The Kansas City Royals will have some tough decisions to make at the end of the month. With three weeks left to turn their season around and give the front office a reason to believe they can make the playoffs, that scenario is almost certain not to materialize.
They are entering the All-Star break sitting over 20 games under .500 at 38-59 and last in the American League Central.
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With that reality in mind, many of their valuable players have surfaced in trade rumors over the past couple of weeks.
While most of their young core such as shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., third baseman Maikel Garcia and outfielder Jac Caglianone is likely untouchable, some of their veteran pieces could potentially be on the move.
That includes right-hander Michael Wacha. However, the Royals made their stance clear on whether he will be dealt to any other club on Sunday.
“The Royals will listen but have no intention of trading Michael Wacha, who not only made the All-Star team for the first time in 11 years but is considered an invaluable clubhouse leader. He also is under team control at $14 million a season through 2028,” reported Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
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It makes sense why the Royals feel this way about Wacha. Trading him would gut a rotation that has already been decimated by injuries and deplete a clubhouse that needs veteran leadership.
But it is hard to argue that he would not be a valuable piece for a contender, and if an offer came in that was too good to refuse, they clearly could quickly change their mind.
Wacha has quietly been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball over the past decade, and this year has been no different.
The 35-year-old has posted a 3.77 ERA across 19 starts, and what makes him especially valuable is his durability. He leads the entire American League in innings pitched with 119 1/3 this season, which is exactly the kind of reliability that contending teams need at the deadline. He is not a high strikeout arm with just 96 strikeouts, but he does limit hard contact.
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Given how prevalent arm injuries are across the league, any team in the hunt would likely invest in Wacha even knowing he is not a frontline dominant arm. The Royals know his value, which is exactly why they have no plans to part with him.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
