on how they address their glaring needs.

Of the two most well documented issues facing the Royals this winter is their need to upgrade in the outfield and as well finding ways to effectively narrow down their starting pitching surplus.

A lot of the time, insiders and media outlets like to pair these two issues hand in hand when finding solutions, suggesting that Kansas City could potentially trade from their arsenal of starting pitching weapons to bolster their underwhelming outfield.

And J.J. Picollo didn’t discount that idea last weekend according to a report from Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

“A lot of teams are looking for starting pitching, so if we have what they may be interested in, and they have an outfielder that would be of interest, then there’s potentially the opportunity to make a deal,” Picollo said.

However, when speaking with the crew on MLB Network’s Hot Stove on Monday, Picollo may’ve hinted at one of the starters he seems to want to avoid trading. This of course is last season’s rookie standout, Noah Cameron.

J.J. Picollo may’ve made his his intentions clear when it comes to Noah Cameron

Picollo gushed about his young southpaw when speaking with Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds, stating just how happy he is to have him in the rotation after his strong rookie campaign.

“There’s one of those guys you expect in ’26, that’s when he’ll come into his own, but he was forced into action early in the season and had a tremendous year,” Picollo said about Cameron.

“Glad we’ve got him for a long time,” he said.

That latter portion of the deal is the most eye raising part of that statement. While the Royals faithful would surely would love to see their homegrown hometown talent develop as a major leaguer with them after the strong start he just had, the question now is, which starter will be on the chopping block?

Kris Bubic might seem like the obvious choice, given he’s entering the last year of his contract after an All-Star season. However, his season-ending shoulder injury could reportedly be somewhat of a hurdle in trade negotiations.

Then, there’s the likes of Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek, who might’ve looked good as Royals pitchers after arriving at the trade deadline, but there’s always the question on how sustainable their success is viewed by potential suitors.

And there’s the veteran trio in Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and of course Cole Ragans, who appear pretty unlikely to move, as per a weekend report by MLB.com’s Anne Rogers.

Only time will tell how Picollo and the front office go about sorting their starting surplus out. However, judging by his sentiments on Monday, it seems as though he’s rather attached to Cameron.